by Nichole Sklare
During the fall semester of my 2L year, I worked at the Pentagon as a legal extern for the United States Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel – International Affairs. Instead of taking classes at the law college, I earned 12 credit hours by learning national security law and policy first-hand while it was being applied to real-world situations.
Before I got to the Washington D.C. area, I was nervous about receiving projects from the general counsel attorneys I would be working for, wondering if I could keep up with the work. However, I found that I was well-equipped to take on each task with the foundational principles I’d learned from the International Perspectives class I had as a 1L and from the lessons taught by our amazing research librarians. Therefore, I would recommend this externship to any 2L or 3L at the law college even if they don’t have an extensive background in international law and policy.
Through this experience, I gained such a diverse and expansive understanding of the critical roles attorneys play working in national security law in the public sector. For example, I had the opportunity to help draft provisions of a bilateral treaty while acting as a member of the United States Delegation during negotiations. I also drafted provisions in the legislative proposal for Space Force, researched issues and attended interagency meetings regarding foreign military aid, and was introduced to attorneys serving as counsel to numerous other agencies including the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.
As someone who had never even been to D.C. before, I cannot describe how helpful it was to speak with the Career Development Office as I prepared for my stay there. I received advice on living arrangements and Nebraska Law alumni to reach out to who live there now or had previously externed with the Department of Defense.
I cannot imagine a better way to have furthered my public service goals than through this experience.
Nichole Sklare is a third-year student at the University of Nebraska College of Law. She will receive her J.D. in December 2019 and hopes to work as an attorney with the federal government in the area of U.S. foreign affairs law.