Civil Externship Seminar - Government Counsel

Prerequisites: 1L course of study This course is the companion seminar for students enrolled in the Civil Practice Externship fieldwork course with a placement in a federal, state, or local government office or agency responsible for civil law and/or policy matters. The course exposes students to legal and practice issues that are unique to government lawyers, and to substantive areas of law prevalent in government lawyering. Subjects covered include the role and political context of government lawyers, ethical issues in government practice, the government as regulator and the rule-making process, administrative actions and hearings, anatomy of government litigation, and dealing with the media as a government lawyer. Class time will also be spent discussing the work students do at their placements, the skills they are building, and their impressions of government lawyering. Students will perform simulated in-house lawyer tasks including drafting a litigation settlement memo, and negotiating and drafting the indemnification provision of a typical services contract.

Grading and Method of Evaluation:
Letter grade only. Students will be assessed based on short writing assignments that simulate government lawyer tasks, an oral presentation and final paper based on the student's fieldwork experience, and professionalism and class participation.