Current Opportunities

Edit

Student applications will be accepted from Wednesday, Feb. 20 through Feb. 27. All applications must be hand-delivered to the Externship Office and received by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Search for Externships

By Semester	By Practice Area	By Organization Type	Search by Keyword
View all semesters Fall Summer	Bankruptcy Law Civil Litigation Civil Rights Constitutional Law Corporate Law Criminal Defense Criminal Prosecution Domestic Violence Advocacy Elder Law Employment Law Entertainment Law Environmental Law Family Law Government Law Health Law Human Rights Immigration Law IP Law Judicial Juvenile Law Labor Law Landlord/Tenant Law Legislation Mediation Patent Law Post-Conviction Poverty Law Securities Law Tax Law Transactional Law Urban Planning	Federal Government Judicial Non-profit State / Local Government

Available externships

Use the filter and search functions above to search for externships that may be of interest to you. Questions? Contact the Externships office at 404-413-9030.

Active Externships with State / Local Government organizations

Externship Site	Practice Area	Details
Administrative Office of the Courts of Georgia (AOC), Office of the General Counsel	Transactional Law	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Students who participate in an externship position with the AOC's Office of General Counsel will gain experience in a broad variety of issues and legal services encountered by in-house attorneys, including contracts, human resources, and litigation supervision. The Office of General Counsel deals with all business, administrative, and policy legal matters affecting the AOC as well as a range of issues affecting the Judicial Branch of Government. Under General Counsel supervision, students will draft, review, and participate in negotiations regarding professional service and technology contracts; conduct research on routine and complex legal questions for AOC staff and clients throughout the Judicial Branch; work with various boards, commissions, and committees of the judiciary on special legal projects; and draft legal responses to public inquiries for information requests. Externs are also often exposed to the inner workings of government and interact with justices, judges, and other policy makers of the judiciary. Students participating in this externship should expect to spend at least half their time engaged in transactional legal work. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: None Preferences: Second and third-year students may apply. Classes in technology law are not required but would be helpful. NO ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Alternative Dispute Resolution - Fulton County Magistrate Court	Landlord/Tenant Law, Mediation	Semester requirement: 2 Credits: 3 (per semester) SITE DESCRIPTION Students work under the supervision of an attorney mediating cases that deal with numerous issues of law within the court system. Prior to mediating, students will receive 28 hours of civil mediation training and obtain certification as registered neutrals with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. Students will mediate landlord/tenant disputes and as the students progress over the year, they will mediate other disputes as well, including cases handled in the State and Magistrate Court; particularly small claim civil issues such as disputes between neighbors, consumers and businesses, and creditors and debtors. Assuming an agreement is reached during mediation, students will be responsible for drafting the Order detailing the agreement. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: 2L or 3L students Mediation Training - 28 hours of mediation training is included in the 140 hour requirement (Training is provided by the program and will occur the first or second week in August; attendance for the entire 28 hours of training is mandatory. Training dates will be confirmed no later than June 1.) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS This is a full year externship. Students must enroll in this course both fall and spring semesters. Upon acceptance to this externship, a criminal background check by the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution will be conducted. Students must be available to go to court on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Weekly discussion/seminar sessions will take place at the courthouse during the semester.
City of Atlanta	Civil Litigation, Urban Planning	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION The City of Atlanta Law Department provides legal services to the City of Atlanta. The Department represents the City in all civil legal matters and provides legal advice to the officers and employees of the municipal corporation and its elected officials. The Department is organized into four practice groups: Aviation; Government Counsel, Development & Infrastructure; Litigation/Employment; and Commercial Transactions. Each practice group has specific client responsibilities within the wide variety of departments and agencies in city government but are also designed to provide legal services within their specialty when another practice group's client faces an issue that arises in that area of responsibility. The Aviation Practice Group is located at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and, as the name implies, focuses on the legal issues that arise from the representation of a client that manages the world's busiest airport, including construction of new facilities, leasing and property management and FAA regulatory compliance. The Government Counsel, Development & Infrastructure Practice Group is responsible for advising City departments on