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Externships

Appellate Defender Program

The Appellate Advocacy Course and Externship are taught and supervised by Thomas Lillien, Director of the Second District Appellate Defenders Office in Elgin, IL and Peter Carusona, Director of the Third District Appellate Defenders Office in Ottawa, IL. Each attorney brings more than thirty years of appellate experience to the program. In the Fall semester, Mr. Lillien and Mr. Carusona teach the Appellate Advocacy course at the College of Law. In the Spring semester, they oversee the Appellate Defender Externship, supervising students at their respective offices.

The Appellate Defender Externship is a full-semester course in which students receive three hours of credit for working approximately 12 hours per week in offices of the Illinois Appellate Defender. Students participating in the externship work under the supervision of staff attorneys. Typical activities include researching; writing briefs, memoranda, and motions; and observing oral arguments in criminal appellate cases. Students must take Appellate Advocacy to be eligible.

The experience gained in this program is excellent preparation for students participating in both internal and external moot court competitions. Further, participation in the course and externship has opened doors for numerous students to find careers in appellate work, including judicial law clerks at the state and federal level.

Associate Dean Lenny Mandell is the coordinator for both the course and the externship.

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Civil Externship

Students in the Civil Externship program are immersed in the practice of law under the supervision of regional legal services lawyers or supervising attorneys in other placements including non-profit organizations and governmental or corporate offices. Students engage in all aspects of civil practice including counseling clients, planning and preparing litigation, negotiating with opposing parties, and representing clients before administrative and judicial tribunals. The Civil Externship is offered for three hours of credit and requires enrollment in a separate one credit hour classroom component during the fall and spring semesters. Students are required to work 12 hours per week at their placement sites and meet once a week for the course seminar. During the summer, there is no classroom component for the Civil Externship, and students are required to work 20 hours per week at their placement sites and receive three hours of credit.

For more information or questions, contact Professor Anita Maddali.

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Criminal Law Externship

The Criminal Law Externship Program is a Spring-semester course for which students receive four hours of credit. Enrollment in a separate one credit hour classroom component is required. Each student is assigned to spend 12-15 hours per week at offices in DeKalb, Winnebago, Boone, DuPage, or Kane County. Participating offices are selected on the basis of their willingness and ability to provide the student with a sound educational experience under the supervision of highly-qualified practicing attorneys. (Placements include state criminal prosecutor and public defender offices.)

Placements may also be available in the summer for twenty hours per week for 8 weeks (3 credit hours). The program is limited to third-year students who have taken Lawyering Skills or Trial Advocacy and Professional Responsibility.

Students in the externship are supervised directly by experienced Assistant State's Attorneys and Assistant Public Defenders.  They are allowed and encouraged to use 711 licenses to appear in court for motions, hearings, and trials.  Externs are able to use the pre-trial skills they have acquired in the Lawyering Skills course and the trial skills they have learned in the Trial Advocacy Course.  

The training received in this program has prepared many students to begin successful careers in criminal law, including positions at the offices of the State's Attorneys and Public Defenders.  

Associate Dean Lenny Mandell is the coordinator for the externship and the classroom component.

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Huskie Athletics Externship

The Intercollegiate Athletics Externship in the NIU Huskie Athletics Compliance Office seeks to provide 2L and 3L students at the NIU College of Law with the opportunity to experience the practice of law within intercollegiate athletic administration. Students are immersed in issues concerning NCAA regulation compliance, as well as many other aspects of collegiate athletic administration.

Externship Announcement

This externship experience is especially suited for students who are considering a career in athletic administration and/or have experience as an NCAA student athlete. Participating students work a minumim of 12 hours per week during the fall or spring semesters (20 hours per week during the eight week summer term) and receive three hours of academic credit, awarded on a pass/fail basis.

Statement of Purpose and Educational Objectives

Students interested in participating in the Huskie Athletics Externship Program should complete an application and meet with the faculty supervisor. An interview will be scheduled with the Associate Athletic Director. All placements are subject to the approval of the Associate Athletic Director and the faculty supervisor.

