Information for Supervisors

Information for Prospective Supervisors

Thank you for your interest in being a supervisor in BU Law’s Externship Program. Our Program would not be possible without our many dedicated supervisors who help mentor and train our students. This page is designed to explain our program and the responsibilities of being a supervisor. If any of your questions are not answered on this page, please don’t hesitate to reach out us.

Through our Externship Program, students gain practical legal skills by working, for credit, at a variety of practice settings, including non-profits, government agencies, judicial chambers, in-house counsel offices, and law firms (placements at large law firms are only allowed under certain circumstances and require prior approval from the Externship Director). Students may work either paid or unpaid.

The educational objectives of the program are to help students develop their legal skills and substantive knowledge of the law; develop the ability to solve legal problems in real-life situations; learn the day-to-day of legal practice, generally and at the specific placement; and learn to engage in reflective practice, so they can improve for the future.

Students must be supervised by an attorney. The attorney and students begin the semester by defining a list of goals for the semester. During the course of the semester, the supervisor and students should meet regularly, and in particular, at mid-semester, to review the students’ work and goals. We also ask supervisors to fill out mid-term and final evaluations of the students’ work.

An externship takes the place, in a student’s schedule, of other academic courses. Therefore, the experience should be of the highest educational value. The assignments must be legal in nature and students should be challenged. Supervisors should provide regular feedback, so that the students know what they did right, and where they need to improve.

Timeframe and hours

Students work from the first week of classes through the last week of classes. Please check Boston University School of Law’s Academic Calendar for start and end dates for upcoming semesters.

Students receive variable, ungraded credits for the fieldwork depending on how many hours they work. They set their schedules before the semester begins, in consultation with you and in relation to their class schedules. Most students work 16-20 hours per week at their placements.  The minimum requirement is 12 hours per week.

Becoming involved

If you are interested in hosting a BU Law extern, please fill out the New Supervisor Form, to tell us a little about yourself, your organization and the opportunity.  For information about externship student and supervisor responsibilities, please review the MOU Spring 2022.

New Supervisor Form

Thank you again, and we look forward to working with you.