issues related to infrastructure improvements and economic development and is the primary support for City Council and a liaison with other governmental entities. The Litigation/Employment Practice Group responds to the civil actions filed against the City, primarily related to cases arising under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, such as excessive force by police officers. The Group also provides advice and handles civil litigation related to employment issues. The Commercial Transactions Group handles the City's business relationships with third parties and the general public in areas such as bond financing, procurement, contracting and land use and zoning. A student extern will be expected to function in the same general capacity as a first-year associate and will be given the option to experience municipal law in a rotation system among the practice groups or specialize with one of the four practice groups. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: None Preferences: All second and third-year applicants but preference for those who have demonstrated their interest in municpal law through relevant course work NO ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Cobb County D.A., Trial Division	Criminal Prosecution	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Externs are assigned to work with a trial team of two attorneys. Assignments include researching and writing memoranda, drafting motions and indictments, fact investigations, witness interviews, presenting cases to grand juries, arguing motions, handling probation revocation hearings, and, if the court and student’s schedule permits, trying a felony case to a jury. There may be occasional meetings with local police, medical examiners, and other law enforcement officers. An ADA is assigned to supervise the program on site. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Evidence Litigation Eligibility to practice under the Law School Public Prosecutor Act, which requires that the student (1) be in good academic standing (at least 2.3 GPA), (2) have earned at least two-thirds (58 hours) of the J.D. requirements in not fewer than four semesters or six quarters of residence, and (3) be of good moral character Preferences: Criminal Procedure Adjudication Criminal Procedure Investigation STLA Membership NO ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Dekalb County D. A., Litigation	Criminal Prosecution	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Students will work with the District Attorney's Office. Externs will be exposed to the work of a criminal investigator under the direct supervision of an investigator and will assist in interviewing witnesses, securing physical evidence, and preparing trial reports. Following this, externs will be assigned to the Grand Jury Division working directly under the supervision of an assistant district attorney. Responsibilities will include evaluation and screening of cases for legal sufficiency, preparation of indictments, and presentation of cases to the Grand Jury. Externs will then be assigned to work with a trial attorney and will participate in all aspects of trial preparation, negotiation with defense attorneys, and participation in arraignments, pre-trial hearings, and probation revocation hearings. Wherever feasible, students will be given an opportunity to assist at the trial of criminal cases. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Eligibility to practice under the Law School Public Prosecutor Act, which requires that the student (1) be in good academic standing (at least 2.3 GPA), (2) have earned at least two-thirds (58 hours) of the J.D. requirements in not fewer than four semesters or six quarters of residence, and (3) be of good moral character Preferences: Criminal Procedure Investigation and/or Criminal Procedure Adjudication ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Students are required to participate in weekly seminars conducted by the District Attorney's office. Students participating in this externship may have to work more hours than required for other externships, and work hours may be less flexible during weeks students are scheduled to be in court. Students may not work with any other organizations which practice criminal law Dekalb County while participating in this externship.
Dekalb County Public Defender, Appellate	Criminal Defense	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Criminal procedure and evidence is helpful and may be taken concurrently with the externship. Interns will work in the appellate division under the supervision of a Senior Assistant Public Defender. Students will summarize and analyze trial transcripts, research appellate issues, and draft legal memoranda and/or briefs in cases pending before the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court. Interns will also attend oral arguments as their schedule permits. Interns may also be assigned research issues in connection with motions and trials. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Second and third year students may apply. Preferences: Criminal procedure and evidence is helpful and may be taken concurrently with the externship Legal writing course ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS A writing sample must accompany resume
