Information for Students
- Practical Experience
- Externships
- Information for Students
Chicago-Kent offers three avenues for students to pursue externship opportunities in the areas of government, public interest, private, and for-profit firms and corporations. Examples of externships include working for the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office; public defender offices; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and numerous major law firms and nonprofits. All externships must be approved. The three types of externships include:
Judicial Externships acquaint you with the day-to-day operation of the courts as you work with trial and appellate court judges and their law clerks to research and write legal memoranda and draft opinions.
Legal Externships allow you to work in civil or criminal practice in a specialized area of your choice with supervising attorneys in federal, state, and local government agencies; private law firms of all sizes; corporate legal departments; or public interest organizations."
Judicial Externship Program
Judicial Externship Program (JEP) is a four credit hour, pass/low pass/fail program open to students who have completed at least their first full year of law school and want to do legal research and writing for a federal appellate, district or magistrate judge, or designated Illinois appellate or circuit court judges.
JEP enables a student to become involved in particular legal problems through research and writing, and to contribute to the resolution of those problems by participating in drafting memoranda and opinions.
Depending upon the judge, an extern may also have the opportunity to observe the judge’s day-to-day routine and discuss with him/her the issues and problems that judges confront. Take advantage of this prestigious learning opportunity while enhancing your marketability in the legal world.
Application Process: We will post opportunities below or you can find one on your own through 12Twenty (see below). If you do obtain an externship through an outside source, please email Professor Decatorsmith as well as fill out the form the proper semester:
Note: Before you apply, be certain you are able to commit 16 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters, or 30 hours/week in the summer, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component and other requirements of the course during the semester. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Professor Jon Decatorsmith (jdecator@illinoistech.edu).
Find your own judicial externship: Students can find their own externship through posts made by individual chambers on the Career Services Management System 12twenty* or get placed with judges in various divisions via the Cook County application. In the Summer, students can also apply to judges via the Just the Beginning - A Pipeline Organization, and applications typically close by the end of January each year. We will also post any opportunities for externships below.
Cover Letter and Resume Guidance
Below are short guides on to help you prepare your cover letter and resume:
Judicial Externship Opportunities
Judge Michael B. Slade - Fall 2026
Judge Slade is seeking a judicial extern in the Fall 2026 semester. Judge Slade is with the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Bankruptcy Court at 219 W. Dearborn, Chambers 638.
Please email your resume and a statement of interest to ilnbml_sladestaff@ilnb.uscourts.gov. Please be specific in the subject line: Application for Judicial Externship, Fall 2026.
The deadline for applications is August 1, 2026.
Legal Externship Programs
Access2Practice (A2P) Legal Externship is a 4-credit-hour Pass/Fail class which enables Kent 2Ls and 3Ls to gain supervision and mentoring in a wide variety of legal areas – both civil and criminal. Externs must work a minimum of 16 hours per week during the Fall/Spring semesters and 30 hours per week in the Summer semester, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component, among other academic requirements associated with the course.
The program does not assign students to particular practice placements. Instead, a student must first directly obtain an externship placement before applying to participate in and register for an Access2Practice Legal Externship. Each placement is separate and external to the law school and will have its own independent selection and screening process.
Application Process: Externships can be found via Chicago-Kent’s extensive legal network. For information on how to do this, follow our document on How to Apply for a Legal Externship Placement. Students can find their own externships through 12twenty*, the Career Services Management System. Newly posted externships will also be featured below and in The Record.
Once a student has secured an externship, he or she must apply to the externship program by (1) informing Professor Decatorsmith via email (jdecator@illinoistech.edu) and (2) filling out this Form.
If you do obtain an externship through an outside source, please email Professor Decatorsmith as well as fill out the form the proper semester:
This information allows us to keep track of student placements as well as give us the information needed to reach out to firms and confirm student placement, as well as discuss our expectations with regard to the student's supervision.
Permission to enroll in Legal Externship classes is solely within the discretion of the Clinical Education Department, and is subject to pre-review and approval by the Department to ensure the pedagogical objectives of the course are satisfied. Externships are designed and allocated primarily for new placement opportunities and, accordingly, permission is not generally granted to students for continuing their employment at private law firms or in-house counsel jobs, nor is a second externship (Legal Externship 2) generally allowed for a student continuing their same Legal Externship 1 placement. Registration in specialized externships (Criminal Litigation Externship, Intellectual Property Externship, Environmental Law Externship), is limited to students enrolled in the associated certificate programs.
Note: Before you apply, be certain you are able to commit 16 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters, or 30 hours/week in the summer, as well as attend the in person weekly classroom component and other requirements of the course during the semester. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Professor Jon Decatorsmith (jdecator@illinoistech.edu).
LEGAL EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Please see below and continue to check back for new opportunities.
If you receive a Legal Externship, please register your opportunity here so you receive law school credit.
