Ex. Legal Practice: LLM NYS Supreme Court

Section: Judicial Externship for LLM Students
Instructor: Hon. Gerald Lebovits

This offering will provide a 1 credit seminar to accompany a 2 credit placement in the New York State Supreme Court. Judge Lebovits has been a Lecturer in Law and LPW instructor for several years. LLM students who would like experience working in judicial chambers should consider this offering. The class will meet every other week for 2 hours.

The Legal Practice - New York State Supreme Court Externship offers students a comprehensive introduction to state trial court civil practice through a field placement on the New York State Supreme Court, New York County, and seminar class sessions that examine various issues of law and judicial administration. Through first-hand observation and classroom discussion, students will have the opportunity to learn about the roles judges, advocates, judicial clerks, and other court personnel play in the state justice system and the processes through which judicial decisions are made.• The seminar class sessions will be led by Judge Lebovits and structured in a variety of formats. Several class sessions will explore fundamental topics of judicial ethics, motion standards, appellate review, jurisdiction, judicial administration, and written and oral decisions and advocacy. During other sessions, esteemed guest speakers, including judges, law clerks, and practitioners, will discuss various aspects of their career paths and legal practice.

Grading and Placement Expectations
Each student must secure a placement independently. The seminar credits count towards students' classroom credit requirements for the NYS Bar and are also experiential. The seminar credit is graded and the placement credits are NC/C.
The fieldwork component is 2 credits. These credits are also experiential but do not count towards students' classroom credit requirement. These credits are graded CR/F. Students registered for 2 fieldwork credits must complete an average of 10 hours per week for 14 weeks at their placement. Students asked to work up to an average of 15 hours per week for 14 weeks at their placement may secure an additional credit pursuant to JD/LLM Supervised Experiential Study(L6695 or L6697 (LLM)), for which they must secure a sponsor. Students can ask their Legal Practice Seminar teacher to sponsor the additional credit. It is within the instructors' sole discretion to agree to this. Students must coordinate your schedule with their supervisor.

Externship credits count towards students' 6-credit experiential requirement provided they satisfy the requirements dictated by the ABA and incorporated into each course. In addition to substantive and qualitative requirements set by instructors, these requirements include the submission of certain documents. Due dates and descriptions of the documentation requirements will be distributed upon admission to the class.