Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Federal Court Clerk Externship: Southern District of New York

Paul Radvany, Adjunct Associate Professor (1 ungraded academic credit & 3 ungraded clinical credits)

Externship Summary
The Federal Court Clerk Externship for the Southern District of New York provides an in-depth examination of the functioning of the federal trial courts. ?Students will have the opportunity to work with a federal judge, draft opinions, and observe trials, oral arguments and hearings.? The course will be taught by Paul Radvany who has extensive federal court litigation experience. ?Students who satisfy the course requirements will receive one academic credit and three clinical credits and generally qualify for one minor writing credit.

The Seminar
Students will meet seven times over the course of the semester to discuss such topics as: writing judicial opinions; judicial ethics, the externship experience; habeas corpus; and effective courtroom lawyering. ?Two of the classes consist of panel discussions on criminal and civil law with experienced litigators and judges.? The class meetings are mandatory, so you will not be able to take a seminar that meets at the same time.

The Placement
Students will be placed with a federal judge in the Southern District of New York. They will usually spend 15 hours per week working on judicial matters, with at least one day per week (or two half days) at the courthouse. ?

Instructor
Paul Radvany, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Fordham Law School (2007 - Present); Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office, SDNY (1997 - 2007); Debevoise & Plimpton (1993 - 1997): radvany@law.fordham.edu

To Apply
Submit the below materials to mailbox F-9 by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012:
Resume
Transcript
A document containing the following, in this order:
???????? -?????????? Name and Class Year?
???????? -?????????? Whether you have applied for this Externship before (and if so, when)?
???????? -?????????? Telephone, cell numbers and ?Email?
???????? -?????????? List of upper-class courses you have taken that might be helpful to you in your work as a judicial intern?
???????? -?????????? Whether you are available Thursday evenings for the seminar??
???????? -?????????? (Optional) Up to three references with contact information
???????? - ????????? A short statement (no more than one page) detailing why you want to participate in this externship????? ?

You will be notified if you are accepted by Friday, November 9th. ?If you are accepted, you will need to notify Doribel Rodriguez, drodri3@law.columbia.edu, as to whether you will participate by noon on Wednesday, November 12th. ?Applications will be sent to judges immediately thereafter and at that point you will be committed. ?Judges will call you to schedule interviews during the following few weeks. ?If you are not accepted, your name will be placed on a waiting list. Acceptance by a district court judge or magistrate judge through this process is a prerequisite for participation in this course.