Are you ready to graduate?
Let us be the first to congratulate you on your upcoming graduation! Your 3L year can be a whirlwind, so let us help you get a head start. Check out our Pre-Graduation Checklist to make sure you are meeting deadlines, and see the Office of the Registrar to request your transcripts.
Planning on taking the Bar Exam? See our Bar Exam page for an overview of the exam, timeline, and exam prep recommendations.
Clinic
The clinic is unique in that it operates like a single firm with six distinct practice groups: federal criminal defense, immigration, employment, law and policy in action, trust and estates, and the community empowerment law project, which focuses on organizational representation. The clinic emphasizes skills that cut across practice areas, from client interviewing and case theory development to resilience and cultural competence.
Students earn credit for their work. Students take on the role of attorney, not intern. They have primary responsibility for the representation of their clients at all stages of the legal process and learn to use and trust their legal judgment. Students learn different areas of the law, work with multiple supervisors, and represent diverse clients, better preparing them for practice.
Recent student experiences in the clinic include drafting the first land bank statute for the State of Iowa, defending indigent individuals charged in federal court with serious felony offenses, arguing an employment law case before the Iowa Court of Appeals, and petitioning the Iowa Department of Education to revise its school seclusion rules.
Externships
Equally important to students’ success as professionals is what they learn through practical legal experiences. Externships, a staple of the law school experience, offer students the opportunity to explore legal career options, obtain practical legal skills, and begin developing a network. The Career Services office works closely with students to secure externships that will help launch their careers and meet their long-term career goals. Students typically intern in a variety of locations and settings throughout the country and even around the world.
Externships are the best preparation for your career, and a great way to make professional contacts. In fact, many students’ first job after graduating is one that began as an externship.
Semester in DC
The DC Program provides students an opportunity to spend a semester in DC with a cohort of classmates while acquiring exposure to the unique legal environment of the Nation's Capital. All students can benefit from the chance to witness federal lawmaking firsthand whether they wish to live in DC long-term or not. Through the DC program, students can deepen their understanding of federal law by working in a government agency, or with a judge or non-profit public interest organization.