Fall Opportunities (one Spring included with the fall list)
Fall 2026 Opportunities
Animal Legal Defense Fund - Fall 2026 and Spring 2027
The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. The Animal Legal Defense Fund accomplishes this mission by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, providing free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are held accountable for their crimes, supporting tough animal protection legislation and fighting legislation harmful to animals, gathering data about and advocating for effective regulation of animal exploitative industries and providing resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund offers externships and student volunteer positions for fall semester 2026 and spring semester 2027. Externships are experiential learning opportunities for which students receive academic credit from their law schools.
Below are links with more information and how to apply for these four different opportunities. Note that while they have specific dates in these postings, they are flexible in that the dates can correspond with the semester. The due date for both fall and spring semesters is June 15, 2026.
Transparency & Regulatory Affairs Program Externships & Student Volunteer Positions
Criminal Justice Program Externships and Student Volunteer Positions
Legislative Affairs Program Externships and Student Volunteer Positions
Pro Bono Program Externships and Student Volunteer Positions
Enova Legal Externship - Fall 2026
Enova is a technology- and analytics-driven, web-based lending company. Our products are offered in the US and Brazil. The Legal Department is responsible for all domestic and international legal matters, including corporate transactions, corporate governance, intellectual property, regulatory, employment and litigation matters. The Legal Department is composed of ten attorneys, four paralegals and one legal operations member, mostly located in the Chicago office.
The Legal Department is seeking a law student extern with an interest for in-house practice for its Chicago office. The Enova Legal Externship Program is modeled after law firm summer associate programs but is designed to fit the unique rigors of an in-house legal department. The program is highly collaborative, and externs can expect to work directly with all members of the Legal Department.
Depending on the hours and schedule, the opportunity would be hybrid at the downtown Chicago office, as we are hybrid and working in-office on Tues., Wed. & Thurs. Our legal team consists of a mix of regulatory, transactional/corporate, finance, employment, marketing and litigation attorneys, and we would be able to provide opportunities for development in each of these areas.
For more information about this opportunity and how to apply, please download this document.
Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender (OSAD) - Fall 2026
The Office of the State Appellate Defender offers internships in the following district offices: Chicago.
District Office Internships: The Chicago Office offers part-time 12-week spring and fall internships. Interns in these positions will work on criminal appeals with experienced attorneys writing opening briefs, reply briefs and petitions for rehearing that will be filed in the Illinois Appellate Court, and petitions for leave to appeal that will be filed in the Illinois Supreme Court. Interns will also likely assist attorneys in preparing for oral arguments and may occasionally be asked to complete legal research assignments. Interns may work in-person, remotely, or on a hybrid schedule based on the district's needs and intern availability. Springfield accepts in-person/hybrid applicants.
Qualifications for All Internships:
Applicants must be current law students and possess excellent legal research, writing, editing, and oral communication skills, as well as the ability to understand factual and legal issues and present them clearly and concisely. Preference is given to applicants with a demonstrated interest in public service and coursework in legal writing, criminal law, evidence, and appellate advocacy. The internships are unpaid; we can provide school credit if the university permits.
How to Apply:
Applications for internship programs described above will be accepted until the following dates or until all positions are filled:
Part-Time School-Year Internships (Chicago office only):
Fall 2026: July 31, 2026
To apply, submit a cover letter, resume, and a writing sample in PDF format (preferably as one file, with the file name beginning with your name, e.g., “Jane Doe Application” or “Jane Doe Resume,” “Jane Doe Writing Sample”, etc.”) to:
Chicago: 1stdistrict.internprogram@osad.state.il
The Office of the State Appellate Defender is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion.
City of Chicago
The City of Chicago is now accepting applications for legal externship opportunities. Participants gain invaluable hands-on legal experience by working on complex and diverse projects with Law Department attorneys. They participate in negotiations and Client advising meetings, conduct research and analysis to draft dispositive motions on constitutional or procedural issues of law, and - utilizing an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 license - appear on behalf of the City in Court or before Administrative Tribunals.
To get more information about the opportunity and how to apply, please visit their website. If you do get an externship offer, please be sure to fill out the application as explained above.
Semester Law Firm Associate Program (SLFAP)
SLFAP endeavors to bridge the gap between the academic study of law and its practice. SFLAP is different from other traditional law school classes because it pushes your legal education into the experiential frontier. Experiential learning is learning by doing, learning from experience. As an extern, you will work for lawyer supervisors whose primary loyalties lie with their clients and their firms, but who also have a desire to mentor law students by providing them with interesting work and useful guidance. Through your fieldwork you will learn not only about certain areas of substantive law, but about the practice of law itself.
SFLAP is different than the Legal Externships Access to Practice program because of its more intensive nature and larger time commitment. Students enrolled in the SLFAP program will spend a minimum of 24 hours per week working in their externship role with an off-site firm or organization. The student receives 6 credits for the work (as compared with 4 for a non-SLFAP externship). Note that there is an in-person classroom component to this course, over and above the 24 hours you will put in at the firm/organization.
As with the Legal Externship programs, interested students must not only receive an offer from the participating firm, but also receive Department permission to register, all of which must be completed prior to the start of classes for the subject semester (i.e., the normal add period does not apply). See the above Legal Externship Application process for those instructions.
SLFAP Opportunities
Check back for future opportunities