The goals of Externships are to provide students with opportunities to:
Many of these Externships require senior certification and others have course pre-requisites. For most Externships a student will get the best educational experience after having completed at least three semesters of law school course work before enrolling in the Externship. Course descriptions for available Interns can be found below.
Externships are graded on a "satisfactory"/"unsatisfactory" basis. To satisfactorily complete an Externship you must:
If you have any questions about Externships in general, about any particular Externship, or about this information, please make an appointment with Professor Dickhute. If she is not in her office, you can reach her by e-mail at nancydickhute@creighton.edu or by phone at 280-5522 (leave a message).
The following externships qualify for 3 credit hours.
Anti-defamation League
LAW 470
The interns work under the supervision of the director of the Anti-Defamation League office in Omaha. The interns will be exposed to a variety of legal issues facing the community and the various possible responses to these issues. Responses may include education, research, dialogue, informal conflict resolution, litigation, and the range of responses unique to the fact pattern presented.
City Attorneys Office Council Bluffs
LAW 471
The interns work on the citys civil legal matters under the supervision of the City Attorney. Students are assigned to work in areas of employment discrimination; labor relations; housing and urban development; tort actions filed against the city; eminent domain; zoning; city politics; and administrative processes. P: Completion of three full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours).
City Attorneys Office Omaha
LAW 471
The interns work on the citys civil legal matters under the supervision of an Assistant City Attorney. Students are assigned to work in areas of employment discrimination; labor relations; housing and urban development; tort actions filed against the city; eminent domain; zoning; city politics; and administrative processes.
City Prosecutors Office
LAW 473
The interns assist the City Prosecutor in the preparation and presentation of criminal cases. Students do research on police work and all aspects of criminal procedure. They observe various court proceedings including bond settings, arraignments and trials. For the best learning experience, the student should have blocks of free time on Tuesdays and Thursdays to be spent at the internship.
Council Bluffs Civil Rights Commission
LAW 452
This internship provides students with an opportunity to work with the director of the Council Bluffs Human Relations Commission. The intern will assist in investigating cases, legal research and analysis, decision writing, and administrative matters for the Commission. P: Employment Discrimination.
District Court of Iowa
LAW 466
The intern works in the office of the District Court Judge for the Fourth District of Iowa, researching issues before the court and writing memoranda for the judge and his clerk. P: Completion of at least four full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours).
Douglas County Attorneys Office
LAW 475
The interns work in the Douglas County Attorneys office on a variety of civil and criminal matters, including preliminary hearings, trials, and sentencing; securities fraud; consumer protection; police reports; and coroners investigations. Interns are supervised by an Assistant County Attorney. P: Completion of at least four full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours).
Douglas County Court
LAW 481
Interns work as law clerks for the Judges of the Douglas County Court. They observe courtroom activity and do research on special projects and issues before the court.
Douglas County District Court
LAW 497
Interns work as law clerks for the Judges of the Douglas County District Court. They observe courtroom activity and do research on special projects and issues before the court.
Douglas County Public Defenders Office
LAW 472
The intern works under the direction of the Douglas County Public Defender researching and drafting motions, briefs, and appeals; interviewing witnesses; and participating in hearings. The student becomes familiar with criminal work by actually working in the area. P: Completion of at least four full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours).
Immigration Customs Enforcement
LAW 450
This internship will expose the student to substantive areas of immigration law and regulations regarding removal, asylum, waivers, citizenship and family-based petitions, and how those are applied in actual cases. The student will be given insight into the structure and functions of a federal government law enforcement agency. The student will interact with immigration officers, immigration attorneys, and immigration judges and their staffs and learn the necessary skills to do so. The student will learn removal proceedings from the investigative, to the hearing phases, and through the appellate phases. Under the appropriate circumstances, the senior-certified student would learn and apply advocacy before immigration judges in bond and removal proceedings. Student must be a United States citizen to take this internship.
Areas of Concentration: International & Comparative Law
Internal Revenue Service
LAW 478
This internship provides an opportunity for one student each semester to become familiar with the Internal Revenue Service by working in the office of the Regional Counsel. Interns perform educationally related work assignments and gain practical experience in handling tax cases. P: Federal Income Taxation.
Areas of Concentration: Business Law
Iowa Public Defender
LAW 461
This internship provides the student with the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the practice of law as a State Public Defender. The focus is exclusively on the representation of the indigent in criminal and juvenile court in Council Bluffs. It provides experience in criminal practice and procedure, evidence, trial advocacy, constitutional law, and juvenile law and procedure. P: Completion of at least three full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours), all required courses, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence. Juvenile Law would be helpful, but is not required.
