Clinical Externship Program
Through the Clinical Externship Program, third-year students gain real-world legal experience in exchange for academic credit at various organizations, agencies, law offices, government offices, and corporations in San Diego and around the world.
Clinical Externship Program
The Clinical Externship Program is an essential component of the curriculum at California Western School of Law. The Program builds upon students' strong doctrinal and practice foundation developed in their first two years of law school. The 13-week Program during the fall and spring term (10-week Program during the summer term) gives third year students the opportunity to earn between one and ten academic credits for legal work in not-for-profit agencies, private law offices, courts, corporations, or government agencies. In these settings, students engage in legal work and acquire valuable insights and skills that prepare them for practice. The Program develops and promotes confidence, problem-solving skills, and professionalism that lead to becoming practice-ready attorneys.
Clinical Externship Placements
California Western students gain valuable experience and develop their professional identity in a wide range of externship placements in both the public and private sectors. A sample of recent externship placements include:
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Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
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U.S. District Courts
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California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District
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San Diego County Superior Court
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State of Hawaii Second Circuit Court
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U.S. Department of Justice
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U.S. Attorney’s Office - Civil Division
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U.S. Attorney’s Office - Criminal Division
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U.S. Department of Energy
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U.S. Navy JAG Corps
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Office of the U.S. Trustee
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California Office of the Attorney General
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San Diego Office of the District Attorney
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Los Angeles Office of the District Attorney
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San Bernardino Office of the District Attorney
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San Diego Public Defender’s Office
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Office of the City Attorney- San Diego
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County of San Diego Office of Labor Standards & Enforcement
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ACLU
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American Bar Association Immigration Justice Project
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Casa Cornelia Law Center
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Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc.
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San Diego Volunteer Law Program
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Southern California Immigration Project
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Dependency Legal Services, San Diego
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Department of Child Support Service
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Disability Rights of California
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San Diego Coastkeeper
Opportunities are available at private law firms of all sizes, from national firms to solo practitioners. Externs have worked in various practice areas, including civil litigation, corporate transactions, personal injury, criminal defense, estate planning and probate litigation, family law, immigration law, and Intellectual Property.
The Clinical Externship Program provides a law student the opportunity to begin to transition from student to practitioner. This program offers the opportunity for a student to strengthen their lawyering skills and supports the development of a student's research, writing and oral advocacy skills in a clinical setting.
Learn more about the rules and regulations for participation in the program or how to become a pre-approved placement for our law students.
Clinical Externship Team
Catherine Hardee is a professor of law and serves as the Director of the Clinical Externship Program. Hardee's research and teaching interests are in the fields of business law and torts.
Kelly Bruhn, Esq. is an adjunct professor of law and serves as the Associate Director of the Clinical Externship Program. Kelly Bruhn teaches Disability Law at California Western.
Contact Us
For more information, contact Kelly Bruhn, Esq. - Associate Director, Clinical Externship Program at JavaScript Required or at (619) 525-1438.