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; corporate legal departments; or public interest organizations.

The Semester Law Firm Associate Program is a unique six credit program during which students have the opportunity to work for academic credit as “associates” for prestigious Chicago-based law firms. Students must spend 24 hours a week at the firm that selects them and also attend a classroom component. This program is only offered in the spring and fall semesters.

Judicial Externship Applications

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.

New Opportunities!

Three judges have just reached out to us to say they are now accepting Judicial externs for Spring 2024 semester.

• The Honorable Jeremy C. Daniel (Federal District Court for the Northern District)
• The Honorable William B. Sullivan (Circuit Court of Cook County - Chancery Division) 
• The judges of the Seventh Judicial Circuit in Sangamon County are also seeking a judicial extern to work in their courts (this is a remote position).

If you wish to apply to any of these opportunities, please email Michael Oakes (moakes@kentlaw.iit.edu) and include:  

• Cover letter
• Updated resume
• Writing sample
• Unofficial transcript. 

You also must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2. If you are applying to the Sangamon County judges you are also welcome to include letters of reference, but they are not required.

If you have previously submitted these materials, please email Michael and let him know and he will forward those materials for this position.

The deadline for applying is December 1st.

If you have any questions, reach out to Michael or Professor Decatorsmith (jdecator@kentlaw.iit.edu).

If you have previously submitted these materials, please email Michael and let him know and he will forward those materials for this position.

Informational Meeting: An informational meeting for the Spring 2024 semester was already held but If you wish to view a prior meeting, one is available to watch on Panopto.

Find your own judicial externship:  There are posts made by individual chambers on 12twenty*, the Career Services Management System, 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. For those students who have secured their own judicial externship, please inform Professor Decatorsmith by sending in a short application form: Judicial Externship Short Form Application, Spring 2024.  The due date for those who have secured their own externship is January 2, 2024. 

Domestic Relations Division

Judicial Externship:  The Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County welcomes students from law schools nationwide who choose to complement their coursework with a judicial externship. Any law student who has completed their first year is eligible. Preference will be given to applicants who have demonstrated an interest in family law and possess strong legal research and writing capabilities.

Each extern will be assigned a Domestic Relations Division judge to work with during their externship. Under the direct supervision of their assigned judge, judicial externs are expected to conduct legal research, draft research memos, draft orders and judgments, provide basic procedural information to self-represented litigants, and complete other tasks as assigned by the judge to facilitate the efficient day-to-day administration of the judge’s courtroom. Externs will also have the chance to observe trials and other court proceedings. Additionally, the Domestic Relations Division hosts an orientation at the start of every semester, and all externs are paired with a division attorney mentor during their externship. Summer judicial externs are able to observe other Divisions within the Circuit Court of Cook County through an exchange program.

During the fall and spring semester, judicial externs are expected to work at least 12 hours/week, at least two days a week. Summer judicial externships are a full-time, 40-hour/week commitment. Judicial externships with the Domestic Relations Division are unpaid, however, externs are encouraged to seek class credit or outside funding (e.g., from their law school). All externships are conducted in person. Note that judicial externs are prohibited from engaging in any outside legal work during their externship.

To apply:  Please send your resume, transcript, and a writing sample (not to exceed 10 pages) to Division Administrator Nairee Hagopian at nairee.hagopian@cookcountyil.gov by December 1, 2023, to be considered for a Spring 2024 Judicial Externship. Please be advised that if you are offered a position, you will be asked to complete additional application materials and submit to a background check and drug test.

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact the Presiding Judge’s staff at (312) 603-3025.

Winter Immersive Session: Every January, the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County invites a group of first-year law students to observe remote court proceedings, network with judges, gain a better understanding of the Division, and help determine whether they are interested in externing in the Division.

This upcoming year the program will be held via Zoom from January 8, 2024 to January 12, 2024. Each day the students will observe two judges, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, as they go through their dockets. Each judge will also make time to speak with the students and answer any questions they might have throughout the day. Court sessions typically begin around 8:30 a.m. every morning and end around 4:30 p.m. every evening. There will be a lunch break every day.

Each interested student must submit a completed application and resume by December 8, 2023, to Division Administrator Nairee Hagopian, at nairee.hagopian@cookcountyil.gov. Each admitted student will receive an email notifying them of their acceptance. Due to programming constraints, the Domestic Relations Division is only able to accept a limited number of students to participate in the program. Each admitted student will receive a detailed Winter Immersion Program schedule. Outside of being a first-year law student, there are no prerequisites or requirements for an applicant.

To access the application form, please download it here and email it to Nairee Hagopian, at nairee.hagopian@cookcountyil.gov.

If you wish to view a prior presentation, one is available to watch on Panopto

Legal Externship Programs

Access2Practice (A2P) Legal Externship is a four 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 classes. Externs must work 16 hours a week during the fall/spring semesters and 32 hours per week in the summer semester. In addition, externs must attend a series of classes that meet on designated dates, TBD. Classes focus on different legal areas and the often complex realities at the core of law practice. 

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

For externships achieved through Chicago-Kent’s extensive legal network, 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 in The Record.

Accepted Externs

Upon receipt of an externship in a legal externship placement, the extern must submit an application and be approved by Professor Decatorsmith before the extern can officially enroll in and begin the program. All Spring applications must be received no later than Wednesday, January 3, 2024.  This is because Professor Decatorsmith must contact the prospective supervisor to ensure that the placement and supervisor are informed of and able to comply with academic requirements.

Semester Law Firm Associate Program (6 credits)

The Semester Law Firm Associate Program.  Chicago-Kent’s Semester Law Firm Associate Program is a unique for credit, non-graded program offered to 2Ls and 3Ls with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2.  Semester Associate externs will receive 6 credits and devote 24 hours a week during the semester to the fieldwork component (compared to other externship programs, which are only four credits and 16 hours a week). There is also an accompanying classroom component.  

The due date for the SLFAP externship is November 27 at 5:00 p.m.

SPRING 2024

Participating Firms:  

Beermann LLP
Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney

How to Apply:  

Email a current resume and unofficial transcript to Michael Oakes (moakes@kentlaw.iit.edu) and Professor Decatorsmith (jdecator@kentlaw.iit.edu).  Indicate which firm(s) you are applying for.

If you have questions, email Professor Decatorsmith and Michael Oakes at the email addresses listed above.