1. Your Guide to the Judicial and Public Interest Externship Programs
Externships A to Z
Your Guide to the Judicial and Public Interest
Externship Programs

2. Externship Opportunities
Judicial Externships (placements with judges)
Government/Public Interest Externships (placements with government entities and non-profit organizations)
Students may apply a total of 8 externship credits towards graduation. Students may do more than one externship in each program, if they choose.
(Students may not receive credit for paid work, including work for which they receive PILF funding.)

3. Judicial Externships - Basics
Perform unpaid work for a judge and his or her staff in chambers
Participating judges include: United States Circuit, District, Bankruptcy, and Magistrate Judges; Ohio Supreme Court Justices; an Ohio Court of Appeals Judge, and Franklin County Common Pleas, Domestic Relations, Juvenile, and Probate Court Judges
We secure the placement

4. Judicial Externships - Basics
Offered summer, fall, and spring semesters
Summer – May/June
2 credits
Students work 8 hours per week for 8 weeks
Fall – August to December
3 Credits
Students work 8 hours per week for 14 weeks
Spring – January to April
Limited only by the number of available placements

5. Judicial Externships - Academic Component
Graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory
Must attend mandatory one-hour class once per month (ABA requirement)
Submit weekly journal entries discussing your experiences as an extern
Write a 5 page reflective essay
Submit a sample of work for the Court during your externship

6. Public Interest and Governmental Externships - Basics
Perform unpaid work for a governmental entity or non-profit organization that is approved as an externship placement by the law school.
The law school has secured a number of placements with state and federal governmental agencies and Ohio-based non-profit organizations.
Students may also find their own placements, provided space in the program is available and the placement obtains approval from the law school.
Students may work at out-of-state placements.

7. Government and Public Interest placements with whom we have relationships
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
CASA of Franklin County
City of Columbus Human Resources Department
Columbus Bar Association Ethics Department
Columbus Legal Aid
Columbus State University Legal Counsel
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office
Cuyahoga County Public Defender
Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office
Disability Rights Ohio
Economic and Community Development Institute
Environmental Law and Policy Center
Equality Ohio Education Fund
Fairfield County Prosecutor’s Office
Federal Public Defender’s Office-Habeas
Federal Public Defender’s Office-Trial
Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office-felony
Franklin County Public Defender
Franklin County Public Defender-juvenile
Jobs and Family Services

8. Industrial Commission
Legal Aid Society of Columbus
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Ohio Attorney General
Ohio Attorney General-Antitrust Division
Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
Ohio Department of Agriculture
Ohio Environmental Council
Ohio Legal Assistance Fund (OLAF)
Ohio Public Defender
Ohio State University Office of Compliance
Ohio Supreme Court-Dispute Resolution, Master Commissioners
Student Legal Services at OSU

9. Government/Public Interest Externships - Basics
Offered summer, fall, and winter semesters
Fall or Spring
3 Credits
Students must work approximately 10 hours per week in the placement.
Summer
2 credits or 4 credits
Students must work 50 hours per credit at the placement.
The hours may be worked over the entire summer or during half of the summer.

10. Government /Public Interest Externships – Academic Component
Graded “satisfactory”/ “unsatisfactory”
Must attend a mandatory orientation session and mandatory one-hour classes once per month
Submit weekly journal entries
Write a 5 page reflective essay
Submit a sample of work during your externship

11. The Application Process
Application materials may be found at
Complete an application and submit your resume and a 5-page writing sample with your application
Be as specific as you want to be about preferred placements in the application
If you plan to find your own placement, you must ensure that your placement submits a placement application.
Please note: There is no guarantee that your placement will be approved.
Deadline: Tuesday, November 8, for preference assignments
Later applications will be considered after timely/complete applications have been considered.

12. Matching Students to Placements
Students in both programs will be matched to placements by Student Services staff (except for students who have found their own placements).
When matching students to placements, staff will consider student preferences, a students’ demonstrated interest in a relevant area of law, and the preferences of the placement.
Students’ class rank and GPA will be neither irrelevant nor controlling.

13. Questions?