Field Placement Policies and Procedures

Responsibilities of Externs

Externs who intend on participating in an unpaid field placement for units must be mindful of the obligations described below:

1. Off-Campus Field Placements: Off-campus field placements are subject to application deadlines and course enrollment limits established each academic year. Applicants must be verified for GPA eligibility and choice of placement must be approved in advance by the Field Placement Department. Students who do not follow application procedures may not be permitted to enroll. Each unit requires 52 hours of supervised legal services. 
   
   
2. On-Campus Field Placements: Field placement application deadlines do not apply to on-campus clinical placements such as the Center for Conflict Resolution or the Center for Juvenile Law and Policy. Students should apply directly to the office of interest.
   
   
3. Off-Campus Field Placement Application Deadlines: Application deadlines for off-campus field placements change each year. Deadlines are posted on the Loyola Law School Field Placement Department website. Field placements must be confirmed by the deadline date.
   
   
4. Field Placement Eligibility: Students are eligible for a field placement after completing 28 units of study. The minimum eligible cumulative GPA for a part-time field placement is 2.33. A minimum verified cumulative GPA of 3.33 is required for a field placement of more than 6 units. Students on Academic Probation may not enroll in a field placement. Academic probation is a GPA below 2.33. The maximum number of field placement units a student may complete during his/her legal education is 14. Private field placements are limited to a maximum of six (6) units during a student's legal education.
   
   
5. Field Placement Unit Cap: Of the 87 units needed to graduate, 20 of them may be ungraded units, and a maximum of 14 units may be field placement units, whether graded or ungraded. Private field placements are limited to a maximum of six (6) units during a student's legal education
   
   
6. Enrollment: Enrollment is always done through the Field Placement Department for an off-campus field placement.
   
   
7. Mandatory Course Component Class: All off-campus externs must participate in the mandatory class sessions scheduled and indicated in the course syllabus. The Field Placement Director reserves the right to refuse to enroll students who fail to attend the first class or issue a failing grade for students who fail to complete the class component. All externs must be familiar with the course requirements required to receive credit for the units the student has signed up for. 
   
   
8. Approved Opportunities: Field Placement opportunities must be approved prior to enrollment for the semester by the Field Placement Director. Unapproved field placements may not be confirmed. 
   
   
9. Time Commitment: A field placement unit requires a minimum of 52 hours of legal services performed under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Part-time field placements may range from 2-6 units. Full-time field placements range from 7–10 units. Full-time placements are only available for judicial field placements. Private field placements are limited to a maximum of 4 units during any single term. All field placements require participation in a concurrent course component class that meets online and/or in person periodically during the semester and is taught by Loyola Faculty. All hours must be completed during the term in which the extern is enrolled. There are no exceptions or waivers to the concurrent course component requirement. 
   
   
10. Professional Obligations/Confidentiality/Unauthorized Practice of Law: Externs must perform all legal services professionally under the direct supervision of an attorney licensed for a minimum of 2 years. Externs shall become familiar with the confidentiality policy of the placement and shall not reveal information designated as confidential by supervising attorneys or judicial chambers. Externs shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client, disclose the identity of a client or reveal information leading to the disclosure of the identity of a client without the express advance authorization of the supervising attorney. Externs shall redact all written work submitted to the Field Placement Department to comply with the confidentiality rules of the workplace and legal profession. Externs are not permitted to give legal advice to any person and/or client unless supervised by an attorney or expressly authorized to give advice by a supervising attorney.
    
    
11. Email Notification: During the term of enrollment, the preferred method of contacting off-campus externs for any reason by the Field Placement Department is through Loyola Law School individual student email accounts. Externs agree to check Loyola Law School email frequently, but not less than one time per week. A printed copy of an email indicating the student’s name, date and time it was sent amounts to presumptive notice on the part of Field Placement faculty and staff that a student received the email and is aware of the contents. Any administrative notice regarding delinquent performance or imposition of time penalties may be sent by email and is governed by this paragraph.
    
    
12. Second-Year Judicial Field Placements: Second-year students may not enroll in a full-time field placement in the Fall or Spring semester of their second year if the placement conflicts with a required course such as Ethical Lawyering, Evidence, or Constitutional Law. Second-year students receive no preference in registration for required classes, nor will enrollment in required classes be waived if required classes conflict with a field placement.
    
    
13. Course Requirements: Orientation – All externs must attend a mandatory online orientation class at the beginning of the semester on “Ethics, Professionalism and Course Requirements.” All students must attend the orientation regardless of whether they did a field placement in a prior semester. The Field Placement Department Director reserves the right to refuse to enroll students who do not attend the orientation. Online Class Component – All externs must participate in a seminar or online tutorial course taught by Loyola Faculty. Class attendance is mandatory. Work is not an excuse to miss class as your field placement is aware that you are required to attend class as part of receiving credit for your field placement. Hour Logs – Students must prepare and submit regular hour logs on established due dates. The hour logs must include detailed journal entries and will be submitted through 12twenty. Hour logs must also be signed by the supervising attorney on the established due date for the hours to be credited toward course completion. Reflection Assignments – Reflection assignments encourage students to interact with their supervisors and thoughtfully and critically explore various issues within the context of their field placement. Because reflection and learning from experience are goals of the field placement program, students should demonstrate thoughtful, serious consideration of these issues. Writing Samples – Externs must submit samples of written work generated during the field placement. Written work must demonstrate legal research, legal writing and analysis, and the application of legal principles. Written work must be critiqued by the supervising attorney or judge. Externs must redact work prior to submission to comply with confidentiality rules of the workplace. Externs must keep copies of all written work submitted. Evaluations – Evaluations are required at the end of the semester and will be completed via 12twenty. Students must complete an evaluation of their workplace. Students must also provide their supervisor with the evaluation form to evaluate their work.
    
    
14. Late Penalty: Late hour logs are subject to a time penalty of 1/2 hour for each school day beyond the due date that the document is late. Deadline dates are set at the beginning of each semester and posted in Brightspace. Students are responsible for calendaring deadline dates and class dates.
    
    
15. Withdrawal: No student may withdraw from a field placement until adequate safeguards for the handling of cases and/or client problems assigned to the student have been arranged in advance with the Field Placement Department Director and the extern’s supervising attorney.
    
    
16. Field Placement/Public Interest Graduation Requirement: Completion of a minimum of two units at a qualified public interest placement automatically fulfills the public interest graduation requirement.
    
    
17. Prohibition on Compensation: Externs who receive units for field placements may not receive compensation for legal services performed in the field placement other than reimbursement for incidental expenses such as parking or photocopying.
    
    
18. Summer Limitations: Students may enroll in a maximum of six (6) summer session field placement units. Students on academic probation are not eligible to participate in a field placement for units.
    
    
19. Transfer Students: Transfer students cannot enroll in a field placement until they have completed at least one semester at Loyola and have a Loyola GPA. After their first semester at Loyola, transfer students may enroll in six (6) or fewer units of a field placement during the academic year in which they have no official Loyola GPA. Transfer students may not enroll in a full-time field placement (7 or more units) until they have completed a full academic year and have a Loyola GPA of 3.33 or higher.
    
    
20. Failing a Prior Off-Campus Field Placement: Students who have failed to complete an off-campus field placement or who have received a grade of “fail” in an off-campus field placement are not subsequently eligible to enroll in an off-campus field placement.