Entertainment Practicum Policies and Procedures
Internship/Externship Documents
Description of the program here by Scott Altman. Contact Scott Altman.
The Entertainment Practicum is available for one unit, and is graded CR/D/F. Enrollment in or completion of Entertainment Law is required. Prior to enrolling, students must identify on their own a field practicum opportunity and must submit an applicationto Scott Altman in room 300.
Please note that placements qualify for the practicum only if the organization requires academic units as a condition of the placement. Organizations that are willing to pay law students, or are willing to accept volunteers, do not qualify for this placement. Students may only earn one unit for Entertainment Practicum toward their JD.
Supervising Attorney's Responsibilities
- Each placement shall designate one attorney as the supervisor of the student intern/extern. This attorney is responsible for the overall supervision of the student's experience and must be available to the student and the Law School for consultation about the placement. This does not, however, preclude a student from working for other attorneys in the office. The supervising attorney must sign the student's progress reports prior to submission.
- The supervising attorney should strive to provide the student with as many different kinds of experiences and responsibilities as the placement will allow. Ideally, students will have the opportunity to have direct client contact, observe or perform courtroom-type experiences, research, write, etc. Non-law related activities, lunch hours and breaks cannot be counted as internship/externship hours for purposes of meeting the 56 hour per unit requirement.
- All supervisors will be asked to prepare an evaluation of the student's work. Students cannot receive course credit until the evaluation has been received.
- The supervisor must also agree to comply with the Greater Los Angeles Consortium on Externships' Guidelines for Supervising Judges and Attorneys.
Student's Responsibilities
- Each student must complete the required 56 hours by the end of the semester.
- Students must submit a bi-weekly, typewritten or wordprocessed progress report. The progress report must include: date, time, total hours, and a description with substantive information regarding the legal work performed (e.g. types of cases, types of documents produced, other work performed). Entries should reflect, in some detail, the nature of the issues researched, written assignments, including client contact (if applicable to the placement), meetings with supervisors and other activities related to the work done in the office. The entries must be organized on a daily basis. Non-law related activities, lunch hours and breaks cannot be counted as internship/externship hours for purposes of meeting the 56 hour per unit requirement. Similarly, school, national or court holidays do not relieve students of the obligation to perform 56 hours of work per unit. Progress reports must be signed by the supervisor and turned in to Dean Altman on or before the stated deadline (see section regarding deadline dates).
- Students must hold as absolutely confidential all information obtained directly or indirectly concerning clients, clients' cases or legal problems.
- Students must schedule an appointment to meet with Dean Altman to discuss in detail the placement and supervision.
- The student cannot receive compensation for an internship or externship other than reimbursements for incidental expenses, such as parking or photocopying. Internships are allowed only at entertainment firms that will not accept volunteers or pay students for their work.
- Students must author a written evaluation of their experience at the placement due at the end of the semester, along with submission of the final progress report. The comments should reflect 1) the kind of work performed, 2) the amount and quality of supervision, 3) what the student learned, 4) whether the placement is recommended to other students, 5) what the facilities were like, 6) the amount of contact with the judge/justice (if applicable) and 7) whether and how often the student was able to attend hearings, trials, depositions, client meetings, etc. These evaluations will be kept on file for student review.
- Students cannot receive credit unless their supervisor submits an evaluation of the student's work. Students are responsible for reminding supervisors of this obligation.
Questions regarding procedures should be directed to Dean Scott Altman
