Clinics, externships and labs combine client representation, fieldwork, and seminars to provide a range of experiential learning opportunities that equip students with the skills to provide high caliber client representation and to understand and challenge systemic and institutional inequality and injustice. Our range of experiential learning courses offer rich experiences that help students explore their interests and passions, and develop into effective advocates able to engage in complex problem solving. Both fundamental and emerging questions around legal ethics and professional responsibility in the practice of law are also emphasized throughout these courses.
Before You Begin
The faculty has promulgated the following guidelines for clinics, externships and labs, in part to comply with New York Court of Appeals rules concerning the admission of attorneys:
- Clinics and externships will, in most cases, require substantial amounts of time outside of usual course hours. Students with substantial commitments to journals, outside activities, work or other responsibilities should satisfy themselves through discussion with the respective teachers that they will definitely have sufficient time for a particular clinic or externship. Expect to devote anywhere from 10 to 20 hours per week on average to fieldwork, and that number may be higher in a week in which a student has a trial, hearing, deposition, appellate argument, or other type of court appearance or presentation. This time commitment is above and beyond the time spent in weekly classes (which may be 2 or 4 hours per week or sometimes more), the readings and preparation for class, and out-of-class work related to simulations.
- Please determine whether you have fulfilled the requirements for a particular clinic, externship or lab before submitting your application. If you have questions regarding any of the requirements, please direct them to the teachers of the relevant course.
- Registration for clinics, externships and labs is by application and permission only. No student may register for more than one clinic or externship in a term. However, a student may take a lab course in addition to a clinic or externship.
- Admission to the clinics in Buenos Aires and Paris is administered by NYU Law Abroad.
- Of the 83 credits for graduation no more than 19 credits may be earned in “non-classroom” activities, which include some clinics and externships. Courses designated as “Clinic,” “Clinic Seminar,” and “Externship Seminar” do not count towards the non-classroom credits; the fieldwork portions of “Externships” do count towards the non-classroom cap. Please see JD Program Degree Requirements for the rules for determining whether credits earned in a clinic or externship are subject to the 19-credit maximum for “non-classroom credits.” Questions about these requirements may be sent to Vice Dean Randy Hertz.
How to Submit Applications
- Applications for all clinics, externship and labs should be submitted during the same time period using the Clinic Application and Matching System (CAMS). An NYU NetID and a Law School-issued password are required to access the system. Log in to upload the general application form, resume and unofficial transcript required by all clinics. (LL.M.s have a separate application form.) Some clinics may request additional materials to supplement the basic application; these should also be submitted online via CAMS.
- See Clinics Open to LL.M.s for a list of clinics available to LL.M. students in the current year.
Maximum number of applications
- Students are eligible to take one lab in addition to one clinic or externship in the same academic year.
- You may apply for a maximum of six clinics or externships—i.e., any combination of year-long and/or semester-long clinics and externships.
- In addition to up to six clinics or externships, you may apply for up to three lab courses.
- Students may apply for one or both semesters of a given one-semester clinic, externship or lab, but each semester counts separately toward the maximum.
- Students will be placed in only one clinic or externship—whether semester-long or year-long—in an academic year. If vacancies later become available, students who are already in a semester-long clinic or externship course may be able to apply to take a second semester-long clinic or externship, but preference will be given to students who are not already placed in a clinic or externship.
- Beginning with the graduating class of 2027, students will only be permitted to take one year-long clinic or externship while at the law school. Students may, however, take a year-long lab in addition to one year-long clinic.
Interviews
- Not all experiential learning courses conduct interviews. Check the individual course descriptions for details.
- If conducted, interviews will take place in March-April each year. Interviews may be conducted remotely.
Indicate Your Preferences for Clinic and Lab Matching
- Please complete all other parts of the application process—including any required interviews—before you submit the order of your preferences.
- Communicate your preferences through the Clinic Application and Matching System (CAMS).
- You may apply for one or both semesters of a given one-semester clinic, externship or lab, but each semester should be indicated as a separate preference. You cannot for example, rank a Fall clinic as 1 and then rank a Spring clinic as 1, expecting to be placed in both in the same year. The match places students in only one clinic or externship for the year.
- Students should rank their clinic and externship preferences together in one group and rank their Lab preferences separately, i.e. please rank 1-6 clinics/externships in one group and rank 1-3 labs in the other group. Your CAMS Preferences page will put the clinics and externships together in one section and provide a separate listing for preferences among labs.
- You may not rank separate clinics or externships with the same number; the match does not accommodate placements in two semester-long clinics or externships in an academic year.
- If you are applying to only one clinic or externship, you must indicate that preference affirmatively on CAMS in order for us to perform the matching.
- Faculty do not have access to students' preferences when making their acceptance decisions.
- The deadline for JDs to submit their preferences on CAMS is 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, 2025. The deadline for LL.M.s is TBD.
- For further details, please see Clinic Matching and Selection Process.