Externships at Moritz

Students may choose between two externship programs: the Judicial Externship Program and the Public Interest Externship Program. The goal of both programs is to provide students with valuable, practical experience in an academic setting that monitors the quality of their placements and asks students to reflect critically upon their experiences.

Approximately 30 students per semester work as judicial externs in a number of courts in Central Ohio, including the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the Ohio Supreme Court, the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Tenth Appellate District, and the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, General, Domestic Relations and Juvenile Divisions.

In addition, the Public Interest Externship Program places approximately 40 students per semester in state and federal governmental agencies and with non-profit organizations, such as the Federal Public Defenders' Office, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, the Franklin County Public Defender, the Legal Aid Society of Columbus, and the Ohio Children's Defense Fund.

Students interested in Summer or Autumn 2013 externships must submit an application, a resume, and a 5-page writing sample to Dean Monte Smith in Room 104 by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 25, 2013. The deadline for Spring Semester 2014 externships will be announced during the Autumn Semester. Students seeking externship credit for a volunteer position they have already secured must also ensure that the placement completes the required application.

More information about these programs can be found here. Students or placements with additional questions should contact Monte Smith, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, at 614-688-4676 or smith.747@osu.edu.