Jennie Edmundson Hospital Counsel's Office
LAW 465
This internship will expose one student each semester to the many diverse legal issues of the health care setting, including contracts, malpractice, general liability, labor/employment, federal/state regulation, and antitrust; will give the student practical experience in preparing to defend a legal claim, from initial investigation to actual trial; will teach the student the techniques of contract negotiation, drafting, and review; will give the student experience writing legal memoranda, hospital policies and procedures for compliance with federal and state regulations, and various other legal documents such as consents, authorizations for release of information and hold harmless agreements; and will allow the student to acquire the abilities necessary to intervene in ethical disputes, where legal reasoning must be balanced with considerations of individuals rights and societal needs. P: Completion of at least four full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours).
Judge Advocate Generals Office
LAW 477
Interns work in various aspects of the legal office for Offutt Air Force Base, including criminal justice (prosecutorial only); tort/civil liability; administrative law (labor, equal opportunity, environmental); contract law; and providing general legal assistance to active duty personnel. A Deputy Staff Judge Advocate educates and works with the student intern.
Judge Advocate Generals Office-Criminal Defense
LAW 477
Interns work in the criminal defense legal office of Offutt Air Force Base. A Deputy Staff Judge Advocate educates and works with the student intern.
Justice For Our Neighbors
LAW 416
Justice For Our Neighbors is an outreach ministry of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. It provides high-quality, accessible, free, immigration legal services to non-citizens. Interns will work with clients of varying ethnicities and economic backgrounds in need of immigration services. They will complete client intakes, do research, complete immigration forms, compose letters for filings, attend court with the attorney, draft briefs and motions, and complete other types of case-related legal work. Interns will work primarily on removal defense cases, asylum applications, waiver applications and/or applications for immigration protection under the Violence Against Women Act. P: Preference will be given to students who have taken Immigration Law and who speak Spanish.
Juvenile Court Douglas County
LAW 476
The intern works under the supervision of Judges of the Douglas County Separate Juvenile Court. The intern observes Courtroom activity and researches special projects and issues before the Court.
Juvenile Court Sarpy County
LAW 476
The intern works under the supervision of the Judge of the Sarpy County Juvenile Court, doing research, writing, and other work deemed beneficial to the Juvenile court. The student will become familiar with juvenile process by actually working in the area.
Legal Aid Society-Omaha
LAW 479
Under the supervision of Nebraska attorneys, law students represent low-income persons in civil legal matters. The students are primarily responsible for interviewing clients; investigating the facts of the case; settlement negotiation; drafting pleadings, motions and briefs; and representing clients in court appearances. Representative cases include consumer law; landlord/tenant law; administrative law (including hearings in unemployment compensation, social security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, and other governmental benefit cases); family law; torts; and a wide range of other civil legal problems. P: Completion of at least three full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours).
Methodist Health Systems
LAW 494
This internship provides students an opportunity to work under the supervision of the Vice President of Administrative Affairs/Corporate Compliance at Methodist Health System. The intern will be exposed to diverse legal issues in the health care setting, including Medicare/Medicaid; antitrust; labor/employment; and, federal/state regulation. The intern will gain practical experience in preparing to defend a legal claim, from initial investigation to actual trial. The intern will attend a variety of operational meetings on legal compliance issues. A student who has taken Administrative Law and/or Health Care Law or who has prior work experience in the medical area will get the most benefit from this internship.
Mosaic, Inc.
LAW 502
Mosaic, Inc. is a non-profit organization in Omaha that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Presently Mosaic has offices in 14 states and four countries. The student externs at Mosaic would work with the vice-president for legal support a) conducting legal research on various topics including federal and state statutes which affect developmentally disabled individuals, b) helping to create a monthly newsletter by drafting regulatory compliance-related articles, c) working to manage and resolve claims filed against the organization or potential claims including interviewing witnesses, conducting investigations and drafting discovery responses.
Near East South Asia (NESA)
LAW 503
The Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies in located at the University of National defense in Washington, D.C. the purpose of the NESA Center is to further communications and understanding between military and civilian representatives of the governments and private sectors of the countries in the Near East and South Asia dealing with international security and the law of terrorism. A student extern would be working with a permanent member of the faculty at the NESA Center to create conference materials and conduct research on a) politically-motivated violence, b) legislation designed to combat violence and terrorism, c) security issues affecting counties in the region, c) recent opinions of the International Court of Justice dealing with security and terrorism.
