Ex. Estate Planning

The Estate Planning Externship provides students with a unique opportunity to deepen their legal knowledge and skills beyond the classroom. Participants will gain practical experience by assisting members of the local community with basic estate planning needs. This course is designed to help students apply their theoretical understanding to real-world scenarios while fostering trust and comfort in client relationships.

Students will work in pairs under faculty supervision to develop an estate plan for an actual client. Each plan includes a last will and testament, living will, health care proxy, and power of attorney. Students will participate in the full process, from the initial intake meeting to document drafting, client communication, and document execution.

Additionally, students will collaborate in small groups to research, design, and deliver an estate planning seminar to the New York City community, gaining valuable public speaking and community engagement experience.

The externship also includes a series of experiential field components, typically held once per month (generally on Fridays), consisting of visits to institutions such as the New York County Surrogate’s Court, trust companies, auction houses, and other related organizations. These experiences provide exposure to the broader trusts and estates ecosystem and the professionals with whom attorneys regularly collaborate. A signature “Law Day” program includes a full-day series of visits followed by a networking dinner with practitioners, judges, and other professionals.