Entertainment Law Practicum - Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Entertainment Law Practicum?
- Who is eligible to participate in the ELP?
- How many units can a student receive? How many hours must a student work and how are these tracked?
- What else must a student do to receive academic credit?
- Am I permitted to work more than 112 hours?
- How do I get an internship? Does the Law School get it for me?
- How should I choose an internship?
- Can I work more than one internship?
- My employer wants written confirmation that I will get credit? How can I provide it?
What is the Entertainment Law Practicum?
The Practicum is a program that permits students to receive academic credit for a limited number of hours doing legal work relating to the entertainment industries, intellectual property and related practices, under legal supervision in a legal department, law firm or other practice, that is not a "nonprofit"/pro-bono internship.
In the past, many of these "entertainment law" positions could not or would not pay. Because employers have a variety of legal obligations to their employees (e.g., minimum wages and certain other benefits), the only way they are able to use student interns without pay is if the work is as a trainee (e.g., the training is educational, for the benefit of the trainee, not displacing regular employees, under close supervision and some other factors). The ability to receive academic credit and the fact that there is an academic course component to the Practicum enables students to receive the benefit of these internship opportunities.
Who is eligible to participate in the ELP?
LLS student in academic good standing are eligible to participate after completion of their first year of law school. Students seeking to intern during the summer after their first year are advised that academic performance (e.g., Fall semester mid-term and mid-year grades) will be considered in determining whether they may participate.
Students are only able to take the course once. Thus, they may wish to undertake an internship when they are upper division students to enable them to maximize their experience. (See "How should I choose an internship?").
How many units can a student receive? How many hours must a student work and how are these tracked?
This is a 2-unit pass/fail program, the course component of which is generally offered in the Spring semester of each year. In order to qualify for credit, a student must work a minimum of 56 hours (unpaid, of course). A student may apply as many as 112 hours of work, but will qualify only for the same number of units (2). The student is permitted to work these hours either during the Spring semester when s/he takes the course component, or prior to that semester.
Students must record their hours using the timesheet form available for downloading on the ELP website (see LLS > Centers and Programs > Entertainment Law Practicum). This form will indicate the hours worked (at least the minimum 56, up to the maximu of 112) and must be signed by a supervisor. The student must retain the timesheets and give them to the ELP professor at the end of the course component.
What else must a student do to receive academic credit?
In addition to the work hours, the student must satisfactorily complete the course component. Generally, the course meets in the Spring semester of each year. It meets for two hours, approximately every other week (i.e., there are generally 7 required class sessions). Attendance at all course sessions is mandatory. If a student misses more than one class session, s/he is not entitled to credit.
There is also a written assignment. In recent years, this has been a minimum 15 full-pages paper, generally about what the student did and what s/he observed and learned about the practice of law in an entertainment industry practice from his/her internship. This is not a daily journal or a collection of work products, but rather a thoughtful essay about the practice of law in the context the student worked. Interns are encouraged to interact and speak with attorneys in their workplace to learn more about what they do, what skills are important, what problems they encounter, etc. Because a paper will be required, students working their internships in a semester (or summer) prior to the course should keep notes about what they did, observed and learned, to help refresh recollection in order to write the paper.
See the ELP website for a prior year's syllabus for the course component and more information about the course component, although these, of course, are subject to change.
Am I permitted to work more than 112 hours?
The number of hours worked is to be determined between the student and the agency/organization at which the student will be interning. There is no additional credit for hours in excess of 112 (which reflects 8 hours of work per week for a 14-week semester, although this is not always the schedule worked). Some agencies/organizations in the past have insisted that no hours be worked unless credit is specifically provided as to those hours. Others have been less concerned, as long as some credit is available. Although the Law School does not determine how many uncredited hours may be worked, students should be mindful of their other academic needs and obligations in deciding how many hours to invest in an internship.
How do I get an internship? Does the Law School get it for me?
Students are responsible for obtaining their own positions that qualify for credit. A chart showing places students have worked previously is available on the ELP website (only from an on-campus server, however). In addition, as internship employers notify the director of the ELP of current positions and interviewing, the opportunities are posted to the site, and notification sent to the Entertainment and Sports Law Society (ESLS) and the Entertainment Law Review. A number of notices are posted on Prof. Dougherty's office door (Burns 344), and he and other professors sometimes announce current opportunities in class. Sometimes new notices are placed in In Brief.
Students can build and use their own networks for potential internships. The primary requirement is that the internship must involve a substantial component of legal type work under legal supervision (e.g., will not be primarily a clerical or administrative position). If the internship is at an organization that has not previously used LLS ELP interns, then the student should speak with the director of the ELP, currently Prof. Dougherty, so that s/he may confirm that the position meets the required standards.
How should I choose an internship?
Students should use the ELP wisely to most optimally support their career objectives. Although internships almost never result in jobs immediately after graduation, the student should try to obtain an internship in a position that will give him/her experience in a segment of the entertainment industries that s/he hopes or expects to build a career in. The internship is an opportunity to learn about what lawyers actually do in such a position, as well as to build the most important resource a student (or lawyer) has — his or her professional reputation. Students are encouraged to keep in touch with the lawyers they worked with as part of their career and mentorship network.
Students are permitted to engage in an internship as early as the summer after their first year of law school. However, in many cases, it is better to do the internship late in one's law school career because the student will have more course experience and specialized knowledge at that point, enabling him/her to do a higher level of work and to be more impressive to the employer. Some internships require or prefer students who have taken Entertainment Law, Copyright Law and/or other related courses prior to the internship.
Can I work more than one internship?
No, a student may only take the course once. Occasionally, in special circumstances, a student has been permitted to work some hours in one position and additional hours in another (but the 56/112 aggregate minimum/maximum continues to apply). Speak to the professor or the Director of Student Affairs before assuming you can do that.
Note that some entertainment legal positions are with nonprofits (e.g., the unions/guilds, the trade associations [such as the MPAA or the RIAA], and some other nonprofits, such as California Lawyers for the Arts). Credit for those positions is not obtained through the Practicum, but through the LLS Externship Program where the nonprofit agency/organization meets that program's requirements.
My employer wants written confirmation that I will get credit. How can I provide it?
The Registrar's office has a standard form letter that it will send to employers when you are undertaking the course component in the same semester you are doing the internship. Tell the Registrar's office that you need the ELP letter and to whom to send it. This suffices for most employers.
Some employers want something more specific. If this is the case, speak with the Director of Student Affairs about provision of a different form of confirmation. Note that this can be problematic, especially if you are planning to undertake the internship in the summer or otherwise before you have enrolled in the course. This is because an employer wants to be certain you will receive credit and that is primarily in your control (you have to be a LLS student, take the course and satisfy its requirements). The Director of Student Affairs will discuss this with you, secure your commitment, and then prepare an appropriate letter or email when this is needed.
Students participating in a "for academic credit" internship must complete the Entertainment Law Practicum course component. Students who do not fulfill this obligation are subject to disciplinary action under the Law School's Standards of Conduct.