Externships

Chicago-Kent's Legal Externship Program (LEP) enables Chicago-Kent students to receive academic credit for externing with a designated supervising attorney in a wide variety of legal areas—private or public, civil or criminal. Externs integrate and assimilate the skills learned in the classroom with those acquired in a specialized practice.

Chicago-Kent has long recognized that classes and textbooks alone are not sufficient to complete the education and transformation of our students into practitioners. To become a good lawyer, students also need practical experience in real-world legal work, preferably in a closely-supervised, mentoring relationship. The LEP is a four-credit-hour program that allows externs to receive academic credit, in lieu of compensation, for working in a school-approved employer placement.  There is a minimum hourly requirement and weekly classroom component that must be satisfied in order to receive academic credit.

Chicago-Kent’s deep connections within the Chicago legal community—the third largest in the nation—allows students to work not only in the chambers of federal and state judges, but also for organizations such as the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, the United States Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and various county prosecutors and public defenders. Private law firms, corporations, and a wide variety of advocacy organizations are also part of our extensive externship network.