Internship Course
Applications are now being accepted for the Fall 2008 Intership Course. The application deadline is March 21st, 2008. Download an application.
Craig Defoe, '07 (PLSG intern); Phil Wickizer, '05 (Assistant Counsel to the Governor); Myron Rahn, '07 (PLSG intern); Steve Schulz (Counsel to the Governor); and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels meet in the Governor's office at the Indiana State House.
The Program on Law and State Government (PLSG) integrates the practical experience of working with attorneys in law offices throughout the legislative and executive branches of state government with seminar style classroom learning. Designed to enhance students' understanding of public lawyers' roles within state government and legal infrastructure of that government, the classroom component of the Internship Course complements the placement experiences of the students in the course. With numerous placement options, ranging from the Department of Commerce to the Family and Social Services Administration, Program on Law and State Government internships offer students opportunities to:
- Use and test skills of legal research, legal writing, case analysis, and statutory construction
- Participate in hearings, work on administrative appeals, and assist in rule and statute drafting
- Observe how state agencies carry out mandates, create regulations, defend agency actions, and comment on drafted legislation
Jennifer Root, '04
2003 PLSG Fellow
2003 Intern, Office of Governor
2002 Intern, IN Trial Lawyers Ass'n
2002 Mediation Course Certificate
The Program on Law and State Government Internship Course is offered every semester. Information about educational objectives, course format, selection process, participant responsibilities, and the evaluation of intern performance is set forth below. All interested students are encouraged to apply. You may download an application form and return it to Therese Kamm at the reception desk in the Atrium.
Students will not be able to register for the Program on Law and State Government Internship Course or any particular internship placement available through that course on the first day of registration. Due to limited class size and the necessary process of matching individual students to their placements, registration is possible only with approval from the Director.
- Educational Objectives
- Course Format
- Selection Process
- Participant Responsibilities
- Evaluation of Intern
- Placement Descriptions
Joel Nagel, '07 (PLSG intern); Gregory Kellam Scott, '77 (Director, Indiana Civil Rights Commission); supervising attorney Michael Healy.
The educational objectives of the Program on Law and State Government internship course include offering students the opportunity to:
- Learn about the practice of law within the state government setting;
- Use and test skills of legal research, legal writing, case analysis, and statutory construction in the context of a state government legal office;
- Participate in hearings, work on administrative appeals, and assist in rule and statute drafting under the supervision of an attorney;
- Communicate legal conclusions and recommendations of legal work to supervising attorneys and state policymakers;
- Observe how various state agencies carry out statutory mandates, create regulations, defend agency actions in administrative hearings, and comment to drafted legislation;
- Experience how the ethical, policy, and legal issues of the governmental process entwine to affect Indiana's government and the practice of law within that government; and,
- Develop their ability to learn from experience and to manage their own education.
To reach the educational objectives, the three credit internship course has four components:
- required number of hours at the intern placement or doing internship activities and related work (60 hours per credit hour sought; therefore, 120 hours for 2 credits of internship placement and 60 hours for the class component of the internship course);
- six mandatory class meetings coordinated by the faculty advisor;
- at least two individual meetings between the intern and the faculty advisor during the course of the semester;
- reflective learning assignments due during the course of the semester.
The interns will be selected by the faculty advisor who, in consultation with the field supervising attorneys, will make the specific internship assignments. Interns will be selected through an application process, and preference will be given to students based on academic merit, prior law related experience, interest in state government, and interest in public service. Applications from students who have completed one full year of law school and who have earned an overall grade point average of 3.0 or more on a 4.0 scale will be given priority in the selection process.
IV. PARTICIPANT RESPONSIBILITIES
The three main participants in the internship course are: the student intern, the faculty advisor, and the supervising attorney. Success in reaching the educational objectives of the course depends on the main participants and the interrelationship between them. Outlined below are the course responsibilities of the participants.
- Student Intern is responsible for:
- Spending one hundred and eighty (180) hours, sixty (60) hours per credit sought, during the semester in internship activities and related work. Internship activities and related work includes, e.g., being present at their assigned field placement, addressing the legal assignments from their supervising attorney, preparing for and attending the class meetings or individual meetings with the faculty supervisor, and completing their reflective learning assignments. Two-thirds of the required 180 hours must be spent at the legal office of the assigned internship placement. For example, for the three credit internship course, the student would be responsible to spend twelve (12) hours a week in internship activities; eight (8) of these must be spent in the field office, the other four (4) hours could be spent in the field office or at another location (e.g., law school library, law school computer center, class, or home) as long as the time is spent doing internship course work.
- Completing the experiential and reflective learning assignments as assigned by the faculty supervisor;
- Preparing for and participating in six (6) class meeting sessions scheduled at the law school;
- Preparing for and attending two (2) individual meetings with the faculty advisor during the course of the semester;
- Submitting accurate time logs accounting for their time at the internship placement and working on internship activities and related work to the faculty advisor at the intern's individual meetings with the faculty advisor.
- Faculty Advisor is responsible for:
- Overall coordination and administration of the internship course, including the development, monitoring, and maintenance of the agreement between the law school and the field placement agency;
- Coordinating the class component of the course;
- Maintaining communication between the law school, the law student, and the supervising attorney;
- Reviewing interns' time logs;
- Meeting with the interns on an individual basis at least twice during the course of the semester;
- Assigning, reviewing, and grading the reflective learning; and,
- Assessing a grade for one credit of the internship course (based on the quality of the assigned reflective learning projects, and the intern's participation in the class and individual meetings) and assessing whether the intern earned a passing or failing grade on the remaining credits (based on doing satisfactory work at the internship placement and meeting or failing to meet minimum the number of hours required to be spent at the field office and doing internship course related work).
- Supervising Attorney is responsible for:
- Orienting the intern to the office during the first week of the internship;
- Assisting in the skills training of the student intern by assigning legal projects to the intern;
- Providing to the intern a variety of challenging tasks that draw on the intern's legal skills throughout the course of the internship;
- Meeting regularly with the intern to discuss matters pertinent to an understanding of the legal process;
- Giving specific feedback to the intern during the course of the internship;
- Allowing intern, when feasible, to participate in, and not merely observe, the strategic decision-making process;
- Conducting a brief evaluation of the intern's performance at mid-semester and communicating that evaluation to the faculty advisor; and,
- Evaluating the intern's performance and work product in writing at the end of the internship.
V. EVALUATION OF INTERN PERFORMANCE
- Pass/Fail portion of grade -- 2 credits. A grade of S (satisfactory) or F (failing) will be given by the faculty advisor based on whether the intern satisfied all of the requirements of the internship course, including whether the intern met or failed to meet the number of hours required to be spent at the field office (120) and doing internship activities and related work (60).
- Letter grade portion of grade -- 1 credit. Interns will receive a letter grade for one credit of the internship course. This letter grade will be based on the quality of the reflective learning essays, the quality of the student's participation during the mandatory class meetings, and the quality of the student's discussion in individual meetings with the faculty advisor.
For information about individual internships, see the placement descriptions.
