Students

Qualifying Placements

The Colorado Law Externship Program is offered year-round (Fall, Spring and Summer semesters). Students may extern at governmental andnon-profit organizations and agencies.Students may work in all three branches of the government, including state and federal judicial chambers, executive agencies, and legislativeoffices. As per the Law School Rules,Colorado Law students may not externat private, for-profit law firms or corporations. Due to a recent update to the Law School Rules, starting in Summer of 2023 students may now be paid and receive academic credit at approved externships.

Remote Externships

Due to the COVID-19 situation, students can nowcomplete remote externships if their agencies will not allow them to work in the office, or if the student is not comfortableattending in person. Please speak to theProgram Director if you have any questions.Externship sponsors are not limited to agencies and organizations that have sponsored externs in the past. Students must be supervised by a licensed attorney at their agency.

Law School Credits

Students may receive 2, 3 or 4 credits for an externship in a semester, unless special approval has been granted for a single semester 7-credit externship in Colorado or a single semester 10-credit externship at a national or international placement. 50 hours of worktime is required for each externship credit. Students interested in seeking special approval for a 7 or 10 credit externship should consult with the Director of Experiential Learning about additional program requirements. Students can only participate in ONE externship per semester (i.e., a student cannot complete a 2-credit externship at the Colorado Supreme Court and a 2-credit externship at the AG's Office in the same semester).

Application Deadlines

Externship Program Description Agreement documents must be receivedno later than the deadlines listed below. We encourage students to being process of completingexternship paperwork EARLY as background checks and other administrative processes can take a while.

  • Thedeadline to submit your SUMMER 2025 externship applicationis Tuesday, May 27that 11:59 p.m. MST.
    • ​We cannot accept late applications!
    • ​The Summer Externship Session will run from Monday, June 2nd through Friday, August 8th.
  • Thedeadline to submit your FALL 2025 externship applicationis Wednesday, August 13that 11:59 p.m. MST.
    • ​We cannot accept late applications!
    • ​The Fall Externship Session will run from Monday, August 25th through Friday, December 5th.

Colorado'sStudent Practice Act:

Law students who have completed at least two years of law school may appear in court pursuant to.A student must file athat they havecompleted two years of law school and is of good moral character.To file this certification, print the form, complete the first two sections, and email the form tolawreg@colorado.edu. The Registrar will thencomplete and submit the form.

The student must also provide the name of the supervising attorney and an anticipated graduation date. Work must be performed for an attorney in the public sector, i.e., the Public Defender's Office or District Attorney's Office; or on behalf of a non profit legal services organization where poor or legally underserved persons receives legal advice.

Please note: In addition to the Law School Rules, Externships are regulated by ABA Standard 304.

Academic Quick Links

Nuts and Bolts of Externship Program

Finding An Externship

The Office of Career Development maintains a list of possible externships on. In the OCI and Job Listings tab, you can filter by positions that are “Eligible for School Credit” to find current listings. Students are encouraged to contact past sponsors from government or nonprofit agencies in a professional fashion regarding any current externship needs. As per the Law School Rules, students cannot externat private, for-profit law firms or corporations.

Examples of agencies and organizations that have served as externship placement sitesinclude Colorado state and federal courts at every level, The Deming Center Venture Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Boulder and Denver District Attorney's Office,The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Colorado Attorney General's Office, Office of the Colorado StatePublic Defender, Colorado Technology Association, Greenpeace International, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, The National Audobon Society, The Wilderness Society, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, University of Colorado Athletics Department, Western Mining Action Project, Colorado Legal Services,and many more as detailed here.