Dekalb County Public Defender, Litigation	Criminal Defense	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Our office is responsible for representing all indigent people who have been accused of juvenile, misdemeanor, and felony crimes in DeKalb County, Georgia. Our downtown Decatur office begins representing indigent clients at the time of their arrest and continues this representation through final disposition of their case, including any appeals. This is a unique opportunity to integrate what the student has learned in law school with the practical application of practicing law. Under the supervision of an attorney, the third-year student will be sworn in under the third-year practice act and will be expected to represent clients in court. The student will have the opportunity to experience all courtroom procedures including preliminary hearings, arraignments, pretrial hearings, motions hearings, and jury trials. The student can expect to have many varied "hands on" experiences that will involve spending much of their time in court and with clients as well as witnesses, researching and preparing legal motions and memoranda, and assisting attorneys in all phases of trial preparation. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Third-year students only Eligibility to practice under the Law School Public Prosecutor Act, which requires that the student (1) be in good academic standing (at least 2.3 GPA), (2) have earned at least two-thirds (58 hours) of the J.D. requirements in not fewer than four semesters or six quarters of residence, and (3) be of good moral character Preferences: Criminal Procedure Adjudication and/or Criminal Procedure Investigation NO ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Dekalb County Solicitor	Criminal Prosecution	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Students work in the office of the Dekalb County Solicitor, under the supervision of an attorney, conducting investigations, interviewing witnesses and complainants, preparing cases for trial, and appearing in court as student prosecutors in misdemeanor cases. Work assignments will vary, but every effort will be made to give each student the opportunity to try several cases in the State Solicitor's Office. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Crimial Law Litigation Evidence Criminal Procedure Investigation or Adjudication (Criminal Procedure Adjudication is preferred; either or both classes can be taken concurrent with the externship) Eligibility to practice under the Law School Public Prosecutor Act, which requires that the student (1) be in good academic standing (at least 2.3 GPA), (2) have earned at least two-thirds (58 hours) of the J.D. requirements in not fewer than four semesters or six quarters of residence, and (3) be of good moral character ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Students participating in this externship may have to work more hours than required for other externships, and work hours may be less flexible during weeks students are scheduled to be in court. Students who work or have worked for law firms which practice criminal law in Dekalb County are ineligible to participate in this externship. For summer placements, this site requires students to commit to 40 hours per week for 7 weeks. This hour commitment is in excess of the course requirements. Students applying must agree to this additional hour requirement.
Fulton County Solicitor	Criminal Prosecution	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Students work in the office of the Fulton County Solicitor under the supervision of an attorney, conducting investigations, interviewing witnesses and complainants, preparing for trial, and appearing in court as student prosecutors in misdemeanor cases. Students may also perform research and other tasks involving appeals assigned to his or her solicitor. Work assignments will vary, but every effort will be made to give each student the opportunity to try several cases in the State Court. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Criminal Law Litigation Evidence Eligibility to practice under the Law School Public Prosecutor Act, which requires that the student (1) be in good academic standing (at least 2.3 G.P.A.), (2) have earned at least two thirds (58 hours) of the J.D. requirements in not fewer than four semesters or six quarters of residence, and (3) be of good moral character Preferences: Criminal Procedure Adjudication and/or Criminal Procedure Investigation strongly recommended ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Students participating in this externship may have to work more hours than required for other externships, and work hours may be less flexible during weeks students are scheduled to be in court. It is strongly recommended that students arrange their schedules so that they have at least one full day free early in the week. Students who work or have worked for law firms which practice criminal law in the State Court of Fulton County are ineligible to participate in this externship.
Georgia Department of Law	Civil Litigation, Government Law	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Students will be assigned to the Regulated Industries and Professions Division of the Department of Law. Under the general supervision of the Director of that Division, students will be assigned to work directly with experienced attorneys. Students will be expected to draft legal documents, including pleadings, and assist in the preparation of cases for trial. In this regard, students will assist in conducting discovery, interviewing witnesses, and presenting cases before administrative tribunals or administrative law judges. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: None Preferences: Administrative Law ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS A writing sample must be brought to the interview.
Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, Criminal Appellate Division (Part-Time Students Only)	Criminal Prosecution	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION This externship has been designed for and is only open to students enrolled in the part-time program while taking this externship. Special arrangements have been made with this site to accommodate part-time students who are not otherwise able to participate in the externship program because of on-going commitments unrelated to law school. Externs will assist in researching and writing motions and/or briefs advocating for the State of Georgia in criminal matters before the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court. Nearly all appeals will arise from recent jury trials resulting in felony convictions. Externs should be prepared to encounter real-life trial evidence which may include extreme violence, child abuse, sexual material and animal cruelty. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Part-time Student Evidence Criminal Law Criminal Procedure Investigation and/or Criminal Procedure Adjudication Preferences: Appellate Advocacy ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Students will be required to participate in weekly meetings on location at the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office.
Gwinnett County Solicitor	Criminal Prosecution	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Students will work in the Office of the Gwinnett County Solicitor. It is desired to have students perform as an Assistant Solicitor. This includes, but is not limited to, activities such as legal research, complying with discovery demands, interviewing witnesses, preparing pre-trial motions, participating in arraignment, revocation, and motions hearings, as well as hopefully trying bench and/or jury trials. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Criminal Law Constitutional Law Criminal Procedure Adjudication and/or Criminal Procedure Investigation Evidence Students must be eligible to practice under the Law School Public Prosecutor Act, which requires that a student (1) be in good academic standing (at least 2.3 G.P.A.), (2) have earned at least two thirds (58 hours) of the J.D. requirements in not fewer than four semesters or six quarters of residence, and (3) be of good moral character Preferences: None ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS A clean criminal history (other than traffic citations) is required. A flexible schedule is a must if jury trial experience is desired. Students desiring jury trial experience should plan to schedule extern hours to include at least one full day between Monday and Wednesday. Students who work or have worked for law firms which practice criminal defense in Gwinnett County are ineligible for this externship.
Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman	Elder Law, Government Law, Legislation	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION The Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (SLTCO) participates in public policy making related to long-term care residents. SLTCO assists with the creation of and provides comments on policies, rules, and regulations proposed by federal and state agencies, and advocates for legislative initiatives with the Georgia General Assembly and with members of Congress. Externs will research state and federal law related to long-term care; may draft legislation, comments and testimony on legislation, policies, or rules related to long-term care; and will participate with the SLTCO in advocacy including attending meetings with policymakers, stakeholders, and other aging advocates. Students will also participate in local and national conference calls with federal and other government agencies discussing policy issues related to aging. Under the supervision of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, externs will advocate at the Capitol in Atlanta during the Georgia General Assembly session, including monitoring committee meetings and committee actions, analyzing legislation, and developing strategies related to legislative proposals including drafting amendments to proposed legislation. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: None Preferences: Second-year and third-year students Elder Law classes helpful ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Students should arrange their schedules to complete externship hours Monday through Thursday.
Rockdale County D.A.	Criminal Prosecution	Semester requirement: 1 Credits: 3 SITE DESCRIPTION Students work in the District Attorney's office. Students will be exposed to Preliminary Hearings, Grand Jury, Juvenile Court, State Court, Superior Court, and appellate work. The object is to allow each student to try at least one jury trial during the externship. Drafting, motions practice, and trial preparation are all included. STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS Prerequisites: Criminal Law Constitutional Law I Professional Responsibility Eligibility of certification under the Law School Public Prosecutor Act, which requires that a student 1) be in good academic standing (2.3 G.P.A.), 2) have earned at least two thirds (58 hours) of the J.D. requirements in not fewer than four semesters and 3) be of good moral character A genuine interest and temperament for jury trial work Preferences: Criminal Procedure Adjudication and/or Criminal Procedure Investigation ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Students participating in this externship may have to work more hours than required for other externships and work hours may be less flexible during weeks students are scheduled to be in court. Students who work or have worked for law firms which practice criminal law in Rockdale County are ineligible to participate in this externship.

Main Menu

Current Opportunities

Search for Externships

Available externships

Active Externships with State / Local Government organizations

Georgia State University College of Law