Information for Students

Chicago-Kent offers three avenues for students to pursue externship opportunities in the areas of government, public interest, private, and for-profit firms and corporations. Examples of externships include working for the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office; public defender offices; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and numerous major law firms and nonprofits. All externships must be approved. The three types of externships include:

Judicial Externships acquaint you with the day-to-day operation of the courts as you work with trial and appellate court judges and their law clerks to research and write legal memoranda and draft opinions.

Legal Externships allow you to work in civil or criminal practice in a specialized area of your choice with supervising attorneys in federal, state, and local government agencies; private law firms of all sizes; corporate legal departments; or public interest organizations." 

Judicial Externship Program

Judicial Externship Program (JEP) is a four credit hour, pass/low pass/fail program open to students who have completed at least their first full year of law school and want to do legal research and writing for a federal appellate, district or magistrate judge, or designated Illinois appellate or circuit court judges.

JEP enables a student to become involved in particular legal problems through research and writing, and to contribute to the resolution of those problems by participating in drafting memoranda and opinions. 

Depending upon the judge, an extern may also have the opportunity to observe the judge’s day-to-day routine and discuss with him/her the issues and problems that judges confront. Take advantage of this prestigious learning opportunity while enhancing your marketability in the legal world.

Application Process:  We will post opportunities below or you can find one on your own through 12Twenty (see below).   If you do obtain an externship through an outside source, please email Professor Decatorsmith and Michael Oakes as well as fill out this form

Note:  Before you apply, be certain you are able to commit 16 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters, or 32 hours/week in the summer, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component and other requirements of the course during the semester.  If you have any questions about the program, please contact Professor Jon Decatorsmith (jdecator@illinoistech.edu).

Find your own judicial externship:  Students can find their own externship through posts made by individual chambers on the Career Services Management System 12twenty* or get placed with judges in various divisions via the Cook County application. In the Summer, students can also apply to judges via the Just the Beginning - A Pipeline Organization, and applications typically close by the end of January each year.   We will also post any opportunities for externships below.  

Cover Letter and Resume Guidance  

Below are short guides on to help you prepare your cover letter and resume:

Cover Letter Guide

Writing Sample Guide

Judicial Externship Opportunities

Judicial Externship, Judge Alison Conlon - Spring 2026

Judge Alison Conlon is seeking to hire Judicial Externs for the Spring of 2026. To ensure that the administration of justice can continue during this time, Judge Conlon is conducting court both in-person and via Zoom.

About Judge Conlon and her Court:

Judge Conlon sits in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Chancery Division handles civil cases involving equitable remedies. Judge Conlon’s court call sees a variety of complex cases, often including TROs, FOIA issues, administrative reviews, and class actions. In addition, Judge Conlon often hears compelling “business divorces,” such as LLC break ups, and other elaborate business disputes, making the position a particularly good fit for those interested in business cases. There are also many emergency motions filed in front of Judge Conlon, such as TROs, which are exciting and provide extra opportunity for externs to observe.

Students with a passion for public interest or private practice are encouraged to apply, as the Court sees attorneys from a range of public interest organizations and law firms. Judge Conlon is also very active in the pro bono community in Chicago (for example, she sits on the boards of the Public Interest Law Initiative and the Chicago Bar Foundation and is co-chair of the Pro Se Advisory Committee) and she is happy to be a connector between students and organizations.

For more information about the position and how to apply, please download this file. 

Other Judicial Externship Opportunities

Several judges are seeking Judicial Externs for the Spring 2026 semester.  For information on the position and how to apply, please visit the listing on 12Twenty or email Michael Oakes (moakes@illinoistech.edu). If you are interested in a Judicial Externship, please review the requirements and instructions above.

Here are the judges currently seeking externs:  

Judge Cecilia Horan 
Judge Lewis Nixon 
Justice Mary L. Mikva
Judge Daniel Malone (Probate)
Judge Franklin Valderrama
Judge Joel Chupack
Justice Jesse G. Reyes
Judge Thomas Durkin
Judge Patrick T. Stanton
Judge Jeremy Daniel
Law Division Judges - Richard J. Daley Center

If you receive a Judicial Externship, please register your opportunity here so you receive law school credit. 

