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Clinical Education Program

Externships

General Information

Eligibility

Second- and third-year law students and master's degree candidates are eligible to participate in the Clinical Education Program if they have an overall GPA of 2.33 or higher, and receive approval from Professor Serafino, who is the Director of Clinical Education. Externships exist in the civil law, criminal law, and judicial sectors, as well as in the dispute resolution field, and are generally accompanied by seminars on campus.

Externships

The externship inquiry should begin with a meeting with Professor Serafino. Reference directories in the Clinical Education Program office also may be consulted for descriptions of approved externships. New externships, however, can be approved if they provide a significant opportunity not otherwise available, meet the clinical program's educational objectives, and afford adequate field and faculty supervision. Private law firms are not approved unless they are nonprofit public interest entities (cf. section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) and the student is unpaid.

Credit

Pursuant to ABA rules, every 60 hours of completed fieldwork - the equivalent of about half a day per week over a normal semester - earns one unit of course credit. Hours are not accrued during travel time, lunch, breaks, or holidays. Credit can be granted only in 60-hour increments; in other words, 119 hours of fieldwork earns only one unit of credit. New externships are restricted to two credit units; otherwise, ten units is the maximum, subject to the individual assignment's limitation and to the rule that externships of the same type may not exceed ten units in all. In addition, no more than 18 non-classroom units may be counted toward the J.D. degree. Masters students are required to complete three two-unit externships.

Reporting requirements

The reporting requirements consist of time sheets and journal pages. Journals and time sheets are due in the Clinical Education Program office the first of every month beginning October 1st in the fall and February 1st in the spring. They may be emailed (clinicallaw@pepperdine.edu), mailed, faxed ((310) 506.6596) or left in the folder outside of the Clinical Education Program office. Keep copies for your records. Journal pages must be typed.

Faculty advisors

Faculty advisors are required for law student externships in which five or more credit units are attempted, as well as second externships in the same field (see next paragraph). Faculty advisors regularly receive copies of your journal pages and are available for consultation on substantive and practical issues. Externs are responsible for contacting their advisors at least biweekly. Additional readings or research may be required to supplement the externship.

Seminar requirements

Contemporaneous enrollment is required in the Entertainment, Public Interest, Government, Judicial, and Criminal Seminar (one unit, pass-fail grading) when no previous externship in the relevant program has been completed. Subsequent externships in a particular program make re-enrollment in the related seminar unnecessary, but they do require a faculty advisor. Master's degree candidates are not required to enroll in a seminar.

Evaluations

Field supervisors complete midterm and final evaluations of their externs. The midterm evaluation is intended to follow discussion between the extern and supervisor about the externships direction and progress. The final evaluation is completed by the supervisor alone. At the same time, externs must type a confidential student evaluation form regarding the field assignment. That form is available on this web site under "Forms" or in hard copy from the Clinical Education Program office. Student evaluations must be typed.

Further information

For more information about the Clinical Education Program, please contact Professor Serafino or Rian Schoeffling in the clinical office, (310) 506-7449, or by e-mail at .