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Carbondale, IL 62901
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Experiential Education
Experiential Education provides opportunities for students to engage in clinics, externships, and pro bono opportunities to gain hands-on practical experience.
Public Interest and Private Externships
Students who enroll in the Public Interest Externship will work in a publicly funded law office which provides public "service" type legal assistance. These include State's Attorney offices, Public Defender offices, Legal Service offices, private law firms, and offices associated with a public university that have licensed attorneys on staff, such as the SIU Legal Counsel, SIU Student Attorney, or the SIU Athletic Department.
As students work in law offices or a judge's office they will learn real-world practical experiences. Students are able to work in legal offices throughout America where they can get credit and be paid if the job is a paying position. Students can get as many as 6 credits for working in a semester in a legal environment.
For every 1 credit, a student must work 42.5 hours. For example, if a student wants to earn 6 credits they must work 255 hours. Multiply 42.5 times the number of credits desired.
Judicial Externships
The Judicial Externship Clinic provides a unique opportunity for law students to learn about the legal system by working for a sitting judge. While experiences vary from chamber to chamber, most placements allow Externs to hone their research and writing skills while learning how judges make decisions and observing a wide range of courtroom proceedings.
Pro Bono Requirement
SIU Simmons law students are required to complete 35 hours of pro bono work prior to graduation. While many schools encourage, support, or recognize pro bono work, this requirement was the first of its kind for a law school in Illinois.
Clinics
Our students begin to grow into their roles as expert communicators, negotiators, and advocates as participants in a variety of hands-on learning opportunities, including our award-winning clinics. Serving residents in a 13-county area in southern Illinois, our legal clinics offer students the opportunity to work closely with clinical faculty while representing clients in a variety of cases.
Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program
Third-year SIU Simmons law students live and take classes and study in the Metro East while working at various state and federal offices.