LEGAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM SUMMER AND FALL
2007
Do you want to develop your legal skills, get practical
legal experience, see what it is like to work in a corporation,
firm or government agency and -- at the same time -- make
yourself more marketable to prospective employers? If so,
then consider doing a for-credit externship and signing
up for Chicago-Kent’s Legal Externship Program (LEP).
LEP is 4-credit hours, non-graded, and open predominantly
to students in their last three semesters of law school.
Externs interested in civil law may select to work in
such diverse legal areas as immigration, tax, commodities,
securities, health care, medical malpractice, or general
corporate law. Externs in criminal law may choose to work
with the States Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office,
or the U.S. Attorney's Office. Some externships offer the
opportunity to obtain a 711 license and appear in court.
More information about Legal Externships and an accompanying
application form will be available in the Law Offices reception
area, Room 600, and in the Career Services Office in mid-March.
If you want to know more about available externship opportunities,
please e-mail Professor Vivien Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
to set up an appointment.
Fall 2007 Externship: Litigation Technology
Adjunct Professor Mike Rogers, in his capacity as President of Ronin Consulting, Ltd. is interested in interviewing qualified Kent students for a Fall 2007 externship. Students will learn how to organize and present civil and criminal cases with computers and will work on real cases that are set for trial or on their way to a trial. In appropriate circumstances students will participate in mock trials against real trial lawyers, participate in jury focus groups, create story boards for trial presentations, create demonstrative trial presentations and set up and run trial technology during trials.
The externs will work on cases that range from medical malpractice or complex commercial litigation to first degree murder, and will work extensively with video capture software, Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat Professional, CaseMap, TimeMap, SmartDraw, PowerPoint and Sanction.
Students must have completed Evidence, Trial Ad 1 and
Litigation Technology. If accepted, the extern would enroll
in the 4-credit hours Legal Externship Program.
Applications for this externship must be submitted directly
to Professor Vivien Gross, Room 617, by Friday, April
6, 2007. Interviews will occur thereafter. Students
should have a portfolio of demonstrative presentations ready
to display at the time of the interview.
Fall 2007 Semester: Intellectual Property (IP) Legal
Externship Opportunity 3Ls only; IP Certificate Program
with minimum 3.27 Cumulative G.P.A.
Chicago-Kent’s IP Legal Externship Program is a 4-credit hour, non-graded program which enables a 3L student enrolled in Kent’s Intellectual Property Certificate Program to receive academic credit, not pay, for working 16 hours a week in an approved legal placement under the supervision of a designated attorney. The program is unique in that it enables students to gain practical experience and develop legal skills while making themselves more marketable to prospective employers.
A well-known national firm will select a qualified 3L
Kent IP Certificate student for a Fall externship their
IP division. If you are interested, please submit your resume
and transcript to Prof. Gross by Thursday, March 29th,
at noon. Professor Gross will then forward the information
to the participating firm to make its selection.
For more information about intellectual property externship
opportunities generally, please contact Professor Vivien
Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu).
Summer 2007 Semester: In-House Corporate Legal Externship
The General Counsel of a small independent retail electric
supplier serving non-residential businesses throughout Illinois,
with headquarters in downtown Chicago, is willing to supervise
an extern for summer semester. The General Counsel oversees
all legal matters, running the gamut from drafting contracts,
reviewing contracts, regulatory filings with city, county,
state and federal agencies, litigation before the Illinois
Commerce Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
drafting and handling lawsuits against customers, negotiating
contracts, and pretty much everything else that comes up.
As a member of senior management, the General Counsel is
also involved in almost every aspect of business decisions
as well.
If the extern has a particular interest in energy law,
he/she would be able to gain invaluable experience. If he/she
is interested in learning how to be a “business” lawyer,
this would also be a perfect fit. If accepted, the extern
must enroll in the 4-credit hour Legal Externship Program.
Interested students should submit a resume and transcript
by Friday, March 23, 2007, to:
Mr. Jon Casadont
General Counsel, BlueStar Energy
Suite 700 West
363 W. Erie St.
Chicago, IL 60610
Summer 2007 Semester: Resurrection Health Care
Resurrection Health Care is seeking for-credit legal externs.
Resurrection Health Care (RHC) is the parent corporation
for a comprehensive health care system that provides services
throughout the Chicagoland area through 8 hospitals, a long-term
acute care hospital, 7 skilled nursing and rehabilitation
centers, 4 retirement communities, and numerous community
clinics and health care providers.
Externs can choose to work in either of these areas:
Office of Legal Affairs
Resurrection Health Care
7435 W. Talcott Avenue, #345
Chicago, IL 60631
Externs will work closely with the system General Counsel
and other attorneys and will engage in a broad range of
legal activities, including research and legal analysis,
writing, preparation of legal documents and contract review.
