3 minute read
Inaugural immersion externship launched
Zach Forrester JD’23 was working as a barista in Washington when a customer, a Willamette Law alumnus, encouraged him to look into the school. The serendipitous encounter led Forrester to Salem and on to the inaugural immersion externship in Alaska.
Forrester was initially interested in a number of different areas of law, including a potential career in the federal courts. As he entered into his third year, Dean Brian Gallini proposed an idea: Forrester could finish his final courses remotely in Alaska while completing an externship. Before long, Forrester was connected with Judge Joshua Kindred JD’05, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.
“I owe this opportunity to Dean Gallini,” Forrester says. “He set this up for me and helped through every stage of the process. What excites me most is getting to see how a federal court works on a day-to-day basis. I get to develop new skills outside the classroom and learn from people on the ground.”
After experiencing firsthand how abrupt the passage from academia to professional practice can be, Kindred looks for ways to help ease the transition for law students. That’s a big reason why he wanted to take part in the first immersion externship.
“When I receive a call from Willamette Law to get involved, I will always answer that call,” Kindred says. “I owe a debt of gratitude to the school for my own education, and I am always eager to help bright and talented future lawyers.”
Allowing a student to study remotely, spend dedicated time immersed in legal practice, and build connections with the legal community is something that is unparalleled in terms of experience, Kindred explains.
“This is how law school should work,” Kindred says. “Students should learn in the classroom and then have a chance, under the guidance of lawyers and professors, to step fully into what it means to be a lawyer while still in a safe and supportive environment.”
Forrester says his law school education provided a strong foundation, but the externship helped develop his skills.
“Writing from the point of view of a decision-maker involves a huge switch,” he shares, “and this allowed me to grow not only as a writer, but in how I think about writing.”
He also increased his knowledge on the foundation of law. Depending on the day and the types of cases, he was “working on a criminal law project one day, an insurance issue the next, and a niche rule of federal procedure after that,” he says.
Kindred looks forward to seeing Forrester’s career unfold and mentoring him throughout the entirety of his practice. He hopes the immersion externship and the continued opportunities for partnership between Alaska and Willamette Law will help expand and strengthen the legal community there.
Forrester plans to remain in Alaska for at least a year after graduation, working as a law clerk for the Alaska Court of Appeals in Anchorage.
