Nearly 80 Students Enroll in Clinic and Externship Courses During the Spring 2013 Semester

During the Spring 2013 semester, nearly 80 upper-level law students will earn academic credit and gain valuable hands-on legal experience through participation in the University of Memphis School of Law’s Experiential Learning Program.  Twenty-seven students will take one of the four in-house clinical courses – the Child and Family Litigation Clinic, the Civil Litigation Clinic, the Elder Law Clinic, and the Mediation Clinic – being offered by the Law School during the Spring Semester.  In addition, 50 students will participate in the Law School’s Spring 2013 Externship Program, working under the supervision of judges and attorneys throughout Memphis while simultaneously enrolling in a weekly classroom seminar designed to introduce the essential habits of the reflective practitioner and assessment of the skills, relationships, issues, and mindsets that prevail in the practice setting.

"By taking advantage of the Law School’s Experiential Learning course offerings, including our in-house, live-client clinics, and our field-based externships, University of Memphis students move beyond the foundation of core doctrinal courses and immerse themselves in supervised legal activities designed to further develop essential lawyering skills and professional values," said Daniel Schaffzin, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Clinic Programs and Externships.  “Students emerge from experiential courses that much more ready to practice law and to meet the rightfully high expectations of the future clients and employers on whose behalf they will work following graduation.” 

The University of Memphis Legal Clinic is an academic program and professional law office housed within the walls of the Law School.  Working under the direct and ongoing supervision of licensed faculty members, student attorneys in the Child and Family Litigation Clinic, Civil Litigation Clinic, and Elder Law Clinic represent clients in a wide variety of lawsuits and other legal matters, maintaining primary responsibility for all aspects of the cases to which they are assigned.  In the Mediation Clinic, offered for the first time during the Spring 2013 semester, students will receive the training required by Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 before one may become listed as a Rule 31 Mediator while simultaneously observing and, when possible, co-mediating live mediations.  Through their case-related work and simultaneous participation in a faculty-led, weekly seminars, Legal Clinic students further hone essential legal skills and take an important step toward becoming strategic, reflective, and self-aware attorneys. 

Like the Legal Clinic, the Law School’s Externship Program takes students outside of the traditional classroom, where they learn by doing and observing, and further develop essential research and writing skills, communication abilities, and problem-solving techniques under the direction of local judges and attorneys.  As part of the Spring 2013 Externship Program, the following field placements are providing for-credit learning and work experience opportunities for Memphis Law students:

Judicial Chambers

• Judge Bernice B. Donald, U.S Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Chief Judge Jon Phipps McCalla, U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
• Judge S. Thomas Anderson, U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
• Magistrate Judge Charmiane G. Claxton, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
• Magistrate Judge Tu M. Pham, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
• Magistrate Judge Diane K. Vescovo, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
• Judge George W. Emerson, Jr., U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee
• Judge Rebecca L. Holt, U.S. Immigration Court Judge
• Judge Charles E. Pazar, U.S. Immigration Court Judge
• Justice Janice M. Holder, Supreme Court of Tennessee
• Judge Holly Kirby, Tennessee Court of Appeals
• Judge Robert L. Childers, Shelby County Circuit Court, 30th Judicial District
• Judge Donna M. Fields, Shelby County Circuit Court, 30th Judicial District
• Judge Gina C. Higgins, Shelby County Circuit Court, 30th Judicial District

Federal and State Attorneys’ Offices

• Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
• Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, Memphis, TN
• Shelby County Public Defender’s Officer, Memphis, TN
• Memphis City Attorney’s Office (Litigation Unit)
• Memphis City Attorney’s Office (Transactional Unit)

Federal and State Administrative Agencies

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Hearing Division, Administrative Law Judge Deanna Windham
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Hearing Division, Administrative Law Judge Steven D. Townsdin, Memphis, TN
• National Labor Relations Board
• Memphis Housing Authority
• Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority 

Healthcare Entities

• Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation
• Regional Medical Center at Memphis
• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Non-Profit Advocacy

• Memphis Area Legal Services
• Legal Aid of Arkansas – West Memphis Office

Banking Law

• Orion Federal Credit Union

For more information about the Experiential Learning curriculum at the University of Memphis School of Law, please click here. 

42 University of Memphis Law Students Pursue Externships for Course Credit During Summer 2012

During the Summer of 2012, 42 University of Memphis Law School students are enrolled in externships that will allow them to simultaneously earn academic credit and gain valuable hands-on legal experience through work performed under the supervision of federal and state judges on the appellate and trial court levels; federal and state attorneys' and public defenders' offices; federal and state administrative agencies; an educational institution; and a non-profit legal services provider.

"By taking advantage of the Law School’s experiential learning course offerings, including our field-based externships and in-house, live-client clinics, University of Memphis Law students move beyond the foundation of core doctrinal courses and immerse themselves in supervised legal activities designed to further develop essential lawyering skills and professional values," said Daniel Schaffzin, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Clinic Programs and Externships. “Students emerge from experiential courses that much more ready to practice law and to meet the rightfully high expectations of the future clients and employers on whose behalf they will work following graduation.”

“Not only has the externship program given me the chance to work with seasoned and respected attorneys, it has made me look at the big picture around my work and to see all of the ‘ripples’ that are caused by the day-to-day actions of lawyers and the legal profession,” said David Cooley, a rising 3L student, who is enrolled in a summer externship with the University of Memphis Office of Legal Counsel. “I highly recommend the externship program at the University of Memphis because of the many opportunities it presents to students to gain experiential knowledge about several legal areas and, more importantly, about themselves.”

As part of the Summer 2012 Externship Program, the following field placements are providing for-credit learning and work experience opportunities for Memphis Law students:

Judicial Chambers

• Judge Bernice B. Donald, U.S Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Memphis, Tenn.
• Judge S. Thomas Anderson, U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn.
• Magistrate Judge Tu M. Pham, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn.
• Chief Judge David S. Kennedy, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn.
• Judge Jennie D. Latta, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn.
• Judge Paulette J. Delk, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn.
• Judge Holly Kirby, Tennessee Court of Appeals, Memphis, Tenn.
• Judge Robert L. Childers, Shelby County Circuit Court, 30th Judicial District, Memphis, Tenn.
• Judge Donna M. Fields, Shelby County Circuit Court, 30th Judicial District, Memphis, Tenn.

Federal and State Attorneys’ Offices

• U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn.
• U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, Jackson, Tenn.
• Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn.
• Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, Memphis, Tenn.
• Shelby County Public Defender’s Officer, Memphis, Tenn.
• Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender, Nashville, Tenn.

Federal and State Administrative Agencies

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Hearing Division, Administrative Law Judge Deanna Windham, Memphis, Tenn.
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Hearing Division, Administrative Law Judge Steven D. Townsdin, Memphis, Tenn.
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Legal Division
• Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
• Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

Educational Institutions

• University of Memphis Office of Legal Counsel

Non-Profit Advocacy

• Memphis Area Legal Services

For more information about experiential learning opportunities at the University of Memphis School of Law, please click here.