USC Law students participate in summer judicial externship program

Eight USC Law students — Andrea Ambrose, Melissa Glousman, An-Yen Hu, Elizabeth Kim, Emily Kuwahara, Jordan Raphael, Heather Weisser and Julie Zankel — this summer participated in the Second District Court of Appeal’s judicial externship program.

A total 35 law students from around the country took part in the program, which also included two students from Harvard, four from Loyola, one from Michigan, and five from UCLA.

In addition to working in justices’ chambers on opinions and writs, the students participated in seminars on the appellate decision-making process and opinion writing skills. They also observed selected civil and criminal trial court proceedings and oral argument sessions in the Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court.

“The opportunity to extern for the Court of Appeal was an invaluable experience,” says second-year student An-Yen Hu. “The justices are great mentors who went out of their way to teach the externs about the law and share with us their experiences.”

Furthermore, Hu adds, “I was given substantive work with real responsibility. The memoranda we drafted and the research we conducted played an important role in the court’s decision-making process. Because of the influence my work product potentially had on cases, I was pushed to put forth my best effort in order to fulfill my responsibility to my justice and to the court.”

According to associate Justice Paul Boland ’66, who directs the program, “The USC law students were outstanding. They’ve impressed my colleagues and me with their strong lawyering skills, exemplary work ethic, sense of professionalism, and commitment to excellence. Their stellar performance should be a source of enormous satisfaction for USC Law, just as it is a cause of considerable pride for those of us on this bench who are graduates of the school.”

An additional 61 USC Law students this year participated in other summer internship and externship opportunities — ranging from externships with Federal Circuit and District Courts and State Supreme and Superior Courts around the country to internships with non-profit and government agencies.

Melissa Balaban ’91, assistant dean of career services, notes that externships provide students the opportunity to develop legal analysis and writing skills, gain exposure to adversarial practice, and witness the decision-making process from a perspective not otherwise available.

“Most students who have worked for a judge or justice say that it is among the best experiences they had as a law student,” Balaban says.