LAW OFFICES IN-HOUSE CLINICS, SPRING 2015
The Law Offices gives students the opportunity to learn
how to practice law under the close supervision of a clinical
faculty attorney - an experience that is available only
in the law school’s in-house clinical programs.
Applications for the Spring 2015 semester of Law Offices
are now available. and are on the third floor by the elevators,
in the Law Offices, Suite 600 and online. The deadline will
be announced at a later date but applications are usually
due about a week or so before registration begins.
ACCESS2PRACTICE
SPRING 2015
LEGAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Why Extern?
Chicago-Kent has long recognized that classes and textbooks
alone are not sufficient to complete the education of our
students and their transformation into lawyers. Students
also need practical experience in the real world to acquire
legal skills not accessible in the traditional classroom
and to gain insight into the strategic and ethical dimensions
of the legal profession.
Some students gain experience when they are hired as part-time
clerks. But most students don't have access to paid or volunteer
positions in a legal setting of their choice and/or one
that teaches them the skills they want to acquire.
LEP presents a unique and important opportunity to gain
exposure to an area of law you are interested in and helps
you significantly broaden your practical employment opportunities.
What is LEP?
Access2Practice (A2P) Legal Externship is a 4-credit-hour
Pass/Fail program which enables Kent 2Ls and 3Ls to gain
supervision/mentoring in a wide variety of legal areas –
both civil and criminal.
LEP externships are offered in the Fall and Spring semesters
and in the Summer session and consist of two separate components:
fieldwork and class.
Externs must work 16 hours a week during the Fall/Spring
semester for a minimum total of 224 hours.
In addition, externs attend a series of classes that meet
on designated Wednesdays from 4:00 p.m. - 5:50 p.m. Classes
focus on different legal areas and the often complex realities
at the core of law practice.
Where Can Students Extern?
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 U.S. and Illimois Environmental Protection
Agencies.
Students interested in criminal law have externed at the
U.S. 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.
In addition, in Fall and Spring semesters, there are a
small number of private law firms and in-house corporate
legal departments which have been formally screened and
approved for LEP placements.
How to Apply:
The Information and Application packets for the Spring 2015
LEP are available on line at www.kentlaw.edu/externships,
or in hard copy on the table by the third-floor elevators,
in the Career Services Office, and in Room 600 Law Offices
reception area.
If you would like more information, please check the Externship
web page.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) LEGAL EXTERNSHIP
FOR CREDIT ONLY: SPRING 2015 LEGAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM
(4 CREDITS)
Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, will select a Kent student for a for-credit
Spring 2015 Legal Externship in their IP division. The IP
extern essentially becomes a member of the firm's IP group
for a semester. He/she typically does legal research and
writing (not usually formal memos) that would otherwise
be "billable" work, except does not bill for their
time. The work can be in any area of IP, copyright, trademark,
patent, trade secret, advertising, privacy, Internet, or
related issues and is not limited to people with technical
backgrounds. Take advantage of this exciting and thrilling
opportunity!
To Apply:
2L and 3L applicants must have a minimum G.P.A. of 3.2.
Please submit your resume and unofficial transcript to
Prof. Gross by Thursday, October 30, 2014, at 5:00 p.m.
Do not apply directly to the law firm.
If you have any questions, contact Prof. Gross (vgross@kentlaw.iit.edu).
SPRING 2015 SEMESTER LAW FIRM ASSOCIATE
PROGRAM
Chicago-Kent's Semester Law Firm Associate Program (SLFAP)
is a for-credit non-graded program open to 2Ls and 3Ls with
a minimum 3.2 GPA. Semester Associate externs work for academic
credit (without pay) as "Associates" for participating
firms.
Semester Associate externs receive 6 credits and devote
24 hours a week during the semester to the fieldwork component.
Students gain experience and perspective from work on different
aspects of litigation and transactions, and firms strive,
to the extent possible, to expose students to a range of
legal problems demanding different skill sets or competencies.
This is a terrific opportunity to learn about life in a
law firm as well as more about your own strengths, and to
make an impression on the lawyers with whom you come into
contact, even though there is no expectation of future employment.
In conjunction with the fieldwork, there is an accompanying
classroom component, scheduled on designated Thursdays from
4:00-5:00 p.m.
If you are interested in applying for a Spring 2015 externship
with one of the law firms listed below, email a current
resume and unofficial transcript to Professor Gross (vgross@kentlaw.iit.edu)
no later than noon on Monday, November 3, 2014. Please
indicate to which firm(s) you wish to apply, and, where
appropriate, to which area of law.
Firms will conduct their own selection and screening process.
If you receive an offer to extern, you must respond to that
offer within 3 days. You cannot withdraw after you have
accepted an offer. Please contact Prof. Gross immediately
if you are selected.
Participating Firms
If a firm offers an externship in more than one division,
please indicate your preference or whether you are applying
for both.
Beermann, Pritikin, Mirabelli and Swerdlove LLP
Matrimonial Law (1)
Litigation/Corporate Law (1)
Deutsch, Levy & Engel
Commercial Litigation
Grund & Leavitt
Matrimonial Law
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
IP Law
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
IP Law (1)
Employment Law (1)
Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, LTD
Litigation (primarily tort)
Stahl Cowen Crowley Addis
Commercial Litigation
IN THE NEWS
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin published
an article focusing on the legal writing and clinical
education programs.
Professor Richard Kling was interviewed by Fox 32 about
the possibility that consumers may soon be able to shop
for legal services via Groupon. Watch the interview here.
Remembering the 1963 March on Washington - A
talk with Clinical Professor Richard Kling
Clinical Professor Ed Kraus spoke with Peoria's WEEK-TV
about the needs of diabetic children in schools and the
necessity of accommodation from and education of school
staff, for a story about a local couple whose 10-year old
son has struggled to perform needed care on the bus: http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/Mom-says-son-denied-to-properly-treat-diabetes-is-life-or-death-issue-200679431.html
IIT Chicago-Kent Legal Fellow/Research Associate Sarah
Blenner, who works with Clinical Professor Ed Kraus in the
Health & Disability Law Clinic, discussed privacy and
discrimination concerns surrounding a new policy in which
CVS drugstores will require employees to submit to body
weight and BMI testing or face higher health insurance premiums,
in an ABC 7 News story. View
the video.
For a complete description of all clinical programs, please
visit the Law Offices' Home Page at http://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/legal-clinics
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