Experience the Law
At the UW School of Law we believe the best way to educate future lawyers and leaders is to provide them with a strong foundation in legal theory, and the opportunity to experience the law first-hand. We also believe that the law is a calling in the spirit of public service, and that professional responsibility is a quality that can be learned only through experience and dialogue. For these reasons, the School of Law provides a variety of opportunities for students to serve the broader community. In fact, we require a minimum commitment of 60 hours of public service from every student before he or she graduates.
Students have a myriad of opportunities to apply what they have learned through our centers, summer externships and through public service in our clinical program. The public service requirement is fulfilled through externships, the Clinical Program, or through Street Law.
Externships
Students complete public-interest externships for classroom credit with judges, government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, state courts and private law firms working on pro bono matters. Externships typically last three months and may be based with local, national or international organizations. Examples of participating organizations include the Washington State Attorney
General’s Office, United States Department of Justice, Office of
the Federal Public Defender, Northwest Intertribal Court System,
Northwest Justice Project, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project,
International Justice Mission, International Labour Organization,
and Oxfam.
The Olympia Quarter Fellows Program is a competitive program that places 2Ls and 3Ls in high-level externships in the state's capitol during winter quarter. Students gain valuable public
policy and legal experience by working in the judicial, legislative
or executive branches of state government. They also have an
opportunity to develop relationships with alumni, government
officials and faculty through program events.