There are three components to the Field Placement Program, all of which are supervised by the Field Placement Coordinator, Sue Schechter, in 391 Simon Hall, (510) 643-7387, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu. Questions and initial inquiries may also be directed to the Program Assistant, Stephanie Dorton, in 344 North Addition, (510) 643-2256, ssdorton@law.berkeley,edu.
The three components are:
1) The first component is the General Field Placement Program: Students receive academic credit for working with supervising attorneys in public interest organizations or government agencies. Boalt faculty recommends that students take the Program for 4 units (16/hours per week over a 14 week semester or 224 hours), but some placements may request the student to work more hours. There are presently about 75 Bay Area field placements on the Law School’s Approved Placement List. These field placements offer work in many different areas, including antirust, civil rights, consumer protection, criminal, employment, environmental, health, housing, poverty, regulatory, securities law and women’s rights. Students should start by reviewing the approved list on the website but they may bring new ideas for placements as well. Beginning in the Fall 2007, students participating in the General Field Placement Program will be required to take a 1-unit General Field Placement Seminar. List of approved placements
2) The second component of the program in the Judicial Externship Program: Students work full or part-time as externs for local, state or federal judges. Students apply directly to the judge or judicial chambers for an externship position. All students are required to take a 1-unit Judicial Externship Seminar in conjunction with their judicial placement. Students receive 1 unit for every four hours of work per week over a 14 week semester (For example, 10 units = 560 hours). List of California Judges
3) The third component is the Away Field Placement Program: Students may be able to receive academic credit for field placements that are outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. Students must receive academic program approval from the Dean of Students, Victoria Ortiz and they must receive approval from the Field Placement Coordinator. Students are required to enroll in a 2-unit Law 299 Faculty-Supervised Research, Writing and Study course in addition to the units they receive for the field placement. For full-time away placements, in order to receive 10-units, students are required to work 560 hours – or 40 hours over 14 weeks.
Before exploring opportunities at outside agencies, Boalt students are strongly encouraged to explore the possibility of enrolling in the “in-house” clinics and the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC). These programs, unlike externships, are directly related to courses taught at Boalt, and the course instructors supervise or guide you throughout your clinical semester. Examples of the clinics or practicum include: Death Penalty Clinic, Domestic Violence Law Practicum, Environmental Law Practicum, the International Human Rights Law Clinic and the Samuelson Center for Law and Technology Clinic. Students may not do a faculty-supervised clinic in the same semester that they do field placements or judicial externships. If students choose to field placements, they are advised to first consult with the Field Placement Coordinator to discuss their plans and goals. After securing a placement, students then submit the Field Placement Student Application to Stephanie Dorton. Students may do up to ten units of externships over their 2nd and 3rd years of law school. Students are not eligible to do field placements or judicial externships during their first fall or spring semesters.