Legal Externship Programs

Access2Practice (A2P) Legal Externship is a 4-credit-hour Pass/Fail class which enables Kent 2Ls and 3Ls to gain supervision and mentoring in a wide variety of legal areas – both civil and criminal.  Externs must work a minimum of 16 hours per week during the Fall/Spring semesters and 32 hours per week in the Summer semester, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component, among other academic requirements associated with the course. 

The program does not assign students to particular practice placements. Instead, a student must first directly obtain an externship placement before applying to participate in and register for an Access2Practice Legal Externship. Each placement is separate and external to the law school and will have its own independent selection and screening process.

Application Process:  Externships can be found via Chicago-Kent’s extensive legal network.  For information on how to do this, follow our document on How to Apply for a Legal Externship Placement. Students can find their own externships through 12twenty*, the Career Services Management System. Newly posted externships will also be featured below and in The Record.  

Once a student has secured an externship, he or she must apply to the externship program by (1) informing Professor Decatorsmith via email (jdecator@illinoistech.edu) and (2) filling out this Form.  This information allows us to keep track of student placements as well as give us the information needed to reach out to firms and confirm student placement, as well as discuss our expectations with regard to the student's supervision.  

Note:  Before you apply, be certain you are able to commit 16 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters, or 32 hours/week in the summer, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component and other requirements of the course during the semester.  If you have any questions about the program, please contact Professor Jon Decatorsmith (jdecator@illinoistech.edu). 

LEGAL EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Please see below and continue to check back for new Fall opportunities.  

If you receive a Legal Externship, please register your opportunity here so you receive law school credit.  

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Spring 2026

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (“SRAlab”), formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, a not-for-profit
hospital, located in Chicago, Illinois, is the first-ever “translational” research hospital applying research
to physical medicine and rehabilitation. SRAlab has been ranked as the top physical medicine and
rehabilitation hospital in the United States for decades, providing rehabilitation to patients around the
world with stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, cancer, and other conditions. SRAlab’s research
enterprise is the largest of its kind and renowned for breakthroughs in biomedical, neural, mechanical
and electrical engineering; molecular/cellular biology; robotics and pharmacotherapeutics.

Requirements: SRAlab is seeking motivated, bright, and interested candidates who want experience
in a busy and dynamic legal and regulatory environment in the Office of General Counsel and the Office
of Corporate Compliance. Students who have completed their 1L year and have an interest in health law
and compliance are encouraged to apply. Please note this is an unpaid position.

For more information about this position and how to apply, please download this file.  The deadline to apply is December 5, 2025.  

Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen

Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen seeks talented, self-motivated 2Ls with strong academic credentials, excellent writing & research skills, and a demonstrated interest in affordable housing & community development for its Spring 2026 externship program. Our externship program is our latest effort to identify & engage talent earlier in the law school process, evaluate potential summer associate candidates, and promote diversity, equity, & inclusion at the firm. To that end, we strongly encourage candidates from diverse or socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to apply.

The position is planned to be hybrid, with approximately half of an extern's time being spent in-person and half being spent remote. This is a part-time, unpaid position, though applicants are encouraged to seek external funding, work-study funding, or class credits. That said, outstanding externs will be invited to return to the firm the following summer as full-time summer associates eligible for a permanent, full-time attorney position upon graduation from law school.  

The extern will provide wide-ranging and integral substantive and administrative legal support to the firm’s attorneys and paralegals in all aspects of real estate development, ownership, financing, and investment.

For more information about this position and how to apply, please download this file.  The deadline to apply is December 13, 2025.    

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation - Spring 2026

MacArthur is a private charitable foundation with headquarters in Chicago and offices in Nigeria and India. Our philanthropic efforts support creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. Our Legal team consists of four lawyers (in addition to administrative staff) and plays a key role in all MacArthur’s day-to-day operations, including grantmaking, investing and impact investing, developing policies, governance and contracting.

With our externship program, we aim to provide hands-on legal experience to Chicago-area law students interested in nonprofit law and governance. Our overarching goals are to provide valuable experiences to students interested in the field and help grow and diversify the pool of attorneys operating in the philanthropic sector. We believe we can offer externs exposure to our wide-ranging work and provide a worthwhile experience for whatever they choose to do after law school.

You can apply via their application portal.  Applications are due no later than October 31 at 11:59 PM Central Time.  If you have any questions, please reach out to legalexternships@macfound.org.

