Charleston, South Carolina, September 5, 2025
Internship and Clerkship Opportunities Through Charleston School of Law
Charleston sits at the center of a legal education ecosystem where classroom theory meets courtroom practice, and the Charleston School of Law structures a range of internships and clerkships to ensure students leave with meaningful, marketable experience. The school’s experiential programs are designed to move students from observation to responsibility, combining supervised fieldwork, classroom instruction, and career support.
Externship Program: Structure and Scope
The school’s Externship Program allows students to earn academic credit while working in real legal settings across multiple practice areas, including public interest, corporate, criminal, family, environmental, intellectual property, and general litigation. Participation requires that students have completed at least 27 credit hours and maintain satisfactory academic standing. Externships run during the fall, spring, and summer semesters, and the academic credit is tied directly to hours worked: each credit corresponds to 56 hours of fieldwork. Most students register for two or three credits, but summer sessions and final-semester placements can allow up to five credits.
Beyond placement hours, the externship program includes a structured seminar component. Students attend a regularly scheduled course that covers professional ethics, workplace conduct, legal technology, and wellness, including seven hours of formal instruction and periodic one-on-one evaluation meetings with the externship professor. This hybrid setup reinforces practical skill development while giving students a forum to reflect on workplace experiences.
Judicial Clerkship Externship
For law students seeking an inside view of the judiciary, judicial clerkships are a distinctive pathway. These placements embed students within courts, enabling close collaboration with judges and judicial staff on research, draft opinions, and case management tasks. Judicial clerkships are available across semesters to students who meet the program prerequisites. The experience sharpens legal reasoning, exposes students to procedural nuance, and is often a strong credential for litigation and appellate practice careers.
Corporate Externship Program
Students aiming for in-house counsel roles or transactional practice can pursue the Corporate Externship Program, which places participants in corporate legal departments or business-oriented legal teams. These placements emphasize regulatory compliance, contract drafting and negotiation, risk management, and the business context for legal decisions. Like other externships, corporate placements count toward academic credit, follow the same hour-to-credit conversion, and are offered throughout the academic year.
Career Services: Preparing for Placement and Employment
The Department of Career Services provides tailored support that helps translate experiential learning into post-graduate employment opportunities. Key services include: individualized career counseling to map interests to practice areas; facilitation of on-campus interviews that typically align with hiring cycles (major recruiting windows occur in the fall for second- and third-year students and in the spring for first-years); mock interviews to refine presentation and interviewing skills; and a mentorship initiative that pairs students with local attorneys to discuss career choices, professional conduct, and networking strategies. These programs are calibrated to help students present their externship and clinic experiences effectively to potential employers.
Pro Bono Program and Public Service Requirement
Public service is embedded in the school’s experiential framework. Students must complete supervised pro bono legal service before graduation: individuals who matriculated on or after June 2019 are required to complete at least 50 hours, while those who began their studies prior to that date must complete 30 hours. The Director of Public Service and Pro Bono curates a roster of approved pro bono sites and collaborates with community partners to ensure opportunities are both substantive and supervised by licensed attorneys. With more than 150 pro bono sites available locally, regionally, and nationally, students can find placements that align with their interests, from domestic violence advocacy to housing assistance.
Clinics and Hands-On Learning
Clinical programs complement externships and pro bono work by giving students a client-centered practice environment under faculty supervision. Clinics often partner with community organizations to provide legal services to families, nonprofits, and individuals who lack representation. These settings teach client interviewing, case strategy, negotiation, and courtroom skills. For many students, clinics serve as the first occasion to manage a matter from intake to resolution, bridging classroom doctrine with client needs.
External Clerkship Opportunities and Partnerships
In addition to institutionally managed placements, students frequently pursue external clerkships and summer associate positions with regional law firms, government offices, and nonprofit legal organizations. Examples of such opportunities include local law firms that offer flexible summer associate programs tailored to students’ schedules and specializations, and state government law offices that run formal law clerk programs where students engage in research, attend hearings, and support litigation teams. These external placements diversify a student’s practical experience and can sometimes lead directly to post-graduate employment.
Application Process, Eligibility, and Credit Conversion
Application mechanics vary by placement type, but the core eligibility criteria are consistent: completion of at least 27 credit hours for externships and maintained academic standing. The school accepts applications for placements in all academic terms. Credit allocation follows the 56-hour per credit rule, with typical enrollment of two to three credits per semester for many students. The externship seminar and supervised hours together form the educational unit, and each placement requires coordination with faculty supervisors and site attorneys to ensure learning objectives are met.
