In live practice courses, students work in law offices, judicial chambers or on project teams where the practice of law is live and the consequences impact real people, institutions and our communities. The students’ work and the work of the office are not theoretical, hypothetical or simulated.
At UMKC we have three different types of live practice courses — clinics, field placements and collaborative projects.
You must take at least six credits in experiential coursework to graduate. Fortunately, we offer many experiential courses so it’s easy for you to meet and even exceed that requirement during your time here.
Under the supervision of UMKC Law faculty, students represent actual clients with pressing legal needs.
Under the supervision of mentor attorneys and judges, students work in approved government agencies, public interest organizations and judicial chambers. See a list of potential Field Placements hosts here.
Every field placement is matched with a seminar titled Learning from Practice. The seminars are taught by leading lawyers and delve into the nature of practice, professional identity formation and the skills necessary to succeed as a lawyer.
Students interested in a field placement internship should contact Professor Dierks to set up a meeting.
There are more than 100 approved field placement host offices and mentor attorneys.
Sample Field Placements in Criminal Law include:
Sample Field Placements in Government Include:
Local
Federal
Sample Field Placements in Public Interest Include:
Sample Field Placements in the Courts Include:
All host offices must be faculty-approved, but we will help you to identify suitable placements that match your career interests, whether locally in the Kansas City metro area or in a distant city.
Nearly all emphasis areas require some experiential coursework, and field placement internships are the most common choice for students. More than half the internships are litigation focused, so they are great opportunities to bring your studies into action. We have environmental internships in government (EPA) and public interest groups (e.g., Heartland Conservation Alliance). Students interested in the International Law emphasis often take one of the immigration law placements, and those interested in Intellectual Property find themselves at an internship in the tech transfer office at KU Med.
Learn more about collaborative projects on the Experiential Learning page