In deciding whether to approve a program for extern credit, Colorado Law will evaluate the following criteria to see if they are met:

  • The externship placement site is a non-profitor governmental agency. Students are not allowed to complete externships at private, for-profit law firms or corporations.
  • The program is of substantial educational value,
  • The work to be done is of the kind a beginning lawyer might do in a professional capacity or is closely related thereto,
  • The work must have a substantial writing component,
  • The field supervisor is a practicing attorney or judge located at the externship sitewho is committed to mentoring and providing the student withsubstantial feedback on his/her/theirwork product,
  • The sponsoring organization must provide thestudent with anadequate opportunityto workthe required number of hours to earn theexternship credit,

In addition to working at their sponsoring organization, students are required toattend mandatory classes offered during the semester through the Externship Program.

Please note:

  1. Students may not do an externship as a research assistant for a law school professor.
  2. Students must have completed at least 30 law school credits to be eligible to do an externship.
  3. Law firms and private organizations who would like to employ the services of our students are encouraged to employ them for wages. In many circumstances, the time a student spends working for a law firm may be billed to a client. The Career Development Office is available to aid in matching firms and private organizations with students who would be qualified to work for them.

Students may earn 2, 3, or 4academic credits for their externship work in a singlesemester, unless approved for a semester long 7-credit externship in Colorado or 10-credit externship in a national or international placement. The maximum number of externshipcredits a student can earn while in law schoolis 7.

To be eligible for academic credit, a student's externship must meet the following requirements:

  • A qualified field sponsor who is a lawyer or judge (students may not externat private, for-profit law firms or corporations)
  • A minimum of 50 hours of work during the semester of enrollment for each externship credit, with a minimum number of 2 externship credits per semester and a maximum number of 4 credits per semester (unless approved for a semester long 7-credit externship in Colorado or 10-credit externship in a national or international placement)
  • Participation in mandatory course sessions offered throughout the semester
  • Submission of substantial written work authored by the student in the course of the externship. Acceptable writing pieces include:
    • compositions for your externship sponsor which are reviewed and critiqued
    • legal memoranda and briefs which are a significant part of your work and which are reviewed by your field supervisor
    • pleadings can suffice so long as they are primarily authored by the student and can be redacted appropriately to remove personal identifying information and sensitive content
  • Other externship paperwork as required by the rules

Externship hours cannot be applied retroactively. ABA rules require that an externship is supervised by faculty and that students engage in ongoing contemporaneous reflection. Consequently, you cannot count any hours worked prior to student submission of an externship applicationand approval of an externship application by the Program Director.

More information regarding externship requirements is available at Law School Rule 24 and in the Program DescriptionAgreement, which serves as the externship application.

Colorado Law students should send their completed (signed by the student andsupervisor)tolawexternships@colorado.edu. Students should CC their externship supervisor on this email. Applications to enroll in anexternship during any semester should be submitted no later than the stated deadline.The deadline is/will belisted on the "Information for Students" portion of this website.

  1. Determine an externship site that will satisfy the above requirements and will meet your career interests.
  2. Approach the site of interest and identify an attorney who will serve as your field supervisor. You must identify a single person to serve as your supervisor even if you will work with several attorneys during the course of yourexternship.Make sure that you discuss with your supervisor your need to be trained and mentored.
  3. Decide the number of academic credits you would like to receive for your externship. Each credit consists of 50 working hours per semester and you may register for 2, 3, or 4 credits, unless otherwise approved for a semester long 7-credit externship in Colorado or a 10-credit externship in a national or international placement in consultation with the Director of Experiential Learning. Studentscannotregister for a 1-credit externship.
  4. Students interested in completinga semester long 7-credit externship in Colorado or a 10-credit externship in a national or international placement mustmake an appointment to meet with the Director of Experiential Learning and must include thePetition to Participate in a Single-Semester 7-Credit Externship in Colorado, or a Single-Semester 10-Credit Externship at a National or International Placementwith their application. Students seeking an international placement must also consult with the Director of International Programs, to ensure that the sum of study abroad, potential international transfer, and field placement credits do not exceed 1/3 of the credits (29) needed to graduate.
  5. Obtain a resume, bio, or CV from your field supervisor (which should include qualifications of this individual to be your supervisor, along with a business address and phone number).
  6. Complete Externship Application (Program Description Agreement)

Upon receiving your application,we will carefully review your application materials. If your application is approved, we will send you a confirmation email and we willregister youfor the requestednumber of credits by the Law Registrar's Office.

