University of California Berkeley School of Law– Field Placement Program
The Field Placement Program is composed of 3 parts plus the UCDC Law Program:
- 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. Students are encouraged to take the Program for 4 units (16/hours a week), although there is a range up to 5 units. There are presently 75 Bay Area field placements on the Law School’s Approved Placement List. These field placements offer work in many different areas, including civil rights, consumer protection, criminal, employment, environmental, health, housing, poverty, regulatory, 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. Students are required to take an accompanying 2-unit seminar. Currently, the Law School is offering the 2-unit seminar in the following subject areas: General, Criminal and Environmental Field Placement Seminars.
- The second component is the Judicial Externship Program: Students work full or part-time as externs for local, federal or state judges. Students apply directly to the judges or judicial chambers for an extern position. All students getting academic credit, up to 10 units for a full-time externship, through the Judicial Externship Program are required to take a 1-unit Judicial Externship Seminar. Students receive 1 credit for 4 hours of work per week.
- The third component is the Away Field Placement Program: Students may be able to receive up to 10 units of academic credit for field placements that are outside the San Francisco/Bay Area. Students must receive academic program approval from Assistant Dean Hirshen and approval from Field Placement Director Sue Schechter. Students must attend an orientation and complete an application and checklist to participate in this program.
- UCDC Law Program: Beginning in Spring 2009, law students are eligible to participate in a semester externship program in Washington, D.C. in which students receive up to10 units for their field placements. Stephen B. Pershing, the full-time director, works with law students to identify appropriate placements. Students take a 3-unit seminar, “Law and Lawyering in Law in our Nation’s Capital.” The program is a collaborative effort of UC Berkeley and UCLA Law Schools.
Students are welcome to contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter@law.berkeley.edu or 510/643-7387 for more information.