EXTERNSHIPS EXCEL AMIDST COVID-19 CHALLENGES

Amidst COVID-19 Challenges, Fifty-Three Memphis Law Students to Gain Valuable Legal Experience Through Enrollment in the Summer 2020 Externship Course.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a near-uniform transition to online teaching and learning, it will not stop 53 Memphis Law students from earning real-world experience in legal externships this summer. Through enrollment in the Summer Externship Course, the students will work remotely in field placements with federal and state judges on the appellate and trial court levels; prosecutor and public defenders' offices; federal and state administrative agencies; healthcare entities; non-profit legal services providers, academic institutions, and select corporate in-house counsel departments. In total, more than 30 distinctive field placement partners will host the summer externs.

"Despite the many challenges at play, the Law School never wavered from its plan to offer Memphis Law students critical practice experience through the Externship Course this summer," said Danny Schaffzin, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Experiential Learning. "Not a single one of our long-time placement partners expressed an unwillingness to host an extern under remote work conditions. To the contrary, every placement has not only stayed on board, but has committed to offering our law students the kind of immersive experience that they would have if able to work in person at the host court, office, or organization. This is just the latest example of the how our Externship Course receives an unparalleled level of support and commitment from so many dedicated partners."

While virtually embedded in field placement, Memphis Law externs will participate in a weekly faculty-led seminar class that traditionally focuses on using the externship experience to hone lawyering skills, gain insight into how the legal system works, develop the ability to recognize and work through professional responsibility issues, establish a sense of professional identity, and build a strong foundation in reflective skills for future law practice. This summer, the weekly seminar will also emphasize ways that the externs can adapt to, perform strongly in, and maximize the learning and professional development opportunities that present in a remote work context.

"We are thrilled that Memphis Law students will once again be able to take advantage of outstanding Externship opportunities this summer," said Adjunct Professor Shawn McCarver, the Career Law Clerk to Chief Judge S. Thomas Anderson of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee who will co-teach the Summer Externship Course. "This summer our students will have a most unique opportunity, not only to experience learning outside the walls of our classrooms but also to do unprecedented work alongside judges and lawyers who are themselves thinking through the many adjustments required in a rapidly changing environment. In this way our students will find themselves at the forefront of new modes of operation for the legal professional, both in the administration of justice and in the delivery of legal services."

Through enrollment in the Summer 2020 Externship Course, Memphis Law students are gaining for-credit learning and work experience in the following field placements:

Judicial Chambers:

Judge Bernice B. Donald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Memphis, TN
Justice Holly M. Kirby, Tennessee Supreme Court, Memphis, TN
Judge Jennie D. Latta, U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
Judge Sheryl H. Lipman, U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
Judge Mark S. Norris, U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
Judge Thomas L. Parker, U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
Magistrate Judge Tu M. Pham, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
Magistrate Judge Jon A. York, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
Judge Mary Wagner, Shelby County Circuit Court, 30th Judicial District, Memphis, TN
Judge Patrick Dandridge, Shelby County Environmental Court, 30th Judicial District, Memphis, TN

Federal, State, and Local Government Law Offices:

City of Memphis Attorney's Office, Litigation Unit, Memphis, TN
City of Memphis Attorney's Office, Transactional Unit, Memphis, TN
City of Memphis Attorney's Office, Real Estate Unit, Memphis, TN
Shelby County District Attorney General's Office, Memphis, TN
- Honors Prosecution Externship (4 Students)
Shelby County Public Defender's Officer, Memphis, TN
Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Memphis District Office of Counsel, Memphis, TN

Federal and State Administrative Agencies:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – Hearings Unit, Memphis, TN
Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, Memphis, TN

Academic Institutions:

University of Memphis Office of University Counsel, Memphis, TN

Healthcare Entities:

Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation – Office of General Counsel, Memphis, TN
Medtronic Corporation – Office of Ethics and Compliance, Memphis, TN
Regional One Health – Office of General Counsel, Memphis, TN

In-House Counsel:

FedEx Express – Employment Litigation, Employment Law, and Commercial Litigation Groups, Memphis TN
FedEx Logistics, Inc. – Office of General Counsel, Memphis TN

Non-Profit Advocacy

Advocates for Immigrant Rights, Memphis, TN
Community Legal Center, Immigration Justice Program, Memphis, TN
Ducks Unlimited – Office of Land Protection, Memphis, TN
Just City, Memphis, TN
Memphis Area Legal Services, Memphis, TN
- Education Law/Partnership for Educational Advocacy and Parity
- Elder Law
- Fair Housing Center
- Family Law Unit
- Pro Bono Unit
Restoration of Rights Project
Mid-South Immigration Advocates, Memphis, TN
Tennessee Innocence Project, Memphis, TN