Application Form (PDF)

Application Form (Word)

For further information or to apply contact faculty supervisor Professor David Taylor. 

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Illinois Innocence Project Externship

The Illinois Innocence Project reviews cases that involve DNA testing and non-DNA cases that involve other factors common in wrongful convictions, such as eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, ineffective counsel, unreliable forensic evidence, and/or prosecutorial or police misconduct.

The Project office is located in the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) Center for State Policy and Leadership, and students from University of Illinois College of Law, SIU Law School, and NIU School of Law are able to work off-site at their law schools with arrangements for document security and supervision.

Law students have the unique opportunity to engage in legal research, case evaluation, drafting of motions and petitions for post-conviction relief, interviews of witnesses and potential clients at prisons; and court appearances with lawyers working on a case. Law students will be expected to conduct witness interviews, prison visits and interviews with potential clients. As part of the experience, they will learn how to access, review, and interpret information critical to determining whether the individuals are actually innocent. The work is performed under strict guidelines of confidentiality and the Rules of Professional Conduct.

This course is taught primarily by UIS Professor Gwen Jordan who is also a staff attorney for the Innocence Project. Also instructing will be Professor John Hanlon, IIP Legal Director and Erica Nichols Cook, staff attorney handling non-DNA wrongful conviction cases. For more information, please contact Professor Anita Maddali at amaddali@niu.edu.

If you are interested in applying for the project, please complete both applications posted below:

Innocence Project NIU Application

Innocence Project Student Case Application 

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Judicial Externship

The Judicial Externship Program provides students with the opportunity to observe and participate in the legal process from the unique vantage point of the judiciary. The primary educational goal of the program is to allow student externs to gain insight into the judicial process, as well as to utilize and improve their research, writing and analytical skills. The program is limited to third year students with a GPA of 2.8 or higher. Participating students work 12 hours per week for a supervising judge during the fall or spring semesters (20 hours per week during the eight week summer term) and receive three hours of academic credit, awarded on a pass/fail basis.

Statement of Purpose and Educational Objectives

Students interested in participating in the Judicial Externship Program should complete an application and meet with the faculty supervisor to discuss their interests, such as civil suits versus criminal matters, as well as any specific interests within those parameters, i.e., family law, probate, domestic violence, felony prosecutions, etc. The faculty supervisor and applicants will work together to determine appropriate potential placements. The faculty supervisor then submits the student’s credentials to the proposed supervising judge, who may then interview the student. All placements are subject to the approval of the supervising judge and the faculty supervisor.

Application Form (PDF)

Application Form (Word)

For further information or to apply contact faculty supervisor Professor David Taylor. 

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Juvenile Court Externship

Student participating in the Juvenile Court Externship assist in preparing for and prosecuting neglect and delinquency cases in court. An additional portion of the experience may also involve Victim-Offender Restorative Justice Mediation of pending juvenile delinquency matters under the direction of certified mediators and the Juvenile Prosecutor at the Office of the County State’s Attorney. The Juvenile Court Externship is offered for three hours of credit. Enrollment in a separate one credit hour classroom component may be required.

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Migrant Farmworker Externship

The Legal Assistance Foundation’s (LAF) Migrant Project is proud to collaborate with NIU College of Law to work on cutting-edge issues involving labor and immigration rights. Every year, thousands of farmworkers come to Illinois to sow and harvest the fruits and vegetables sold in our grocery stores. Knowing agricultural laborers have limited access to public benefits, education, and legal recourse, employers often deny workers basic rights such as bathroom-breaks, pesticide protection, and fair wages. Many of these employers fail to comply with federal and state laws resulting in rampant wage-theft, sexual harassment, discrimination, and exploitation of workers. Alongside attorneys from LAF, students will work to empower workers through education, and they will collaborate with community organizations to secure resources to allow workers to speak out against these injustices. For more information, please contact Professor Anita Maddali at amaddali@niu.edu.

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