Experiential Education

EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION • SKILL-BASED PRACTICE & PLACEMENTS

Externships

The Thurgood Marshall Law Externship Program is rooted in the foundations of skill-

based law practice. Students embrace their professional identities and step into legal arenas working on assignments given to newly licensed attorneys. Some placements require students

to have their “temporary bar license”, which gives these students the ability to sit as “first-chair litigators” and much more.

Areas of Concentration:

• Civil Externship • Criminal Externship • Judicial Externship • Legislative Externship • Juvenile Justice • Real Estate and Property Preservation • Child Welfare Litigation Sample of Externship Placements

Thurgood Marshall Law offers over 300 approved placements, and the list continues to grow! Recent placements include: • NASA • Walmart’s Corporate Office • Harris County Attorney’s Office • The Federal Trade Commission • The US. District Court for the

Southern District of Texas • The Texas Supreme Court

During summer ’21, I had the pleasure to clerk for six weeks in Austin, Texas at Lloyd Gosselink Attorneys at Law, one of the first environmental law firms founded in Texas. As an aspiring environmental law attorney, I was privileged to experience the practice of environmental law closely under knowledgeable attorneys. Lloyd Gooselink prides itself on giving clerks a holistic experience. Not only did I learn about environmental law practice, but I acquired skills about law firm management and operations—critical competencies necessary for lawyering success. Had it not been for Thurgood Law enlightening me of this clerkship, I would have missed out on an amazing opportunity.

Markicia Horton, 3L

Legal Clinics

The Thurgood Marshall Law Clinical

Program provides an in-house law firm environment that offers students the opportunity to serve as a “student-attorney” member of an established law firm, under the direct supervision of a Clinical Director. The in-house clinics give students a sense of how it feels to work in a small law firm that

focuses on different practice areas

serving the needs of local community members. Similar to many externship placements, clinic students may work individually providing direct legal services or may work as a small firm tasked with solving community issues from a policy or transactional framework.

Criminal Law: Misdemeanor cases such as assaults, theft, DUIs, and drug possession. The Criminal Law Clinic now also includes a Title IX division, offering direct legal services to those impacted by acts involving the federal guidelines of the Title IX program. Immigration Law: Immigration issues including asylum, citizenship, and special immigrant juvenile status. Family Law: Divorce, custody, division of assets and liabilities, child support, paternity and name changes. Wills, Probate, & Guardianship: Estate planning and administration, probate, wills and guardianship. The Thurgood Marshall School of Law Advocacy Program includes: 0 Trial Simulation 0 Competitive Mock Trial 0 Competitive Moot Court 0 Board of Advocates 0 Order of Barristers 0 Mergers and Acquisitions 0 Law Practice Management 0 Mediation 0 Pro Bono Program

Advocacy Program

Trial Simulation: Based on a national, awardwinning model of advocacy training, Trial Simulation immerses students onto the language off the profession, and the expectations of the profession while allowing students the opportunity to develop effective and persuasive communication skills.

Competitive Mock Trial & Competitive Moot Court: These programs offer extra-curricular opportunities intended to continue students’ development of issue-framing skills, their ability to articulate and apply legal theories to factual situations, and to master persuasive argument skills that compel action in support of their client’s position.

Mediation: Students who successfully complete the mediation curriculum are recognized by the State of Texas as Certified Mediators.

Mergers and Acquisitions Law Practice Management Order of Barristers