LEGAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM 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 are now available in the Law Offices reception
area, Room 600, and in the Career Services Office.
If you want to know more about available externship opportunities,
please e-mail Professor Vivien Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
to set up an appointment.
For Credit Externship Opportunities
Fall 2007 Semester: Illinois Attorney General’s Office
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office provides excellent opportunities for law students to improve their skills and knowledge in a wide range of subject areas, including consumer protection, government representation, civil rights, environmental enforcement, antitrust, complex civil litigation, civil and criminal appeals, and criminal law enforcement.
Working closely with attorneys in the Chicago office, externs investigate facts, review documents, research legal issues, and draft legal memoranda, correspondence, and pleadings. Students who qualify for a 711 licensed may appear in court under the supervision of an Assistant Attorney General.
For further information, and to download an application
form, please visit the Illinois Attorney General’s website
at: http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/about/index.html.
Inquiries may also be directed to Ruta Stropus at 312/814-5328,
rstropus@atg.state.il.us.
If you are interested in externing at the Illinois Attorney
General’s Office during the Fall 2007 semester, you must
submit your application before August 1st. In addition,
to receive law school credit for Kent’s Fall Externship
Program, please contact Prof. Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
to set up a meeting.
Fall 2007 Semester: City of Chicago, Department of Consumer
Services
The Department of Consumer Services regulates consumer-oriented
businesses, inspects retail establishments, investigates
consumer fraud complaints and enforces the Chicago municipal
code. All violations are prosecuted by department attorneys.
Externs could be involved in helping with trials. They would
also be exposed to consumer law and government work environment.
Because the Department prosecutes at the administrative
level, a student need not have a 711 license to assist attorneys
at trial.
Interested students should submit a cover letter, resume
and transcript to:
Ms. Rosemary Krimbel
General Counsel
Deputy Commissioner
Department of Consumer Services
Suite #208
50 W. Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60602
rkrimbel@cityofchicago.org
In addition, to receive law school credit for Kent’s Fall
Legal Externship Program, please contact Prof. Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
to set up a meeting.
Fall 2007 Externship: Office of the State’s Attorney,
DuPage County
Externship available with the Prosecutor’s Office for
DuPage County. Students who are eligible for a 711 license
will also have the opportunity to prepare and participate
in trials. If you are interested, please apply immediately.
Professor Gross (Room 617) has the requisite application
form.
Fall 2007 Externship: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Division of Enforcement
(Students should be 3Ls by Fall Semester)
The Chicago office of the Division of Enforcement is seeking
externs who will receive law school credit.
The Division of Enforcement investigates and prosecutes
alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC
regulations. Violations may involve commodity futures or
option trading on domestic commodity exchanges, or the improper
marketing of commodity investments. The Division may, at
the direction of the Commission, file complaints before
the agency’s administrative law judges or in the U.S. District
Courts. Alleged criminal violations of the Commodity Exchange
Act or violations of other Federal laws which involve commodity
futures trading may be referred to the Justice Department
for prosecution. The Division also provides expert help
and technical assistance with case development and trials
to U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, other Federal and state regulators,
and international authorities.
Primary duties include conducting legal research, writing
memoranda, aiding in the preparation of court pleadings
and papers in the U.S. District Courts across the nation
as well as in an administrative forum; aiding attorneys
and investigators who are preparing to take investigative
testimony and depositions, working with exhibits, Freedom
of Information Act responses; aiding with the discovery
process and interacting with and/or interviewing customers
or investors with complaints.
To apply, interested students should e-mail a cover letter,
resume and writing sample to:
Ms. Ava Gould
Trial Team Leader
Commodities Futures Trading Commission
525 W. Monroe Street, Suite 1100
Chicago, IL 60661
agould@cftc.gov
and notify Prof. Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
if and when they are selected as externs.
Fall 2007 Externship: Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-Chicago)
Extern will work closely with the Civil Rights Coordinator
and staff attorney on resolving cases of discrimination
reported to CAIR-Chicago. Essential duties and responsibilities
include the following:
- assist in documenting incidents of religious discrimination
by counseling and interviewing complainants regarding
their incidents
- research laws and policies on employment, student conduct,
and immigration procedures, as well as criminal offenses
and other areas as seen fit
- legal writing: drafting arguments, memos and complaints
- participate in representing complainants in dispute
resolution, EEOC mediation, filing complaints and law
suits
- assist in maintaining the Civil Rights Online Center
- updating databases containing information about abuses
reported to CAIR-Chicago
The Civil Rights Department handles cases that range from
prejudiced gestures to full blown discrimination. Our clients
are Muslims as well as non-Muslims who have had Islam imputed
upon them. Externs may work on any of the following projects:
- Citizenship Delay project - seeks to address the lengthy
delays Muslims are facing in applying for citizenship;
- Police Misconduct project - addresses incidents where
police officers have discriminated or used excessive force
against Muslims;
- Prison project - secures the rights of Muslim inmates
to practice their religion freely, and ensures that inmates
are treated humanely;
- Airport Profiling project - helps Muslims who have
been discriminated against at airports; and
- Employment Discrimination project - helps Muslims discriminated
against based on religion at the workplace. http://www.cairchicago.org
Interested students should submit a resume and transcript
to:
Dina M. Rehab, Outreach Coordinator
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago)
28 East Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1410
Chicago, IL 60604
E-mail: outreach@cairchicago.org
In addition, to receive law school credit for Kent’s Fall
Externship Program, please contact Prof. Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
to set up a meeting.
Fall 2007 Externship: Worker’s Compensation Litigation
Unit, Civil Division, Cook County State’s Attorney's Office
Exciting opportunity with the Worker’s Compensation Litigation
Unit of the Cook County State’s Attorney's Office, Civil
Division. The extern will assist in those matters and cases
leading to and currently in litigation. Students who are
eligible for a 711 license will also have the opportunity
for in-court experience.
If you are interested, please contact:
Mr. Curtis A. James
Assistant State’s Attorney
312/603-5691
Fall 2007 Externship: 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.
Fall 2007 Externship: City of Chicago Law Department’s
Building and Land Use Litigation Division
Outstanding externship for students interested in municipal
law, real estate or real-world litigation experience.
The division handles fire, building, health and zoning
code violations and prosecutes cases both in Circuit Court
and at the City of Chicago’s Department of Administrative
Hearings.
Externs have pre-tried building code enforcement cases
and handled administrative hearing cases. This is a great
opportunity to improve your litigation, negotiation and
writing skills.
To apply, please forward your resume to Patti Gregory-Change
via email at pgregory@cityofchicago.org.
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. Interviews will occur
thereafter. Students should have a portfolio of demonstrative
presentations ready to display at the time of the interview.
Chicago-Kent Law Offices was established
in 1976. The program is a fee-generating teaching law
firm that provides clinical practice experiences under
the close supervision of teaching attorneys. The program
delivers outstanding legal services to its clients and
provides high-quality clinical education to more than
150 students each semester. Practice areas include employment
discrimination and civil rights, general practice, criminal
defense, health law, family law, small business program,
alternative dispute resolution, tax law, and an advice
desk program at the Daley Center.
For a complete description of all clinical programs, please
visit the Law Offices' Home Page at http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/clinic.
|