FAQ
Enrollment, Application, and Lottery Process
When/how will I be eligible to enroll in an externship course?
How do I apply to enroll in an externship course?
Can I apply to complete an externship in multiple semesters?
Should I apply to enroll in an externship course even if I'm not certain whether I will be completing one?
What is the deadline to apply?
What if I miss the deadline to apply?
What is the purpose of the Externship Program lottery?
How does the Externship Program lottery work?
Once I am assigned an externship semester, do I have to take any further steps before the placement process begins?
Placement Process and Course Registration
What is the purpose of the placement process utilized by the JD Externship Program offices?
Why can’t I set up my own externship, and why do JD Externship Program faculty have to approve my placement?
Our program has the pleasure of serving more than two-thirds of the student body each year. In order to ensure that the externship placement process proceeds in a timely, orderly, and uniform manner that is fair to all interested students, we do not allow students to set up their own externship. Instead, we require that you work with the JD Externship Program to set up your externship.
Externship faculty must confirm that your externship for JD credit meets VLGS and ABA requirements and that the expected quality of the experience is sufficient to award credit. The approval process is conducted by externship faculty. It may involve a request for written information, and it always involves a phone conversation with the attorney, judge, or JD professional with whom the student wishes to work for credit.
Why can't the Placement Process begin earlier than the semester preceding my preferred externship semester?
In contrast to law schools with lots of local externship options, the VLGS process is actually very early. It is common for externship faculty to contact externship sites in close proximity to law schools in metropolitan areas to push for early consideration of VLGS students because of that timing. In most other externship sites, the application process does not begin until the VLGS process begins for any given semester. Most lawyers, judges, and other JD professionals are not considering externs earlier than our process, and many don’t have a clear sense of whether they have sufficient work to keep a student busy until they are much closer in time to the preferred semester.
Note: If you are considering an externship site that appears to have an early deadline, please let JD Externship faculty know. We can easily contact the location to determine if you should apply before our process begins. Most often, internships posted with “rolling” deadlines do not indicate an application process that is earlier than our enrollment process.
What role will externship faculty play in securing my externship placement?
After submitting my application and meeting with JD Externship Program faculty, can I work on my externship placement on my own, subject to the approval process of the JD Externship Program?
What is the goal of limiting students to one externship application or focus of efforts at a time, and is it mandatory?
Will I be competing with other students for my preferred externship site?
When will I know where I’m doing my externship?
This is the single most difficult question to answer due to the extreme flexibility the JD Externship Program offers VLGS students. Timing is highly variable. For some sites, timing is predictable. In others, it is impossible to know when attorneys/judges/JD professionals will make decisions about your externship. Faculty can be successful in pushing for early decisions, but not always.
The goal is to confirm an externship for every student before an on-campus "Meet and Greet" orientation session that occurs in the semester before your externship. The goal is not always met. These on-campus sessions are conducted in late April for Fall semester externships and in late November for Spring semester externships.
Why might some of my classmates know where they are going sooner than I know where I am going?
What if I get rejected from an externship site to which I applied?
Is there a possibility I will not be confirmed in an externship after applying, meeting with a faculty member in the externship offices, and making application to sites of interest to me?
Courses, Credits, and Grading
How does an externship for JD credit at VLGS differ from an “internship” during the summer or during college?
What externship courses are offered?
How many credits are awarded for full-time externships?
How many credits are awarded for part-time externships?
Do externship credits count towards the VLGS “experiential credit” requirement?
Work Commitment to Earn Credit
Can I telecommute and meet the work requirement of my externship "practicum?"
Engaging professionals and the issues they address within the office setting, as matters arise and then inevitably change, is the essence of the exposure we seek for our students earning credit towards their law degree. Telecommuting, although emerging in the profession, offers a different quality of experience. Virtual externships or hybrid externships are carefully considered if the employer can offer a meaningful experience that overcomes the remote qualities of telecommuting. Working remotely will be considered on an exceptional case-by-case situation and not the norm.
What are the work requirements for the “practicum” portion of the externship courses?
What work is required in the “classroom” component of my externship?
Full-time: The classroom component is a two-credit academic course, and you should expect to spend time in "class" and on assignments consistent with the time you would spend in any other academic course for JD credit.
Part-time: The classroom component is imbedded within the credits you receive for the externship as a whole. A reasonable estimate for time spent per week on coursework is an hour, on average.
Coursework: You will be expected to participate in an online orientation the week before your externship begins. You will draft a learning plan for your academic goals for your externship and meet with your on-site supervisor to engage in a self-evaluation process several times during the semester. You will also meet with your faculty supervisor, alone or in groups, several times during the semester, keep a weekly journal reflecting on your experiences, and keep weekly timesheets tracking your on-site hours and billable work.
Where Can I Do my Externship?
Where can I go for my externship?
Where am I not permitted to go for an externship?
You may not extern under the supervision of an unlicensed lawyer when working in a legal practice setting. In a policy setting, you may only work under the supervision of someone holding a JD, whether actively licensed to practice or not.
You may not extern under the supervision of a lawyer, judge, or JD professional with less than five years of experience in the area of law or policy in which he or she practices.
You may not extern for JD credit at a site where you have previously worked for credit, as a volunteer or for pay, unless approved by the Director of JD Externships under the restrictions set out in the VLGS Academic Regulations.
International externship students must work under the supervision of a lawyer or JD equivalent (if policy work is the focus) licensed in the jurisdiction where the representation or advocacy takes place.
Foreign Students: The US Government currently prohibits most federal agencies and other offices from accepting foreign students as externs, even for academic credit. There are some exceptions, including federal courts.
Does VLGS have a database that I can access to see where other students have done externships in the past?
Why does the database not include contact information for past externship sites?
Course and/or Clinic Participation During and After the Externship
Can I enroll in more than one externship while I’m a student at VLGS?
Can I enroll in a part-time externship and a clinic in the same semester?
Financial Aid and Compensation
Can I be paid by the sponsoring organization I am working for while enrolled in a JD Externship Program course?
Can a sponsoring organization reimburse me for some of my living and travel expenses while on an externship?
Will I receive financial aid while on externship?
Why am I required to meet with financial aid staff before my externship is approved and reported as enrolled to the Registrar’s Office?
Will VLGS pay for my living or other expenses while on externship?
Background Checks / Security Clearances
Do some externship sponsoring organizations require security clearance and/or a background check?
What types of questions are asked in a sponsoring organization's security clearance or background check process?
What happens if I don’t pass a background check or security clearance?
When will I know the results of any background check or security clearance?
Required Attendance - Orientation
Why is orientation mandatory, and what is a reasonable excuse for not attending?
If I do not attend the mandatory orientation and my excuse is not accepted, will VLGS really not allow me to enroll in the externship?
Am I required to attend orientation on campus or can I participate remotely via Teams, etc.?
The on-campus PreOrientation session is the only portion of orientation held on campus JD Externship students. It will be scheduled with plenty of advance notice, late in the semester preceding your externship semester, in April for Fall semester externships and in November for Spring semester externships. The balance of orientation for JD externships is conducted online in the week prior to the externship start date. You are required to attend and participate in both portions of the orientation. Attendance is mandatory unless you have a direct class conflict. If you do have a class conflict, you must let our placement professor know immediately.