» Externship Program

The opportunity to gain real-world experience from an externship is available in a wide variety of legal fields. No matter a student’s background or interest, there is an externship to fit his or her educational needs. The following is just a sampling of the externships available to Chapman students:

Courts: U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, California Court of Appeal, California Superior Court, Immigration Court

Federal Government: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Medicare Hearings And Appeals, U.S. Small business Administration, Internal Revenue Service

State Government: Attorney General of California (multiple units), California State Board of Equalization Tax Appeals Assistance Program

Local Government: Orange County Office of the County Counsel, Anaheim City Attorney’s Office, Santa Ana City Attorney’s Office, Huntington Beach City Attorney’s Office, Newport Beach City Attorney’s Office

Criminal Law: Orange County District Attorney, Orange County Public Defender,  United States Attorney’s Office, Federal Public Defender

Public Interest/Non-Profits: Legal Aid Society of Orange County, Public Law Center, Children’s Law Center, ACLU of Southern California, Disability Rights Legal Center, Bet Tzedek,

Private Placements: Students can earn externship credit at an ever-developing list of in-house counsel, entertainment organizations, and private law firms. 

Make Your Own! Know a judge that wants an extern? Met an attorney who could use a hand? They may be eligible to take on an extern! Help the externship program bring in new opportunities. Contact us to see if you can be a trailblazer for future externs at a new location.

Current students: Access the complete list of Approved Externship Placements. 

Some externships offer the opportunity to appear in court on behalf of clients or the government if the law student is first "certified" through the State Bar's Practical Training of Law Students program. Students are eligible if:

(1) they have completed the first year of law school, and

(2) they have completed Civil Procedure and Evidence or will be enrolled in one or both of those classes during the externship semester.

Visit the California Bar Website at www.calbar.ca.gov for a general overview.

To learn how to become certified visit the Calbar Admissions Page. 

For information on which externship placements encourage certification, contact Externship Director Carolyn Larmore.  

RE-CERTIFICATION