Put Into Practice What You Learn
Part of the Law College’s mission is to provide service to its community and instill in its students the desire to use their legal education for the betterment of society. In addition to an extensive public-service Externship Program, MSU Law operates four law clinics – the Rental Housing Clinic, Tax Clinic, Small Business/Nonprofit Law Clinic, and the Chance at Childhood Advocacy Clinic.
Under Michigan Court Rule 8.120, second- and third-year law students can provide legal counsel under the supervision of clinic faculty who are members of the State Bar of Michigan. Internships can be arranged through the Office of Career Services.
Rental
Housing Clinic
The Rental Housing Clinic is a cooperative effort between MSU College of Law, the
City of East Lansing and Ingham County. The clinic provides legal services to low-income tenants
and landlords in the Greater Lansing area who have rental housing concerns.
Tax
Clinic
The Tax Clinic serves low-income taxpayers statewide.
The clinic handles all aspects of controversy with the Internal Revenue Service
including interviewing and counseling clients, preparing cases for appeal conferences,
and appearing at the conferences. Also, students prepare federal, state, and
local tax returns for non-filers and taxpayers for whom English is a second
language.
Small
Business/Nonprofit Law Clinic
The unique Small Business/Nonprofit Law Clinic allows students to develop special
expertise in transactional business law practice. The students are trained
in counseling and advising clients, negotiating and preparing transactional
documents. They learn the critical skills of practical application of law to
real problems. Using resources available to lawyers in private practice, the
students will receive important training and experience. The clinic is housed
with the school’s other clinics and the students are supervised by experienced
clinical faculty.
Chance
at Childhood Advocacy Clinic
(http://chanceatchildhood.msu.edu/)
MSU College of Law and MSU School of Social Work graduate students who are
enrolled in the Child & Family Advocacy certificate program complete an
externship in the Chance at Childhood Advocacy Clinic. Both social work students
and law students will have the opportunity to collaborate as advocates for
children on a variety of cases including abuse/neglect and guardianship issues.
The clinic is housed with the school’s other clinics and the students
are supervised by experienced clinical faculty.
Washington, D.C. Federal Externship Program
Canadian Summer
Externship Program
Judicial Externships
Legal Aid Externships
Government Attorney
Externships
Proposing Your
Own Externship
Internships
Internships are an excellent opportunity to expand upon your legal skills
and determine whether or not you like a particular practice area of the law.
Also, they allow you the chance to develop a mentoring relationship with a
practicing attorney and build a professional network, which is essential to
career success after law school. The Office of Career Services assists
students in identifying and obtaining internship positions.