Would you like to work with a federal judge this summer? How about a government agency like the SEC, USPTO or the EPA? Would you like to earn credit while you work? On Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (HOL 180), learn about Summer 2013 externship opportunities and early deadlines.

Spring Supreme Court Externships

Two positions are now available at the Florida Supreme Court for the Spring 2012 semester. They are each a five-credit externship, running Jan. 14 – April 26, 2013, and require 20 hours per week. You must have a clearance letter from The Florida Bar to participate. For more information or to apply, contact Tim McLendon in CGR in 230 Bruton-Geer, by email at mclendon@law.ufl.edu or by phone at 273-0835.

Applications open for 2013 Evan Yegelwel Summer Fellowship

The Evan Yegelwel Summer Fellowship award permits one UF Law student to participate in a paid Summer Fellowship Program at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Florida Regional Office in Boca Raton. The Yegelwel Summer Fellowship award is $4,000. The ADL is a premier national civil rights organization that fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry in the U.S. and abroad, combats international terrorism, probes the roots of hatred, comes to the aid of victims of bigotry, develops educational programs, and serves as a public resource for government, media, law enforcement, all toward the goal of countering and reducing hatred. A generous gift from Evan Yegelwel (JD 80) has made this fellowship possible. Yegelwel is a partner in the Jacksonville law firm of Terrell Hogan Ellis Yegelwel, P.A. Click here for more fellowship and application information.

Spring Semester Foreign Enrichment Course and Spring Break Field Course will feature International Development Law and Policy

The UF Levin College of Law Environmental and Land Use Law Program will offer conservation and development practice related courses for spring semester. Students are eligible to enroll in either or both:

• Contemporary International Development: Law, Policy and Practice (1 credit) (spring semester on campus)
• Sustainable Development Field Course: Law Policy and Practice (2 credits) (spring break in Belize)

Contemporary International Development: Law, Policy and Practice (1 credit) addresses the international and comparative law framework within which international development is carried out. The course will explore models of international development and development assistance as these have evolved since the Post-WWII Breton Woods accords that created the World Bank Group and regional progeny. Topics that will be addressed include, but are not limited to, free and fair trade, environmental security, human rights and global health. The course will be coordinated by UF Law faculty and taught by law and policy practitioners from Costa Rica, Argentina and Jamaica. Course instructors include Otton Solis, a Costa Rican development economist, former minister of the economy and presidential candidate; Oscar Avalles, an Argentine attorney and World Bank country director for Guatemala; and Danielle Andrade, a Jamaican environmental and human rights attorney with the Jamaica Environment Trust. The one-credit course will meet for one hour on Tuesday and Wednesday at 9 a.m. and conclude on Feb. 27 before spring break.

SPRING BREAK FIELD COURSE IN BELIZE

Sustainable Development Field Course: Law Policy and Practice (2 credits) will provide students with an on-site, interdisciplinary understanding of the law and policy challenges associated with “sustainable development” in a developing country. Students will travel to and within Belize over spring break and delve into international and domestic law issues concerning protected areas, indigenous land rights, intellectual property in biological diversity, water, mining and energy development, fisheries and coral reef conservation – all within the context of national pressures for human development. In addition to domestic Belizean law and international development policy, students will be exposed to the unique legal framework of the commonwealth Caribbean. The course will include skills exercises based around ongoing projects of the UF Law Conservation Clinic. The course includes a Program fee that will cover in-country expenses and students must make their own international travel arrangements. Enrollment is capped at 12 students. Preference in given to students enrolled in the college of law’s Environmental and Land Use Law Program, but others may apply on a space-available basis.

Students interested in either course can contact Professors Tom Ankersen (ankersen@law.ufl.edu) Mary Jane Angelo (angelo@law.ufl.edu) or Research Assistant and Joint J.D./M.D.P candidate Gentry Mander (Gentry.Mander@gmail.com )

Mitchell Moore (3L), left, Tamar Soroker (3L) and Daniel Sollaccio (3L) discuss works as the complete their externship at Shands General Counsel’s Office. (Photo by Marcela Suter)

Law students cannot practice law before being admitted to the bar, but they can help other lawyers practice. UF Law offers a lot of help for students who want to do just that through externship and internships.

