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BYU Law School has one of the strongest externship programs in the country. In addition to having one of the largest student participation rates (81%), BYU Law School also has one of the largest international externship programs available. During the summer of 2019, 25 1L law students traveled to 19 different countries to complete externships. Due to Covid, no students traveled during the 2020 summer. During the 2022 summer, 8 students traveled to 8 different foreign countries.

The BYU Law Externship Program is designed to provide an in-office practical experience for students who have completed one year of study at BYU Law School. Students have the opportunity to put theory into practice during their externship experience. In 2022, BYU Law students completed 192 externship and clinical alliance placements in the following areas:

• Judicial
• Government
• Legislative
• Public Interest
• International
• Private Law Firm
• In-house Corporate Counsel

In each placement, students earned one unit of law school credit, in lieu of pay, for each 45 hours of work. Fall and winter experiences are called Clinical Alliances. A very limited number of externships will continue to be available in the fall or winter semesters based on a very specific set of criteria. Most externships will be completed over the summer.

Students may earn up to six units of law school credit during both their 1L and 2L summers. A maximum of three credits (135 hours) can be earned in an externship or clinical alliance placement at a for-profit law firm or in-house corporate counsel placement. Students can earn up to six credits, with approval, (270 hours) at a government, judicial or public interest office. The number of hours and dates of work for each placement are mutually arranged between the experience provider and the student.

There is no expectation that externship providers will hire student externs after the requirements for the externship have been completed.

Students may not receive compensation for their work as an extern, but they may receive reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses related to the placement.

As part of the program, students are required to:

1. Submit a learning plan—a list of experiences they hope to have during the externship;
2. Perform work assignments;
3. Participate in the full range of activities available through the provider’s office; and
4. Complete other academic requirements including journals, online classes, and self-evaluations.

Supervising attorneys are asked to:

1. Provide meaningful work assignments, or put the student in the normal assignment channels for the office;
2. Review and sign off on the student’s learning plan;
3. Evaluate the student’s performance in online midterm and final student evaluations; and
4. Respond to the student’s self-evaluation.

Learn more about the BYU University Internship Policy

For further information on the BYU Law Experiential Learning Program, please contact Karen Andrews at: [email protected] or +1 (801) 422-5479.

There are several ways to find and secure an externship placement. Different options are listed below with relevant information. Please click below on the type of externship you are interested in pursuing.

Once a placement is secured, you must complete a petition in LINX. Please see the directions below.

For every placement, domestic or international, you will need to complete a petition in LINX. If you are working on a self-initiated placement, the petition is how you ask for law school approval of the placement. If you are accepting a placement through the Matched Externship Program, are setting up a self-initiated externship, have any type of international externship, or are participating in a fall and/or winter clinical alliance—the petition confirms your position and starts the process of getting a faculty member assigned to you.

IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE A LINX PETITION, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY CREDIT FOR THE WORK YOU COMPLETE IN YOUR PLACEMENT—WHETHER DOMESTIC OR INTERNATIONAL.

You will need to fill out the petition in LINX to get the ball rolling on the approval process.

BYU Law Field Placement MOU There is required paperwork in relation to your externship or clinical alliance placement. The signed paperwork needs to be submitted to Karen Andrews’ office before your externship or clinical alliance can be approved.

The BYU Law Field Placement Memorandum of Understanding should be signed by your supervising attorney. You can download the paperwork from the link below and ask your supervising attorney to sign and scan it back to either yourself or Karen Andrews.

The Master Internship Agreement is required to be on file with the main campus internship office prior to a student starting his/her experience. The Master Internship Agreement has to be current within the last ten years. Visit the Internship Agreement Database to find out if there is a current Master Internship Agreement on file.

Master Internship Agreement

This database is very basic in nature—but is current—and has great historical information on externships where BYU Law students have externed in the past—including the time frame that the student was there and also student comments on their experience. It will also show any current opportunities that are available to BYU Law students.

This database is password protected. Please contact the Career Development Office for the current password—or email Karen Andrews at [email protected].

A clinical alliance (fall/winter terms) combines a 1-credit weekly class (50 min.) on campus, with an on-site placement (either 2 or 3 credits). Some clinical alliances have prearranged placements, and you will not need to worry about obtaining your own placement. The Criminal Prosecution and Defense Clinical Alliance has the student work with either the Utah County Attorney’s Office (prosecution) or the Utah County Public Defender’s Office (defense). Other Clinical Alliance classes, Law Firm & Corporate Counsel, Government Practice, and Judicial, require you to identify a placement in which to work in order to fulfill the placement-related work requirement. A student must work 45 hours to earn 1 unit of law school credit. The student must fill out the petition in LINX, to receive approval for the placement. You cannot earn any credit for a clinical alliance if you don’t fill out the LINX petition.

The BYU Law Clinical Alliance Program is designed to provide a wide range of practical skills experiences for students who are in their second and third years of study at BYU Law.

Clinical Alliances combine the practical experience students gain in a practitioner’s office with the academic support of a carefully guided classroom experience.

The dates and times for each clinical alliance class are listed in the BYU Law Class Schedule (found on the Course Information page) each semester. The dates and times that the student will work with the placement provider are mutually arranged between those two parties. Regular reporting of days and hours worked is required.

There is no expectation that Clinical Alliance placement providers will hire students after the requirements for the placement have been completed. Clinical Alliances are pass/fail graded courses and are subject to the grading policies and procedures of the law school.

Pursuant to ABA rules, each student participating in a Clinical Alliance must have completed at least 28 credit hours of law school instruction before participating in the program. Thus, the program is available to rising 2L and 3L students. Clinical Alliance classes are available in the fall and winter semesters.

Clinical Alliance placement providers should have one attorney who is designated as the supervising attorney for the student. The supervising attorney will be asked to evaluate the student in the placement and complete two formal evaluations—one at the mid-term of the placement and the second at the conclusion of the experience. The supervising attorney should feel free to contact the supervising faculty member with questions about the program or with feedback about the student.

Supervising attorneys should have at least three years of experience practicing law and be a member in good standing of their respective state bar.

Placement providers are required to have a signed and current Master Agreement on file with Brigham Young University. You may check with the main campus Experiential Learning & Internship Office to find out if a current Master Agreement is already on file—or check with Karen Andrews.

Supervising attorneys will be asked to sign a BYU Law Field Placement MOU IA

For further information, please contact Karen Andrews at: [email protected] or by phone +1 (801) 422-5479.

A student who is interested in a Clinical Alliance experience will need to register for the appropriate Clinical Alliance class listed in the course information list. To petition for—and to receive approval for your proposed Clinical Alliance, you will need to fill out the Experiential Learning petition located in LINX.

Once you receive approval for your Clinical Alliance petition, you will need to make sure that the required paperwork is signed by your supervising attorney. This signed paperwork needs to be submitted to Karen Andrews’ office prior to the start of the externship or clinical alliance. Once this required paperwork is turned in, final approval will be given to the LINX Experiential Learning petition.

The BYU Law Field Placement Memorandum of Understanding should be signed by your supervising attorney. You can download the paperwork from the link below and ask your supervising attorney to sign and scan it back to either yourself or Karen Andrews at: [email protected] BYU Law Field Placement Memorandum of Understanding.

A current Master Internship Agreement is required by the BYU Experiential Learning & Internship Office. The Internship Agreement has to be current within the last ten years. To find out whether there is a current Master Internship Agreement on file for the office that you are interested in, click on the link below.

Master Internship Agreement