Multinational

various Lecturers- in-Law, 4 credits (2 for the seminar; 2 for field placement)

Course Description
The General and In-House Counsel (G/IHC) Externship will provide students with an understanding of roles general counsel and in-house lawyers play while offering them an opportunity to experience that work firsthand at placements in for profit and startup corporations.  There are four sections offered during the year.  The term they are available is included with each section description. 

The Seminar
This 2-hour externship seminar will explore areas of the law that are integral to a general counsel or in-house practice. Students will learn to approach legal issues from the perspective of the attorney whose job is simultaneously to be both lawyer and client. The seminar component will also explore the ethical considerations of G/IHC attorneys including conflicts of interest and confidentiality. G/IHC are in a unique position at the intersection of law and business or operations; we will discuss how the G/IHC attorney must be fluent and able to explain legal rules and processes to artists, business people, educators and other professionals, and to ensure that the legal team understands business or operations considerations and context. The seminar component will integrate students’ field-based learning experiences into our weekly discussions and facilitate students’ reflection on those general counsel or in-house placements. The seminar component will also include a number of simulations and feature guest speakers who will be able to share their varied experiences as general or in house counsel.

Corporate Section (both terms) – seminar will explore areas including corporate governance, corporate compliance, securities and SEC reporting, M&A, internal investigations, employment law, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), cyber security, contracts, and litigation. Lecturer: Mark Nielsen

Corporate Sustainability and ESG (Fall) – seminar will provide students with an understanding of the roles lawyers play in the ESG space while offering them an opportunity to experience that work firsthand with various companies’ ESG or sustainability departments. The class focuses on the unique, challenging and rewarding aspects of being ESG attorneys in the law firm environment. New to the legal space, the practice of ESG touches all aspects of an enterprise, helping clients identify environmental, social, and governance opportunities and risks; stay abreast of domestic and international ESG-related regulatory developments, trends, better practices and business implications; conduct rigorous due diligence, expanding beyond the traditional scope of data rooms; and leverage investigation and crisis management practices during a triggering event.  Lecturers: Larcy Cooper and Madhuri Pavamani

Healthcare Section (Spring) – the seminar will explore the impact of diverse regulatory schemes in complex organizations grounded in the ever-changing backdrop of the healthcare industry.  Privacy, anti-kickback, marketing, payer and insurance issues will be explored from the perspective of the role of the general or in house counsel.  Lecturers: Richard Barasch and Brett Friedman 

Tech and Startup Section (Both) - This course is designed to learn skills and substantive law relating to startup and technology companies. Substantive issues covered in the class will include the regulatory environment for tech companies, commercial contract law, privacy and data security, the IPO process and intellectual property.  Lecturers:  Erin Abrams and Maggie Drucker

Placement
In the placements, students will be expected to devote at least 11 hours per week. Students will be able to identify their own placements, discuss with the lecturers, and/or Liliana Vaamonde for placements. More information will be provided once you are formally accepted into the externship.

Important Information
The course will be open to JD and LL.M candidates. There are no prerequisites to take this course. 

Akshaya Kumar and Jehanne Henry, Lecturer-in-Law, 5 credits (2 for seminar; 3 for field placement).  Offered both terms with two sections in the Spring.  

Course Description
The United Nations Externship provides students with an opportunity to learn more about the law and practice of the UN and the processes of making and implementing institutional law at an international organization. The externship will include a placement at one of a variety of legal offices including the UN secretariat, UN funds and programs, country or organization missions to the UN, or nonprofit advocacy organizations focused on influencing the UN’s decision making procedures. The seminar component of the course will offer opportunities to deepen students’ understanding of rulemaking within the UN system and create space to interrogate assumptions about how international organizations function.

Students cannot pre-select their placements and must be willing to extern at any of the potential host employers. The course consists of two parts: fieldwork (3 clinical credits) and a weekly seminar (2 academic credits). While the fieldwork credits are pass/fail, students will be graded for the seminar credits on the basis of a required presentation and group work.

The Seminar
Students will meet together with the instructor for a weekly seminar. Students are expected to reflect on their fieldwork experiences as a part of weekly seminar discussions, Students will examine primary materials focused on the normative context within which the UN functions, developing an understanding of the interaction between law and practice, and identifying avenues for change and reform. It is recommended that applicants should have taken a basic course in public international law or the equivalent. 

Placement
Students will be placed by the instructors according to the needs and decisions of the various offices concerned. It should be borne in mind that there are no guaranteed places in any given office for CLS students and that some host organizations require students to interview or submit additional application materials as part of the selection process. Each student is expected to work at their host office a minimum of two full days a week for the 14 weeks of the semester.
 

Important Information
The externship is available to upper-level J.D., LL.M and SJD candidates.