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Each year the School of Law offers one 3rd or 4th year student the opportunity to gain international legal experience in the USA through the Los Angeles Federal District Court Summer Externship Program.
The School of Law offers a generous scholarship to the winning student who will gain invaluable experience in both the Los Angeles Federal and Superior Courts working in the judges' chambers and participating in the preparation of legal memoranda.
This year I was delighted to be selected by the School of Law to participate in a three-month legal externship in Los Angeles, California. My time was split between the Los Angeles Superior Courts and Federal District Court (for the Central District of California).
I spent two weeks in the Superior Courts and ten weeks in the Federal District Court. The Irish American Bar Association (IABA) and the University of Limerick School of Law generously sponsor the programme. Four other law students from UCC, TCD, UCD and QUB also participated in the externship.
The IABA helped to organise accommodation and acted as a sponsor and guide throughout the visa process and during the externship.
The experience surpassed my expectations and was rewarding, academically, socially and culturally. I was able to choose modules that really interested me. Negotiation was an experiential module where we worked in competitive groups on real-world cases working closely with group tutors. International Human Rights Law and International Law modules were delivered by professors who had worked in international tribunals and corporations and in classes with a wide international range of views. I also studied Capital Punishment. The whole experience has allowed me to learn a lot about law but also to grow in confidence and develop a greater perspective on many issues.
One of the thing best parts of studying abroad that made my experience so memorable and enjoyable was the friendships and connections I made with both American students and exchange students from around the world. We learned American law together but also about the law and culture in each other's countries. We socialised and travelled together and build friendships that I hope will last. The city of Austin is also a great place to live with fantastic food, nightlife and events. Austin, the state capital of Texas has lots of places to visit like the Texas Congress Building and the LBJ Presidential Library. Further afield I had to opportunity to visit Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The semester at the UT School of Law was a tremendous experience, one which I would highly recommend. It expanded my legal knowledge, allowed me to develop professional skills and gave me insight into how American law is practised. A three-week internship in Wisconsin at the end of the semester gave me an opportunity to see it all in action, a great conclusion to a most rewarding semester.