Externships

At Brandeis School of Law, externships offer students the opportunity to earn academic credit while gaining practical legal experience in real-world settings. These placements allow students to apply their classroom learning in dynamic professional environments—government agencies, nonprofits, corporate legal departments, and the judiciary—all while being supervised by experienced attorneys in the field.

Unlike law clinics, which are faculty-supervised and run through the school, externships place students directly in the legal community. With deep connections to the Louisville and Kentucky Bar Associations and a broad network of legal professionals across the region, Brandeis Law provides students with exceptional access to diverse externship opportunities.

Explore Our Externship Opportunities

Brandeis Law students can tailor their externship experience based on personal interests and career goals. Whether you're drawn to public interest advocacy, trial work, policy, or in-house legal operations, there's a placement to match your path.

Public Interest Externships

Make a direct impact by working with organizations that serve vulnerable populations and protect civil rights.

Sample placements include:

  • Indiana Department of Child Services
  • Kentucky Commission on Human Rights
  • Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet
  • Kentucky Equal Justice Center
  • Legal Aid Society of Louisville
  • Louisville Metro Council

Criminal Justice Externships

Gain courtroom and casework experience while supporting the pursuit of justice.

Sample placements include:

  • Jefferson County Commonwealth Attorney
  • Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy: Rural Public Defense
  • Kentucky Innocence Project
  • Louisville Metro Public Defender
  • United States Attorney’s Office

In-House Counsel Externships

Understand how law functions within complex organizations through legal departments at major institutions.

Sample placements include:

  • Signature Healthcare (Transactions, Litigation, Compliance)
  • University of Louisville Clinical Contracts Division
  • UofL Office of Technology Transfer
  • UofL Office of University Counsel

Additional Opportunities

Other externships allow students to explore specialized areas of law and build niche expertise.

Sample placements include:

  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky
  • Immigration Externships
  • Judicial Externships
  • Tax Law Externships