Law Offices: In-House Clinics
Orientation for new clinic students will be held on Wednesday,
January 21, 2009 at 3:00pm in Room
C20. Attendance at this meeting is mandatory
for beginning students in all of the In-House
Law Offices programs. Please bring your class schedule with
you as you will be choosing your office duty time slot.
Legal Externship Program
What is the Legal Externship Program?
LEP is a 4-credit hour non-graded program which enables
you to extern with a supervising attorney in a wide variety
of legal areas – private or public, civil or criminal. Externships
are available for the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters.
Some public sector externships enable you to obtain a 711
license and appear in court.
Students interested in civil law may extern in a wide
variety of places. For example, some have externed at the
City of Chicago Corporation Counsel’s Office, Office of
the Illinois Attorney General, Illinois Commerce Commission,
Immigration Court of the U.S. Department of Justice, Internal
Revenue Service, and Environmental Protection Agency, as
well as not-for-profit corporations like Rush University
Medical Center.
Information about Spring 2009 Legal Externships and an
accompanying application form are available in the Law Offices
reception area (Room 600), in the Career Services Office,
and in front of the Spakateria.
Students interested in criminal law have externed at the
US Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Federal Defender,
and at the offices of the State’s Attorney and Public Defender
in Cook County as well as the surrounding counties.
Why Extern?
To become a good lawyer and to supplement what you learn
in the classroom, you need practical experience in real-world
legal work. Most students aren’t fortunate enough to receive
a paid clerking position — or even a volunteer opportunity
— that teaches what they want to learn. LEP presents a unique
and important opportunity to gain exposure to an area of
the law in which you are interested and helps you significantly
broaden your future employment opportunities.
If you would like more information about externships,
please e-mail Professor Vivien Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
to set up an appointment. There are lots of different types
of opportunities in which you might be interested.
Spring 2009 Semester: Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese
of Chicago Division of Legal and Compliance Services
This externship will provide practical experience working
closely with attorneys in an in-house legal department for
a not-for-profit social service organization. Catholic Charities
offers a broad range of services from locations throughout
Cook and Lake Counties. Law student externs will gain experience
in legal research and writing, court filings and legal intake.
Externs will work with in-house counsel on a variety of
corporate law, litigation, employment and real estate issues.
The Catholic Charities office is located at 721 N. LaSalle
Street, Chicago, and is easily accessible via public transportation.
If you are interested in this externship opportunity, please
submit a copy of your resume and a cover letter indicating
the hours you are available to work during the Spring semester
to:
Karen O'Mara
komara@catholiccharities.net
If you are accepted by Catholic Charities, please notify
Prof. Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu)
to receive credit for this externship.
Spring 2009 Semester: Resurrection Health Care
Resurrection Health Care is seeking motivated volunteer
Legal Externs to work at least two days a week in a busy
and dynamic legal and regulatory environment during the
Spring 2009 terms. 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 other health care facilities
and providers.
Resurrection Health Care’s externship opportunity is in
the Office of Legal Affairs and open to J.D. students who
will:
• Work closely with the system General Counsel and other
attorneys in the Office of Legal Affairs;
• Engage in a broad range of legal activities, including
research and legal analysis, writing, preparation of legal
documents and contract review;
• Gain exposure to numerous types of legal matters, including
regulatory, contracts, medical staff, estate and gifts,
corporate transactional, non-profit, employment and labor,
governmental relations, real estate, corporate compliance,
HIPAA and litigation that arises in a health care setting;
• Have the opportunity to attend and observe significant
meetings, depositions, mediations, court hearings, and other
events as may be available during the term. Parking and
lunch are free for volunteer externs.
To apply for an externship:
Please submit your resume and a cover letter that specifies
(a) the semester for which you are applying, and (b) which
days of the week you would work at RHC, if known. Students
will be asked to come to RHC for an interview and to submit
a writing sample. 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.
Location and Transportation:
The Office of Legal Affairs is located at:
Resurrection Health Care
7435 W. Talcott Avenue, #345, Chicago, IL 60631
(Near Harlem Avenue and the Kennedy Expressway)
If you are accepted, to receive credit and enroll in Legal
Externship, please contact Prof. Gross (vgross@kentlaw.edu).
Spring 2009 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/jobs/index.html.
Inquiries may also be directed to Adelaida Otero, Professional
Development and Attorney Recruitment, Office of the Attorney
General, 312 814-5197 or email her at aotero@atg.state.il.us.
If you are interested in externing at the Illinois Attorney
General’s Office during the Spring 2009 semester, you must
submit your application as soon as possible. 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.
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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