Prior to the commencement of the externship, the student and faculty supervisor should work out the areas of study to be pursued and establish the general topic to be developed in the required research paper, to the extent possible. Details regarding the form and length of the required research paper and due date should be agreed upon prior to the start of the externship.

Although the flux of business at the host organization may preclude firm definition of the paper at the very beginning of the external studies semester, every effort should be made to settle the topic and begin work as promptly as possible. The finished paper must meet the standards ordinarily applied to seminar and independent research papers prepared for the same amount of credit, and must reflect the individual work of the student rather than a joint effort with other students or attorneys.

Satisfactory completion of the research paper is required before the student can receive credit for the paper or for the external studies program as a whole. The independent research paper must be assigned a letter grade by the faculty supervisor. The remaining 9 credits for the externship are mandatory pass/fail.

It should be in narrative form and must be uploaded to the student's drop box on CTools every two weeks. These biweekly reports should include:

• A description of the student's daily work, including the nature of the projects worked on and the student's role in the projects and special assignments.
• A specific description of the training and supervision the student is receiving in connection with each project.
• Contemporaneous reflections on the manner in which the work relates to the educational goals for the externship.
• The manner in which the externship has exposed the student to issues concerning professional responsibility and the role of attorneys.
• How the externship has contributed to the student's development of knowledge in particular substantive areas and to the student's professional growth.

These reports should be a minimum of three pages (Arial or Times New Roman, or similar sized font, set to 12 point) if single spaced.

It must be accompanied by at least three pieces of any written work (e.g., reports, briefs, memos, etc.) the student produced during the externship. The final report must be in form and substance satisfactory to Professor Sankaran.

Generally, the final report should total 15 - 20 pages double spaced (Arial or Times New Roman, or similar sized font, set to 12 point). Although it may naturally include some repetition with portions of the student's contemporaneous journals, it should be a report that stands on its own and provides an end-of-term retrospective summary of the student's externship experiences and their educational significance. The report should include:

• A description of the specific projects the student worked on and the student's role in each project.
• The quality and method of supervision provided.
• An overall evaluation of the externship.

Most important, the report should specifically focus on the student's personal reflections on what he or she learned from the externship, and the significance of the experience toward the student's intellectual and professional development and objectives.

These evaluations should detail the work the student has done and the supervisor's evaluation of their work during the time period covered.

Electronic forms for these evaluations are available online for convenience. These forms are best viewed and used in Internet Explorer.

Midterm Evaluation

Final Evaluation

As a result, externships are generally limited to Chicago, Detroit, New York City, and Washington, DC. A limited number of externships are approved each year for the AIRE Centre in London, England. Approval of externships at other locations is dependent on the ability of the Law School to conduct a site visit. Students who wish to propose an externship in another geographic location should consult with Professor Sankaran.