Public Service Externships

Bridging the Gap between Theory and Hands-On Practice

Externships enable students to work for selected public agencies, nonprofits, and state or federal judges while receiving credit toward graduation. They also help bridge the gap between theory and hands-on practice and provide students with experience that gives them an advantage when seeking post graduation employment.

Field Placement

Each course of the externship program includes a field placement component that encompasses three aspects:

• Observation of, and immersion in, the day-to-day workings of a participating organization
• Professional interaction between the student and the field placement supervisor
• Involvement in specific legal problems and the resolution of those problems

Students perform research for and provide other law-related assistance to their field placement supervisor. Externs who have completed two-thirds of the required credits for graduation may qualify for a limited license to practice law, which also allows them to appear in court and try cases in the externship.

The Semester in Practice (PDF) course and the Public Service Externship (PDF) (classroom credit) course supplement the field placement experiences of the student with a seminar. A Public Service Externship (PDF) (non-classroom credit) course option is also available. 

Idaho Heritage Project

The Idaho Heritage Project – Rural Services Scholarship Fund provides scholarship support for students serving summer internships, externships, or pro bono service in rural communities throughout the state of Idaho.

Past Externships

• Ada County Public Defender’s Office
• American Civil Liberties Union
• California Department of Justice
• Capital Habeas Unit Federal Defenders Services of Idaho
• Center for Justice (Spokane, Wash.)
• City Attorney’s Office – multiple cities
• Coeur d’Alene Tribe Office of Legal Counsel
• County Prosecutor’s Office – multiple counties, Idaho and Washington
• Idaho Attorney General’s Office – criminal, environmental
• Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence
• Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc.
• Idaho State Bar
• Idaho State District Court – multiple districts
• Idaho Volunteers Lawyers Program (IVLP)
• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Public Policy Office
• New Mexico Office of District Attorney, 2nd Judicial District
• Nez Perce Tribe Prosecutor’s Office
• Office of the Governor of Idaho
• 2nd District Court, State of Utah
• Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
• State Appellate Public Defender’s Office
• United States Attorneys Office
• United States District Court
• University of Idaho
• Washington State University Center for Human Rights
• Washington State Attorney General’s Office