Practice Based Learning

About Externships

A significant number of Maryland Carey Law students also participate in externships.  There are many different types of externships and places a student can extern: work for governmental entities, nonprofits, non-governmental organizations, and other public interest organizations.  Many students identify a place of employment and then approach a faculty advisor to supervise the job opportunity.  In other instances, faculty advisors will provide assistance and arrange an externship for a student. Externships carry from 3 to 11 credits.  Some examples of specific externships programs and externships students have completed can be found below:

Asper Fellowship Program

The Asper Fellowship Program is a judicial externship opportunity where students can obtain credit for supervised law-related work with state and federal judges.  By completing an externship with a judge, a student will not only develop his or her practical and legal writing skills, but also continue to develop his or her network. Students are able to complete externships following the completion of their first year of law school.  

Students have completed Asper Fellowships with judges at the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland Court of Special Appeals, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Maryland Circuit Courts, the Baltimore Immigration Court, and the Maryland Juvenile Justice Center, among other places.   

Asper Judicial Externships are named in memory of the late Professor Lewis D. Asper and are intended to expose students to the practical workings of the legal system and to help students develop insights into the process of judicial decision-making.

Legislative/Congressional Externship

Through our Legislative/Congressional Externship, students spend a semester interning for a congressional office on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.  In order to complete this externship, a student may intern with a member of Congress or for a Congressional Committee.  Through this program students will develop legal writing skills and advocacy skills. Students are able to complete these externships following the completion of their first year of law school.  

Students have completed externships with the Committee on Homeland Security, Committee on Environment and Public Works, Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Senator Dick Durbin, Representative Rodney Davis, Representative Ann M. Kuster, and for several subcommittees, such as The Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

Other Externships 

Students can also complete externships with many other organizations.  A sample of places in which students have externed can be found below.  Please note that this list is only a brief sample of places in which students have externed. 

Alternative Dispute Resolution

District Court of Maryland ADR Program
Maryland Commission on Civil Rights
Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Office of Mediation
National Institutes of Health Office of the Ombudsman

Business Law

Federal Communications Commission
Federal Trade Commission
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer
NFL Players Association
Securities and Exchange Commission
U.S. Attorney's Office
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
U.S. Department for the Treasury
World Bank

Criminal Law

Attorney General of Maryland
Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office
Baltimore City Office of the Public Defender
Department of Justice, Criminal Division
District Courts of Pennsylvania
Miami-Dade State's Attorney's Office
National Women's Law Center
Office of the Federal Public Defender
Office of the Secretary of the Navy
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement

Cybersecurity & Crisis Management/ Center for Health & Homeland Security  

Baltimore City Health Department
Hospitals and hospital coalitions
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
U.S. Department of Health and Homeland Security 
U.S. Department of State, Office of Anti-Terrorism Assistance

Environmental Law

Center for International Environmental Law
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Environmental Law Institute
The Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
U.S. Department of Energy
World Health Organization (Geneva)

Health Law

CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield Office of the General Counsel
Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. Healthcare Rights Project
Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight
Maryland Disability Law Center
Medstar Health
National Human Genome Research Institute
National Institutes of Health
Network for Public Health Law- E Region
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
Project Heal, Center for Innovation and Leadership in Special Education

Intellectual Property Law

Food and Drug Administration
Johns Hopkins Office of Technology Transfer
Smithsonian Institutions
The United States Copyright Office
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)

International & Comparative Law

Inter-American Court of Human Rights (San Jose, Costa Rica)
International Non-Governmental Organizations
South Africa Externship Program (human & civil rights law organizations)
U.S. Department of State

Public Interest

ACLU Maryland
Kids in Need of Defense
NAACP
SAFE Center Human Trafficking Survivors College Park, Maryland
SurvJustice Inc.  

Women, Leadership, & Equality

House of Ruth
National Women's Law Center
The Tahirih Justice Center
Women's Law Center of Maryland

National Trial Team

The National Trial Team is a for-credit student organization where students hone their trial advocacy skills through participation in trial practices and competitions throughout the country. Students learn advanced litigation skills and strategies from prominent trial lawyers and then utilize those skills in full length trials in front of federal and state judges and attorneys. There is also a classroom component with lectures and practical exercises. 

Students can try out for National Trial Team each spring and tryouts are open to first-year day students, first-year evening students transferring to the day program, and second-year evening students. 

Moot Court Board

The Moot Court Board is a for-credit student organization where students hone their legal writing and oral advocacy skills through appellate brief writing and oral arguments.  Members will hear from guest speakers throughout the year, including federal and appellate court judges.  

Each year the school also hosts the Morris B. Myerowitz Moot Court Competition, where students write briefs and present oral arguments early in the fall semester on a hypothetical case.  The initial rounds of the competition are judged by Moot Court Board Members while the final round is judged by practitioners and judges.   

Students can try out for Moot Court Board during their second year in the day program or third year in the evening program.  

International Moot Court Board

International Moot Court is a for-credit student organization where students hone their legal writing and oral advocacy skills through brief writing and oral arguments specifically related to issues in international law.  Members will have the opportunity to compete in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.  This competition has been around for more than 50 years and is the world's largest moot court competition, with over 680 different schools around the worlds having competed in the past.  

Alternative Dispute Resolution Team 

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Team is a for-credit student organization where students hone their negotiation and mediation skills through practices and nationwide competitions each year.  ADR exposes students to the theory, skills, and practical experience needed to navigate dispute resolution processes in a variety of legal contexts.  These skills are applicable to nearly every practice area.  Students will receive instruction from faculty, alumni, and local practitioners.   

Students can try out for ADR Team during the spring of their first year in the day program or spring of their second year in the evening program.