Externships are experiential learning opportunities, similar to internships, provided by partnerships between educational institutions and employers to give students practical experiences in their field of study.
[2] Externships are often viewed as job shadowing since externs are closely supervised by employee volunteers who agree to walk them through day-to-day routines at the company or organization.
The experience obtained through externships allows students to apply their coursework learning to real-life settings, and to observe and ask questions within that context.
Standard 304(d) applies to field placements (externships), defining them as follows for purposes of law school accreditation: "A field placement course provides substantial lawyering experience that (1) is reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks in a setting outside a law clinic under the supervision of a licensed attorney or an individual otherwise qualified to supervise..."[7] Law schools accredited by state government agencies, such as the State Bar of California, in addition to or in place of the ABA Council, must comply with the accreditation standards of those agencies, in order to maintain those accreditations.
No university or free-standing law school allows students to receive academic credit in simulation, clinic (internship) or field placement (externship) courses for making coffee, taking inventory, or other tasks unrelated to practical experience to develop lawyering skills.