Your completed application should consist of:

All materials should be emailed to the Director of Experiential Learning atlawexternships@colorado.edu. Please download the forms below to your computer before filling them out.

ALL FALL 2025 EXTERNSHIP STUDENTS WILL BE REQUIRED TOATTEND AMANDATORY EXTERNSHIP ORIENTATION SESSION

  • Wednesday, August 27,2025
  • noon - 12:50 P.M. MST
  • ZOOM Link PROVIDED VIA EMAIL

Fall 2025 Externship Key Dates

  • Midsemester reflection is due WEDNESDAY, October 15th at 11:59pm MST
  • End of semester paperwork is due FRIDAY, December 5th at 11:59pm MST

Fall 2025 Externship Classes

Externship studentsarerequiredto attend externship classes that will be scheduled over the course of the semester in the subject area that is closest to the area of law where the student will be placed during the semester. Students DO NOT have to register for the externship classroom component through the Law Registrar's Office. The Program Director will send all students enrolled in an externship additionalinformation about the externship class during the first week of classes each semester.

While the General Topics class is suitable for students completing anexternship focusing on any area of the law, we strongly recommend that students enroll in thesubject-specific class for the practice area of their externship.

Students completing anexternship in the same practice area as a previous externship (i.e., two externships with the Federal Government) may be eligible to take the Advanced Topics class.The dates, timesand instructors are as follows:

Advanced Externship (repeat externs with same practice area) ()

  • Wednesday, September 10, Noon to 12:50 p.m. – Room 300
  • Wednesday, November 19, Noon to 12:50 p.m. – Room 300

General Topics(cross-cutting professionalism topics) ()

  • Wednesday, September 3, Noon to 12:50 p.m. – Room 300
  • Wednesday, September 24, Noon to 12:50 p.m. – Room 300
  • Wednesday, October 8, Noon to 12:50 p.m. – Room 300
  • Wednesday, October 22, Noon to 12:50 p.m. –Room 300
  • Wednesday, November 12, Noon to 12:50 p.m. – Room 300
  • Wednesday, December 3, Noon to 12:50 p.m. –Room 300

Federal Government ()

  • Tuesday, September 2, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. – Remote
  • Tuesday, September 16, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. – Remote
  • Tuesday, October 7, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. – Remote
  • Tuesday, October 28, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. – Remote
  • Tuesday, November 18, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. – Remote

Judicial ()

  • Thursday, September 4, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.– Room 205
  • Thursday, September 25, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.– Room 205
  • Thursday, October 16, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.–Room 205
  • Thursday, October 23, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.–Room 205
  • Thursday, November 13, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.–Room 205

Non-Governmental/Non-Profits ()

  • Wednesday, September 10, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. . – Room 303, In-person
  • Wednesday, October 1, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. –Remote
  • Wednesday, October 22, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. –Remote
  • Wednesday, November 12, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. –Remote
  • Wednesday, December 3, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. –Remote

Prosecution()

  • Tuesday, September 9, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.–Room 330
  • Tuesday, September 30, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.–Room 330
  • Tuesday, October 21, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.–Room 330
  • Tuesday, November 11, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. –Room 330
  • Tuesday, December 2, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.– Room 330

Public Defender ()

  • Wednesday, September 10, 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.–Room 421
  • Wednesday, September 24, 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. –Room 421
  • Wednesday, October 8, 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. –Room 421
  • Wednesday, October 29, 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. –Room 421
  • Wednesday, November 12, 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.– Room 421

State/Local Government()

  • Tuesday, September 16, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – Room 421 Please note different start time for first session only
  • Tuesday, September 30, 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. –Room 421
  • Tuesday, October 21,4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. –Room 421
  • Tuesday, November 4, 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. –Room 421
  • Tuesday, November 18, 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. –Room 421