Nebraska Innocence Project
LAW 400
In working with attorneys to identify and exonerate individuals who have been wrongly convicted of serious crimes, interns will perform five primary types of work assignments: intake screening, case reviews, factual investigations, legal and scientific research, and legal writing. Potential clients are incarcerated individuals who allege innocence and who no longer have a right to court-appointed counsel. Interns will screen inmate claims by reading and reviewing pre-trial and trial transcripts and post-conviction decisions and records to determine whether inmates have believable, provable, and procedurally viable claims of innocence. They will present “good cases” to the Project Board. Interns will work on cases the Project accepts. Interns will investigate claims, research issues, and prepare documents. Interns may have opportunities to visit clients in prison, to visit the forensic lab, and to prepare and present legal arguments to the court. P: Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure. (Students may be enrolled in these courses concurrently with the Internship, but preference will be given to students who have completed these courses and who have also completed or are enrolled in Scientific Evidence and Post-Conviction Relief). Areas of Concentration:Criminal Law & Procedure
Nebraska State Legislature
LAW 498
The intern works under the supervision of a state senator doing substantive legal research in conjunction with legislative bills. The student will examine legal precedent, case law, and the statutes of other states for use in the development of public policy. This internship is available only in the spring semester.
Pottawattamie County Attorneys Office
LAW 489
Interns work in the Pottawattamie County Attorneys Office on mostly criminal, and occasionally, civil issues. Interns handle hearings, trials and sentencings mainly on misdemeanor cases, and do research and briefs on all cases, including major felonies. Interns occasionally are permitted to do jury trials on misdemeanor cases. Interns are supervised by county attorney and assistant county attorneys. P: Completion of at least three full-time semesters of law school.
Sarpy County Court
LAW 464
Interns work as law clerks for the Judges of the Sarpy County Court. They observe courtroom activity and do research on special projects and issues before the court.
Social Security Administration, Office of Hearing
LAW 468
The interns work in the Office of the Hearings and Appeals branch of the Social Security Administration as a law clerk for an Administrative Law Judge. The office is responsible for the adjudication of claims arising under Titles II, XVI, and XVIII of the Social Security Act. The interns perform duties including legal research and analysis, decision writing, and preparation of interrogatories and orders of dismissal.
United States Attorneys Office
LAW 483
Under the rules of practice for the United States Court for the District of Nebraska, the student interns are allowed to hold consultations, prepare documents for filing and make limited appearances in court under the supervision of the United States Attorney or Assistant United States Attorney while representing the United States in any civil or criminal matters. Students participating in this program are required to receive FBI clearance. P: Completion of at least four full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours). United States citizenship is a pre-requisite.
United States Bankruptcy Court
LAW 484
This intern works in the office of the United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Nebraska and is exposed to the procedures of the Bankruptcy Court. The intern attends first meetings of creditors, discharge hearings, pretrials and trials. In addition, the student does research and prepares reports on selected questions of bankruptcy-related law. P: Debtor-Creditor Relations.
United States Bankruptcy Trustee
LAW 469
The intern works under the supervision of the United States Bankruptcy Trustee for the District of Nebraska, doing research and preparing memoranda on selected questions of bankruptcy-related law; reviewing potential criminal referrals; reviewing financial information of debtors to determine compliance with the Bankruptcy Code; and observing courtroom proceedings. P: Secured Transactions in Personal Property; Debtor-Creditor Relations.
United States Court of Appeals
LAW 490
The internship is limited to one law student each semester. The intern will work in the office of the Honorable William J. Riley of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, researching issues before the court, preparing bench memoranda and indexing opinions.
United States District Court
LAW 491
The interns work in the offices of Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, researching issues before the court, writing memoranda for the judges and their clerks, and observing courtroom procedures including civil and criminal cases.
United States Magistrate's Office
LAW 493
The interns work in the offices of the United States Magistrate Judges and are involved in research, writing and dialogue with the magistrates on the full range of civil and criminal cases referred to them under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. 636.
United States Public Defender
LAW 462
This internship provides students with a thorough practical knowledge of the legal work performed by attorneys in the Federal Public Defender's Office on behalf of indigent persons accused of federal crimes. Duties may include meeting with clients and witnesses, investigating crimes and possible defenses, researching and writing motions and briefs, drafting correspondence, reviewing discovery and preparing for court appearances. P: Preference will be given to students who have completed at least four full-time semesters of law school (or the equivalent hours); Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure.