Academics: Professional Training
Latreille

AN EXTERNSHIP IN ACTION
For two days each week during her final semester at the Law School, Bonnie Latreille is working in Washington and Baltimore at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation — a new federal agency seeking to redesign Medicare and Medicaid to better control costs, while also preserving recipients' quality of care.

Under the supervision of a licensed attorney, Latreille is reviewing contracts and researching key legal questions as part of a project to design a more efficient system for delivering Medicare assistance to patients with end-stage renal disease.

"The skills I'm learning as my agency drafts new policies will be applicable in almost any field, whether it be another government agency or a private-sector organization that is affected by these policies," Latreille said. "I think the programs CMMI is implementing are the wave of the future. If nothing else, it's simply fascinating to watch the whole thing in action."

Externships

UVA Law's externships program allows students to make connections between legal theory and practice during their second and third years of law school. Through the program, students can earn academic credit while working in the public sector under the supervision of a lawyer. The program includes three options:

UVA Law in DC

UVA Law in DC is a curricular offering requiring 40 hours per week of work at the host organization, which must be a government office or agency or a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. Students participate in a weekly seminar in Washington, complete directed reading and writing assignments, and write a research paper on an approved topic relevant to the host organization’s work, for a total of 12 credits (3 graded, 9 credit/ no credit).

Part-time Externships

Part-time externships are primarily local and require students to work 10 hours per week for the hos organization, as well as complete reading and short writing assignments. Students receive 3 academic credits (1 graded, 2 credit/no credit).

Full-time Externships

Full-time externships may be local, national or international, and require 40 hours per week of work at the host organization. Students must design a course of study and work under the supervision of a faculty member to complete directed readings and academic writing assignments, including a substantial research paper on an approved topic relevant to the host organization’s work, for a total of 12 credits (3 graded, 9 credit/no credit).

Why Extern?

Externships combine substantial, practical legal work for a governmental or nonprofit organization with academic inquiry through readings, a reflective journal, research papers and guided reflection papers, and, in the case of UVA Law in DC, a weekly seminar.  Externs learn to work under close supervision, receive feedback from the supervisor at the host organization and a Law School faculty member, and engage in self-assessment.   

The externship program connects traditional academic learning and abstract legal thinking with the practice of law, and assists students in adjusting to their roles as professionals, becoming better problem-solvers, and developing interpersonal and professional skills. The program is meant to help students master self-directed learning, define and pursue learning goals, and acquire the skill of learning from direct observation of and experience in the practice of law.

Eligibility

First-year students and LL.M. students are not eligible for externships. Transfer students are not eligible for full-time externships.

Ordinarily a student may participate in a full-time externship only in his or her fourth or fifth semester of law school, though exceptions may be granted under exceptional circumstances. 

No student may do more than one full-time externship, and no student may do more than two part-time externships, during his or her law school career. No student may do more than one externship per semester. A student may petition the Curriculum Committee to pursue a full-time externship after being enrolled in no more than one part-time externship, or to pursue a single part-time externship after being enrolled in a full-time externship, based upon exceptional circumstances. 

Applications

Applications should be submitted to Director of Externships Sprightley Ryan at UVALawExternships@virginia.edu. 

Part-Time Externship Deadline
Nov. 15 for the following spring semester
April 15 for the following fall semester

Full-Time Externship Deadline
Oct. 15 for the following spring semester
March 15 for the following fall semester

Students should prepare for applying two months in advance in order to find placement with a host organization and/or line up a research topic and reading list. Full-time externships, other than UVA Law in DC externships, also require a faculty supervisor.

Details about the program are in the Externship Handbook.

Contact Information

Sprightley Ryan, Director of Externships
UVALawExternships@virginia.edu