We Hear You
In 2005, in preparation for a GLACE-hosted national externship conference, Carolyn Young, the Externship Program Director at Chapman Law School, and Barbara Blanco, the Faculty Externship Director at Loyola Law School, surveyed a range of field placement supervisors in government agencies, judicial chambers and public interest law firms. We asked our supervisors willing to participate to assess student preparedness when students first arrived at the placement. We heard a very candid earful that led us to make both procedural and substantive changes to better prepare our students before the externship begins.
The article in the link below explores our journey into your world: what you told us about what you expect, hope for and will settle for when a student arrives, and what steps we took to address your concerns (see especially Appendix B “What You Should Know Before Your Externship Begins” and Appendix C, “Assignment Clarification ‘Cheat Sheet’”). We hope the article will stimulate you to comment in our blog on your assessment of student preparation and suggest to us further ways to better prepare our students to make the experience as beneficial as possible for you and your student. GLACE faculty will check in on the blog and continue the discussions you begin. Thank you for your input!
Law Review Article: What Students Don't Know WILL Hurt Them: A Frank View from the Field on How to Better Prepare Our Clinic and Externship Students