| LW.12977 / LW.12646 Professor Terence Dougherty Professor Margaret Rohlfing Open to 3L and 2L students; LL.M.s if space is available Maximum of 8 students |
Fall semester 5 credits* No prerequisites or co-requisites; but see note under Application Procedure |
Course Description
This Externship combines fieldwork at a New York City-based nonprofit with a weekly seminar to give students practical training and experience in the roles, skills, and functions of an in-house lawyer for a nonprofit organization. Students will gain real lawyering experience with an in-house counsel’s role by working closely with counsel at their placements. This work may include assisting with contract drafting, review, and negotiation; legal research projects for laws relevant to the nonprofit’s operations and programs; and assisting with developing training and other educational materials for the nonprofit’s staff.
Students will have an opportunity to discuss their recent fieldwork and present and engage with their fellow students and the instructors on a set topic or issue area relevant to nonprofit in-house counsel practice. Students will prepare for these sessions through assigned readings and possibly write-ups regarding their fieldwork. Seminar presentations and discussions will include issue spotting and discussing as a group how students would approach a legal issue and operationalize a response to that issue through a lens of risk assessment and legal management.
The principal assignments for the seminar will be preparing one or more analyses of specific fact patterns and presenting an approach to risk assessment and preparing and conveying legal advice. Students also will prepare initial and concluding short self-assessments related to their fieldwork. A once-a-week check-in with at least one instructor will be available to students and may be required by the instructor to address any questions arising from fieldwork.
Application Procedure
Students should submit an application, resume, and grade transcript through CAMS. Students should feel free to indicate in their applications whether they have special preferences about their field placement organizations, but no particular match can be guaranteed. Prior experience working on or studying nonprofit corporate or tax exemption law is not required for the course but may prove helpful.
* 5 credits include 3 clinical credits and 2 academic seminar credits.