“The idea is to get some experience on a student’s resume,” said Pascale Bishop, assistant dean for career development. “In a market like this, when things are difficult, experience can make all the difference in terms of who an employer ends up hiring post graduate.”

Through these programs, students are able to gain real-world experience in a variety of legal settings. They also allow students to obtain exposure in a specific field and develop skills that are taught in the classroom.

Internships and externships provide an environment in which a classroom cannot simulate. Rather than discussing a the theory of law, students are given the opportunity to get their hands dirty.

“It’s great to sit in a criminal law class and debate but practicing criminal law is very different. It is much more procedural,” Bishop said.

These programs allow students to learn firsthand the value of being prepared and demonstrating a mastery of law.

The main difference between internships and externships is the academic character of an externship. Engaging in an externship also means engaging in a UF Law course.

“An externship carries with it a very important academic component,” said Leslie Knight, director of externship programs and professor of law.

Each student that completes an externship is assigned a faculty member who has expertise in the field in which the student is working. This faculty member supervises the student through regular contact and provides the student with guidance.

UF has a robust externship program with nearly 300 externs a year. These externs practice in various areas including environmental law, criminal law, child advocacy, public interest, bankruptcy law and corporate law.

Kendall Obreza, 3L, completed her externship at the State Attorney’s Office in Gainesville.

Obreza performed tasks at different stages in a case such as research, attending depositions and witness interviews, writing motions and assisting at trials.

“I had the opportunity to assist one of the attorneys at the trial of an armed carjacker… and took notes on each witness’ testimony,” Obreza said. “The attorney used my notes to formulate her closing argument.”

The jury reached a guilty verdict and the defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

“It is a great opportunity for the students to think more deeply about issues concerning ethics and professionalism, guided by the faculty in those thought processes,” Knight said.

Obreza’s faculty advisor, master legal skills professor George Dekle, required her to write a journal, in which he provided feedback.

“Writing about the tasks I completed each day gave me time to reflect on those tasks individually,” Obreza said. “It was interesting and enlightening to hear his thoughts on my journal entries, given that they were those of a highly experienced and successful prosecutor.”

Externships are limited to second- and third-year law students and are unpaid. In fact, students pay tuition. Internships can be completed by students at any level, and may be paid.

“Because (internships) do not have that academic structure around it, they are a lot more malleable,” Bishop said.

In association with the employer, students can choose their start and end dates and the number of hours they work.

“We want everyone to come away with some kind of legal experience their first summer and because internships are so flexible they can be worked around a class schedule or can be worked around a paying job,” Bishop said.

That’s what 2L Kaitlin Cupp did.

“I got to pick my start and ends dates and they let me take 6 weeks off in the middle to do the UF Law France abroad program,” Cupp said.

Cupp earned a weekly salary while gaining more practical legal experience after her first year by interning at Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart, & Shipley, P.A., a personal injury firm in West Palm Beach.

She obtained experience and built personal relationships. Her duties included drafting complaints and other pleadings, completing legal research, sitting in on depositions, mediations, hearings, and meeting with clients.

“It was a great firsthand look at how a medium-sized firm functions,” Cupp said.

Cupp attributes her broader understanding of the legal system to her internship. She now has a greater knowledge of the time, research and networking that goes into being a plaintiff’s attorney.

“I learned that networking and building personal relationships is one of the most important parts of being an attorney, especially a plaintiff’s attorney, Cupp said. “Interacting with clients and other attorneys is the most important part of the job.”

For externship information, contact Leslie Knight at knightl@law.ufl.edu. For internship information, contact Pascale Bishop at careers@law.ufl.edu or 352-273-0860. To find more information on international and national internships visit pslawnet.org. This searchable database allows students to find internship positions by organization or by opportunity.

- Marcela Suter
Student writer