How These Experiences Affect Career Trajectories
Students who complete externships, clinics, and pro bono requirements report tangible benefits: enhanced interviewing narratives, stronger writing samples, and ready-made references from supervising attorneys. Employers frequently seek candidates who can demonstrate courtroom exposure, transactional drafting experience, or direct client contact — experiences that structured externships and clinics supply. For students who pursue judicial clerkships, the experience can be pivotal for careers in appellate litigation or positions demanding rigorous legal analysis.
Comparing Externship Types: A Quick Reference
| Placement Type | Typical Focus | Credit Hours (Typical) | Available Terms | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judicial Clerkship | Legal research, opinion drafting, court procedure | 2–3 (up to 5 in summer/final term) | Fall, Spring, Summer | 27+ law credits; good standing |
| Corporate Externship | Transactions, contracts, compliance | 2–3 (up to 5) | Fall, Spring, Summer | 27+ law credits; good standing |
| Public Interest/Pro Bono | Client counseling, advocacy, policy work | Variable (often 1–3) | All terms | Depends on placement |
| Clinic | Ongoing client representation | Varies by clinic | Fall, Spring | Application/permission often required |
Student Experiences and Outcomes
Students commonly describe externships and clinics as the turning point in their legal education: classroom doctrines take shape as tangible tasks, and feedback from supervising attorneys accelerates skill development. Those placed in corporate environments note the value of learning business processes and paperwork management; students in the judiciary cite a deeper appreciation for judicial reasoning and procedural nuance. Several alumni secure employment with organizations where they externed, demonstrating the placement-to-hire pipeline that experiential learning can foster.
Key Takeaways
- Structured externships at Charleston School of Law convert supervised work into academic credit and practical skill-building.
- Career Services complements placements with counseling, interview preparation, and mentorship that help students translate experience into employment.
- The school’s pro bono requirement reinforces a public-service ethic while giving students client-facing practice prior to graduation.
The cumulative effect of externships, clinics, pro bono hours, and career services is a deliberate effort to produce graduates who can step into legal roles with proven experience. These programs are not simply add-ons to coursework; they are core components of professional formation, teaching time management, ethical judgment, legal writing, and client relations in live settings. For students, the choice of placement—judicial, corporate, or public interest—shapes both skill sets and early professional networks.
Whether pursuing litigation, transactional work, government service, or nonprofit advocacy, students at Charleston School of Law have access to a range of supervised, credit-bearing opportunities that bridge law school and practice. The available partnerships, combined with structured academic oversight and career support, make practical legal training a defining feature of the school’s curriculum.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the basic eligibility requirements for externships?
Students need to have completed a minimum of 27 law school credit hours and be in good academic standing. Each externship also requires site-specific approval and coordination with a supervising faculty member.
How does the credit system work for externships?
Academic credit is awarded based on fieldwork hours, where one credit equals 56 hours of substantive work at the externship site. Most students enroll for two or three credits per semester; summer placements can allow up to five credits.
Are pro bono hours mandatory?
Yes. Students who began law school on or after June 2019 must complete at least 50 hours of supervised pro bono service; those who matriculated earlier must complete at least 30 hours.
Can externships lead to employment after graduation?
Externships often provide networking opportunities and practical experience that employers value. Many students secure post-graduate positions with organizations where they completed externships or clerkships.
How does Career Services support externship and clerkship applicants?
Career Services offers counseling, mock interviews, on-campus interview coordination, résumé and cover letter review, and a mentorship program that connects students with practicing attorneys for professional guidance.
Author: STAFF HERE CHARLESTON
The CHARLESTON STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at HEREcharleston.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in Charleston, Charleston County, and beyond. Specializing in "news you can use," we cover essential topics like product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise drawn from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates. We deliver top reporting on high-value events such as the Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston Wine + Food Festival, and the MOJA Festival. Our coverage extends to key organizations like the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Charleston Museum, plus leading businesses in tourism and maritime industries that power the local economy such as South Carolina Ports Authority and the Charleston Visitor Center. As part of the broader HERE network, including HEREaiken.com, HEREbeaufort.com, HEREchapin.com, HEREcharleston.com, HEREclinton.com, HEREcolumbia.com, HEREgeorgetown.com, HEREgreenwood.com, HEREgreenville.com, HEREhiltonhead.com, HEREirmo.com, HEREmyrtlebeach.com, HEREnewberry.com, HERErockhill.com, HEREspartanburg.com, HEREaustin.com, HEREcollegestation.com, HEREdallas.com, HEREhouston.com, and HEREsanantonio.com, we provide comprehensive, credible insights into South Carolina's dynamic landscape.
