Advocacy Training at Baylor Law School

Advocacy

Externships

Baylor law students may gain practical experience in dealing with clients and handling actual cases through participation in several clinical programs for which credit may be earned. Criminal clinical experience may be gained in externship programs offered in the office of the McLennan County District Attorney and the office of the Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas in Waco. Judicial externships are available in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (Waco Division), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas (Austin and Waco Divisions), the 10th Court of Appeals in Waco, and the Supreme Court of the State of Texas in Austin.

Students may also participate in an externship program in the Waco office of the Legal Services Corporation, assisting poverty-level clients in legal matters under the supervision of a staff attorney. Administrative Law externships are available at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), the General Land Office (GLO), and the regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There is also an externship program with the Texas Attorney General-Child Support Division Office in Waco.

The Texas Supreme Court externship carries five quarter hours of credit and requires approximately 225 hours of supervised work. All other available clinical course offerings carry two quarter hours of credit and require a minimum of 90 hours of supervised work. Students may participate in only one externship unless otherwise approved by the Dean or Associate Dean.