Field Placement (Externship) Checklist

You may find this brief checklist useful in helping you to better understand the process of establishing an externship.

☐ Identify an externship opportunity.

  • Nebraska Law doesn’t operate an externship “matching program,” rather placements are student led. The search and application process are a part of the experience, and lead to better employer and student outcomes. There are a variety of ways in which you may identify an externship opportunity.  Check out more information in the FAQs.


☐ Secure an offer from the position and accept the field placement (externship).  

  • Note, many opportunities can be turned into externships for academic credit that counts towards your “skills” requirements. Part of being a “skills course,” and ensuring we are in full compliance with ABA standards for credit earned outside the college, is the classroom component for externships. If you accept a position and plan to make it an externship, you need to ensure you can take the accompanying course, which is available on the master schedule. If you can’t make the class work with your schedule, you can still accept most placements, you just may not be able to earn academic credit for it.

☐ Identify who your onsite supervisor will be. 

  • Make sure to get the name, title, and contact information for your on-site supervisor.  If you are doing an externship with a judge, find out if the judge or one of their clerks will be serving as your direct supervisor. Don’t make assumptions. We can  work with office managers and other who may handle logistics, but a direct attorney supervisor is required. 

☐ Email-introduce Professor Magilton to your supervisor to start the paperwork process.

  • This can be simple, for example, “I want to connect you with Professor Elsbeth Magilton who teaches our externship program. Professor Magilton asked me to send this introduction so that she may provide information on the externship program from the law college’s side and the forms we're required to submit…” and any other details or questions you may have. Then I will respond with my form email which includes links to the forms you will both need to complete.

☐ Determine the number of externship hours you plan to take. 

  • Students may take a maximum of six credit hours of field placement (externship) during their time at Nebraska law. The accompanying course is included in that total and is 1 credit hour. To ensure our ABA standards compliance, the course is required for every externship. The program is designed for students to do two 3-credit externships or one 6-credit externship over the course of their studies. Additional guidance and information is available on the Student FAQ page. 

☐ Complete your Student Proposal form by the deadline, available at https://law.unl.edu/externships/.

  • Student Proposal forms and a student-led email introducing the onsite supervisor to Director Professor Magilton is due one month prior to the first day of the semester/session, by the end of the day (11:59pm). See more details on deadlines and enrollment caps on the Student FAQ page. 
  • Externship paperwork is supported by legal assistant Sabrina Ehmke Sergeant, sehmke2@unl.edu and she can help answer questions about the receipt and status of forms.


☐ Ensure your supervisor has finished their Supervisor Agreement, available at https://law.unl.edu/externships/.  

  • Externship paperwork is supported by legal assistant Sabrina Ehmke Sergeant, sehmke2@unl.edu and she can help answer questions about the receipt and status of forms.

 ☐ Register, with permission from Professor Magilton, for Externship Hours in MyRED. 

  • Students in their first externship will register for Section One. Students in a second externship, or who are doing a full time semester-away program, will register for Section Two. The required one-credit hour course is graded. It is LAW 792E and every extern must register for it, in either section one or two. The remaining hours will be graded pass/no pass and are LAW 792. For example, a 3 credit hour registration will look like:
    LAW 792E - 1 credit (section 1 or 2)
    LAW 792 - 2 credits (section 1 or 2)