One is the Loneliest Number: Opening the Door to Collaboration and Collegiality with Non-Externship Colleagues

Even as experiential coursework continues to move toward the forefront of legal education, many Externship Programs remain isolated from other segments of the law school, including other clinical programs, acting as stand-alone operations without the benefits of cross-departmental or cross-curricular collaboration. Commonly, forces of history, politics, or lack of access leave those leading and teaching in Externship Programs feeling that they cannot pursue substantive partnerships with non-Externship colleagues or that there is simply little to gain from doing so. By the same token, non-Externship colleagues often know (or care) little about Externships and, even if they do, rarely go further to consider how Externships might tie into what they are teaching. Despite these challenges, this presentation will posit that Externship Programs and those who direct and teach them have much to gain by being affirmative in pursuing collaboration with non-Externship colleagues. These efforts can result in higher visibility for Externship Programs, deeper integration of those directing and teaching them, and a vastly enhanced appreciation for and understanding the rich pedagogy and experiential learning opportunities at play. Using their own experiences as a launching point, the presenters will explore the many challenges to creating cross-faculty Externship collaborations and discuss strategies for overcoming them. Through a frank discussion of the obstacles that exist, the presenters hope to share and develop techniques that can help create an environment in which field placements and externship pedagogy are an integral part of the law school and collaboration between Externship faculty and other law school faculty is the norm