Students at the University of Georgia School of Law can now earn full-time professional experience in the Atlanta market while continuing to work toward a degree from the state’s flagship institution. The Georgia Law Atlanta campus is located at the Terry College of Business Executive Education Center, across from the Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead.  

For many years, Georgia Law has offered the Washington, D.C., Semester in Practice, which allows students to earn externship credits while working in the nation’s capital with placement in a wide range of government and non-profit entities. 

“All law schools, including UGA, are required to provide students with a certain number of hours of skills training,” Georgia Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge. “The program in Atlanta, like our program in Washington, D.C., is a way to fulfill that requirement, but more importantly, it makes the students a more competitive candidate for the workforce.”  

According to Rutledge, since Atlanta is a top location for Georgia Law students to begin their careers, it was a natural choice to develop a similar program.

Students choosing to participate in the Atlanta Semester in Practice will receive placement in government, nonprofit, and corporate locations. Job placements this semester include the Office of the Governor, Office of the Attorney General, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the Georgia House and Senate, as well as other government, and non-profit locations. Corporate placements will become available to students beginning fall 2016. 

“This is a value proposition, what we are offering to our students is a chance to get a first-rate legal education at an affordable price and expose them to a network of potential employers,” said Rutledge. “What we offer the employer or placement is a caliber of students that makes it a worthwhile investment of their time.” 

Providing valuable work experience before graduation is an important part of any education, and the University of Georgia School of Law is focused on offering its students a first-rate legal education and valuable learning experiences to help them succeed.

The Atlanta Semester in Practice is open to second- and third-year students and offers an opportunity for students to thrive academically while developing their skills and experience through the full-time professional job placements in the Atlanta legal market. 

Georgia Law in Atlanta Director and Associate Professor Hillel Y. Levin said in addition to the externships, students are required to take a two-hour seminar course that helps them gain the most value from their work experience. Students may also enroll in up to two traditional law courses offered at the Atlanta campus.  

“The students will be able to earn credits for the externship as well as traditional law classes,” said Levin. “This will allow them to receive a full semester worth of credits, and they will not feel as if they are lagging behind.”

Levin explained that typically the students will work 30 hours each week in their assigned placement and then take classes mostly in the evenings. 

“All classes will be offered in Atlanta so the students can spend more time working in their externship,” Levin said. “This also helps expand the number of employers who want to provide externships. In the past, many employers found that having the students only two days a week was not enough hours to give the students the experience they needed, as well as benefit the employer.”