LIFE SPAN LEGAL EXTERNSHIPS

Life Span is seeking enthusiastic law students interns to assist our team of attorneys to provide legal services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault – including Orders of Protection, Civil No Contact Orders, Divorce/Dissolution of Marriage, Parentage & Allocation of Parental Responsibilities and more!

Clerks and/or externs may be based out of either our Chicago or Des Plaines offices – 1L, 2L & 3L law students all eligible to apply. Part time accepted and encouraged!

While these are unpaid positions at Life Span, we accept applications from law students:

• who have funding;
• who apply through PILI’s (Public Interest Law Student) “Law Student Internship” Program at https://pili.org/internships/;
• who are seeking academic credit or participating in an externship through their law school; and
• who do not have funding. 

EXTERN/CLERK DUTIES

Clerks will gain invaluable hands-on legal experience by working on complex and diverse cases and projects with our Family Law attorneys. Clerks will participate in client intake, negotiations and client advice meetings, draft pleadings, and appear in Court with their 711 law student license. Clerks will also have the opportunity to conduct legal research and analysis on changes in the law and novel legal questions related to client representation.

ABOUT LIFE SPAN

Life Span empowers survivors of domestic and sexual violence to demand safety as a human right through client-centered services and leads social change through accountability, community engagement and systemic advocacy. Life Span values diversity-in strengths, backgrounds and lived experiences. It is essential that our staff and leadership reflect the communities that we serve. We are committed to creating an anti-oppression framework and seek candidates who share this commitment.

Our agency has two sites, and services are available in multiple languages including English, Spanish, Polish and Arabic.  All services are free of charge.

TO APPLY

Please submit a resume and cover letter, including the weekly number of hours you are seeking, via email attention: Victoria Bell, Senior Staff Attorney, to hiring@life-span.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all clerk positions are filled, through Monday, December 1, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.

Please, no phone calls!
 

City of Chicago

The City of Chicago is now accepting applications for legal externship opportunities.  Participants gain invaluable hands-on legal experience by working on complex and diverse projects with Law Department attorneys.  They participate in negotiations and Client advising meetings, conduct research and analysis to draft dispositive motions on constitutional or procedural issues of law, and - utilizing an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 license - appear on behalf of the City in Court or before Administrative Tribunals.

To get more information about the opportunity and how to apply, please visit their website. If you do get an externship offer, please be sure to fill out the application as explained above. 

Semester Law Firm Associate Program (SLFAP)

SLFAP endeavors to bridge the gap between the academic study of law and its practice. SFLAP is different from other traditional law school classes because it pushes your legal education into the experiential frontier. Experiential learning is learning by doing, learning from experience. As an extern, you will work for lawyer supervisors whose primary loyalties lie with their clients and their firms, but who also have a desire to mentor law students by providing them with interesting work and useful guidance. Through your fieldwork you will learn not only about certain areas of substantive law, but about the practice of law itself.

SFLAP is different than the Legal Externships Access to Practice program because of its more intensive nature and larger time commitment.  Students enrolled in the SLFAP program will spend a minimum of 24 hours per week working in their externship role with an off-site firm or organization. The student receives 6 credits for the work (as compared with 4 for a non-SLFAP externship).  Note that there is an in-person classroom component to this course, over and above the 24 hours you will put in at the firm/organization.

As with the Legal Externship programs, interested students must not only receive an offer from the participating firm, but also receive Department permission to register, all of which must be completed prior to the start of classes for the subject semester (i.e., the normal add period does not apply).  See the above Legal Externship Application process for those instructions.  

SLFAP Opportunities

Beermann Law, LLP: Spring 2026

Beermann LLP is the largest law firm in the country devoted exclusively to the practice of family law. We are looking for qualified law clerks to work closely with our 50+ attorneys to achieve the exceptional results our clients have come to expect over the last 68 years. Law clerks will have the opportunity to work closely with attorneys at all stages of litigation, from strategy meetings through trials and on appeal. Beermann LLP espouses a strong commitment to pro bono service and offers an engaging, mentorship-driven environment for aspiring family law practitioners. Applicants can submit their resume, cover letter, and a writing sample to: careers@beermannlaw.com.  In the subject line, be sure to specify the following:  Externship – Applicant from Chicago-Kent College of Law.