WFU Law in D.C.
Wake Forest School of Law Program in Washington, D.C.
The Wake Forest School of Law Program in Washington includes three opportunities for students to get hands-on experience in the nation’s capital.
The Metropolitan Externship provides selected third-year law students with the opportunity to spend the spring semester in practice in the most diverse and vibrant legal environment in the world. The Metropolitan Externship includes both an externship and classroom component as well as a conferences, roundtables, symposia and lectures. Students spend approximately 35 hours per week interning in a government agency or non-governmental organization. The types of placements include Executive Branch offices such as the Departments of Justice or State, or independent agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, or Federal Elections Commission. Non-governmental groups include advocacy groups, human rights organizations and trade associations. International organizations, such as the IMF or World Bank, are also included in the program. Whatever the setting, students engage in the kinds of tasks performed by lawyers in Washington, under the immediate supervision of an experienced attorney or attorneys in the particular office.
The Washington, D.C., Summer Judicial Externship Program is an exciting opportunity that places rising second-year and third-year law students into unpaid externships at some of the most vibrant and influential courts in Washington, D.C. As part of the program, students spend approximately 35 hours per week for eight weeks during the summer externing at a participating court. Students also attend a weekly class session that is tailored to judicial clerking. Among other things, the course explores professionalism, courtroom decorum, confidentiality, judicial ethics, docket management, bench memo writing, oral argument preparation and judicial opinion drafting.
The Innovative Public Interest Externship allows students to work with nonprofit public policy organizations in Washington, D.C., while living in Winston-Salem. Students are expected to complete a significant research assignment from a public interest organization under the supervision of Professor Shapiro. Students travel to Washington to meet with the organization to receive the research assignment and again at the completion of the project to present the results to the organization. Students are currently working with two public policy groups — Alliance for Justice and The Center for Progressive Reform.
Wake Forest Law Alumni Annual U.S. Supreme Court Swearing-In Ceremony
The law school’s annual U.S. Supreme Court Swearing-In Ceremony has become one of, if not the most, popular alumni event of the year. Those who have participated in this trip and have been sworn-in to the high court can attest to the special, unique experience that accompanies this event.