Office of Claims and Insurance
Resurrection Health Care
Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital
1127 N. Oakley Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
Externs will work closely with systems Claims and Insurance
directors, communicate with outside counsel as needed, and
will participate in case management, discovery, and various
phases of pre-litigation work.
If you are interested, please submit your resume and a
cover letter that specifies (a) the semester for which you
are applying, (b) for which RHC department you are applying,
and (c) which days of the week you would work at RHC, if
known. Please send your materials to: Julie Roknich, Assistant
General Counsel, via email at julie.roknich@reshealthcare.org,
or at 7435 W. Talcott Ave., #345, Chicago, Il 60631.
Summer 2007 Semester: Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated
Mothers (CLAIM)
CLAIM is a nonprofit agency that represents and advises
incarcerated or formerly incarcerated mothers at hearings
on child custody, guardianship, and mother-child visitation.
With the consent of the mothers, the agency also represents
guardians of children in the Probate Division. The attorneys
at CLAIM meet with incarcerated women at Cook County Department
of Corrections and, after a thorough intake interview with
each client, decide whether to represent the client, negotiate
or draft legal documents for the client, or simply provide
legal advice.
Extern responsibilities include:
- Meeting with clients at the Cook County Department
of Corrections. Students licensed under Illinois Supreme
Court Rule 711 can meet with clients on their own after
training by CLAIM staff attorneys. Students who are not
licensed will accompany the staff attorney to the Cook
County Corrections Center and do intake interviews.
- Researching client concerns, giving legal advice to
clients after consulting with supervising attorney, making
referrals to appropriate social service agencies and,
if the case does not fit CLAIM guidelines, making referrals
to other legal aid providers.
- Contacting foster care caseworkers or other parties
to obtain information or to negotiate for the client.
- Meeting with formerly incarcerated clients and assisting
in legal services in Child Protection, Probate and Domestic
Relations Divisions.
711 licensed students may also represent clients in Probate
and Domestic Relations Divisions under the supervision of
the staff attorney.
If interested in externing at CLAIM, please send your
resume and cover letter to Molly Sharma (mollysharma@aol.com).
In addition, to receive law school credit for Kent’s Summer
Externship Program, please contact Prof. Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
to set up a meeting.
JUDICIAL EXTERNSHIPS:
FALL 2007 SEMESTERS
Judicial Externship is a 4-credit hour Pass/Low Pass/Fail
program open to students who have completed at least their
first full year of law school and want to do legal research
and writing for a federal appellate, district or magistrate
judge or a designated Illinois appellate or circuit court
judge.
Judicial Externship enables a student to become involved
in particular legal problems through research and writing,
and to contribute to the resolution of those problems by
writing memoranda and drafting opinions. Depending upon
the judge, an extern may have the opportunity to observe
the day-to-day routine of a judge and discuss with the judge
or the judge's law clerk those legal problems which attorneys
face in their profession, as well as the specific problems
confronted in the courtroom.
Application Process
Applications for the Fall Judicial Externships are available
both in the Law Offices reception area (Room 600), and in
the Career Services Office.
Completed applications for Fall Externships should be
submitted to Ms. Carole Ross, Secretary to Professor Gross,
Room 612 of Law Offices, by Thursday, March 15th, at
5:00 p.m.
Public Interest Positions - Paid Opportunities
There are openings for current Chicago-Kent students who
are eligible for work study. The Advice
Desk at the Daley Center is now hiring students through
a work study program to work in paralegal/administrative
positions. The candidates will have an opportunity to work
in a fast-paced, public interest environment while helping
to provide administrative and paralegal help to make the
Desk more efficient and therefore allow more clients to
receive pro bono legal assistance. Some of the duties might
include: greeting and identifying eligible clients, filling
out or updating forms, database entry and administrative
support, assisting elderly and disabled clients in retrieving
their court files or finding a courtroom, etc.
The Advice Desk provides interviewing, counseling, and
limited representation to indigent defendants who seek assistance
at the Circuit Court of Cook County. Approximately sixty
percent of the cases involve eviction defense and forty
percent involve tort, contract, personal injury and collection
matters.
This position pays $10 an hour. You must be eligible
for work study and your eligibility will be verified upon
receipt of your letter of interest. Past completion of the
Advice Desk class is a plus, but not required. If you do
have previous Advice Desk experience, you will get paid
at a rate of $12 per hour. Please submit a letter
of interest to Tracy Kish (tkish@kentlaw.edu)
in the Law Offices. When we receive your letter, we will
check to see if you are work study eligible.
For a complete description of all clinical programs, please
visit the Law Offices' Home Page at http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/clinic.
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