Externship and Clinical Alliance Application, Petition, and Approval Process

The Externship program and the Clinical Alliances have a primary purpose of providing individual students with real life experiences in the legal world. This purpose permeates both the requirements and the approval process for these applications. In addition to specific requirements that must be satisfied, each Externship and Clinical Alliance placement is subject to approval by professors and staff members at the law school. Those professors and staff members apply their experience and legal background to making the judgments of which applications to approve.

First, each of the following is required for each Externship and Clinical Alliance placement:
i. The applicant must submit the petition located in the Experiential Learning tab in LINX by clicking “+ New Experience” and completing the required information. 

ii. For an Externship that is with a domestic placement provider (i.e., a placement provider located in the United States), the applicant must also complete the main campus online University Internship Application, which is known as IRAMS.

iii. The Externship or Clinical Alliance placement provider must have a current signed, or enter into a new, Internship Master Agreement on file with Brigham Young University. An applicant may check with Karen Andrews (andrewsk@law.byu.edu or by phone 801.422.5479) or conduct an Internship Agreement
Database Search to determine whether a potential Externship or Clinical Alliance placement provider has a current Internship Master Agreement.

iv. The Externship or Clinical Alliance placement provider must designate a supervising attorney who must (a) have at least three years of experience practicing law, (b) be a member in good standing before the state bar(s) where the supervising attorney is admitted, and (c) be willing to complete evaluations of the student in the Externship or Clinical Alliance placement if such evaluations are requested by BYU Law School.

v. For a Clinical Alliance placement, the applicant must register for the appropriate Clinical Alliance class listed in the Course Information Page. 

Second, the application or petition must be approved by BYU Law School. During the evaluation process, the applicant must submit all information that is requested by those evaluating the application or petition. Applicants should be aware that BYU Law School considers, among others, the following information:

i. The history of the placement provider and the supervising attorney.
vi. The reputation in the legal community of the placement provider and the supervising attorney.
vii. Reviews provided by prior students who have worked with the placement provider and the supervising attorney.
viii. All information submitted by the applicant in the Experiential Learning Request and otherwise requested from the applicant or the placement provider.

While reviewing an application, BYU Law School may require more information or documents from the applicant or the placement provider. Failure to provide all requested information may result in a denial of an applicant’s petition. Applicants should be aware that a portion of the approval process has already been completed for Externships through the International Match Program, the Domestic Match Program, and the Corporate Counsel Match Program and for many placement providers who have previously participated in a Clinical Alliance.

Third, after the applicant receives notification that the applicant’s petition has been approved and prior to the start of work for an Externship or a Clinical Alliance class, the applicant must submit to Karen Andrews a BYU Law Field Placement Memorandum of Understanding. The BYU Law Field Placement Memorandum of Understanding must be signed by the applicant and the supervising attorney.

Remember that any placement under the Externship program or any Clinical Alliance class is tentative until (i) the student has completed the externship petition in LINX and, for applications during the summer term, myBYU, (ii) approval has been received from the Experiential Learning Director, (iii) all required paperwork has been turned in to Karen Andrews, and (iv) the applicant has received confirmation from the law school Registrar (GaeLynn Smith) that the applicant is registered and ready to start submitting assignments to the supervising faculty member or externship provider. 

The applicants should also be aware that the requirements for receiving academic credit for an Externship or a Clinical Alliance class may change from time to time, and no student will receive academic credit for an Externship or a Clinical Alliance class unless all BYU Law School and Brigham Young University requirements for such academic credit have been met. 

For further information on the application process for Externships and Clinical Alliance classes, please contact Karen Andrews at: andrewsk@law.byu.edu or 801 422.5479.