Field Placement Course Offerings
All student participants in field placements must be enrolled in one of the four course components offered at the LSU Law Center. Each of the four courses is detailed below.
Any LSU Law student can begin participating in field placements at the conclusion of the first year (i.e.; in the summer semester immediately following their 1L year), if that student has successfully completed both semesters of the first-year Legal Writing program. A first-time field placement student, regardless of the type of placement they are participating in, must enroll in LAW 5907. A student who is participating in a second, third, or fourth field placement should enroll in the Advanced Field Placement course that best matches the type of placement they will be working with (government, judicial, or public interest). A student can take each of the below courses only once.
REMINDER: Students wishing to enroll a field placement must apply through the common application process for all Clinics & Field placements.
Students with questions about the field placement course offerings should contact Prof. Richard Pittman.
LAW 5907 Field Placement I: Learning From Practice
(3 credits, experiential learning, any semester)
Prerequisite: Successful completion of first-year Legal Writing program.
This course will be taught online and asynchronously. Enrollment by application and permission of instructor.
This course is required for all students participating in a field placement who have never before taken a field placement course. In this course, students will be placed in volunteer extern positions with local, state, or federal government agencies, judicial chambers, or public interest and not-for-profit organizations.
Students participating in this course must complete a minimum of 120 hours of work for their host placement. Students participating in this course must also participate in and complete an online asynchronous course component designed to support the student as a newcomer to legal practice. The course component will focus on the study of lawyers and their roles and obligations, with emphasis on learning how to learn from experience, lawyering skills and competencies, ethics and morality, cross-cultural competence, and career planning.
This course is graded on the experiential learning scaled Pass/Fail system.
LAW 6003 Advanced Field Placement: Judicial
(3 credits, experiential learning, any semester)
Prerequisite: Successful completion of LAW 5907.
This course will be taught online and asynchronously. Enrollment by application and permission of instructor.
Advanced Field Placement courses are designed for students who have already successfully completed a field placement and are interested in either pursuing a second and new field placement or continuing with their original field placement. Students enrolled in LAW 6003 must be placed with a local, administrative, state, or federal judge.
Students in this course must complete a minimum of 120 hours of work for their host judge’s chambers. Students will be required, in consultation with their placement supervisor, to develop new and advanced learning goals for their experience. Students participating in this course must also participate in and complete an online asynchronous course component. This course component will give students an overview of judicial ethics; researching and drafting judicial opinions; theories of judicial decision-making; the role of trial and appellate judges; judicial bias and implicit bias; and judicial selection and retention.
This course is graded on the experiential learning scaled Pass/Fail system.
LAW 6004 Advanced Field Placement: Government
(3 credits, experiential learning, any semester)
Prerequisite: Successful completion of LAW 5907.
This course will be taught online and asynchronously. Enrollment by application and permission of instructor.
Advanced Field Placement courses are designed for students who have already successfully completed a field placement and are interested in either pursuing a second and new field placement or continuing with their original field placement. Students enrolled in LAW 6004 must be placed with a local, state, or federal government agency.
Students in this course must complete a minimum of 120 hours of work for their host government agency. Students will be required, in consultation with their placement supervisor, to develop new and advanced learning goals for their experience. Students participating in this course must also participate in and complete an online asynchronous course component. This course component will explore topics such as ethical considerations for the public lawyer, rule-making and the administrative process, federalism and state sovereignty, state supported speech, and state budgeting issues.
This course is graded on the experiential learning scaled Pass/Fail system.
LAW 6006 Advanced Field Placement: Public Interest
(3 credits, experiential learning, any semester)
Prerequisite: Successful completion of LAW 5907.
This course will be taught online and asynchronously. Enrollment by application and permission of instructor.
Advanced Field Placement courses are designed for students who have already successfully completed a field placement and are interested in either pursuing a second and new field placement or continuing with their original field placement. Students enrolled in LAW 6006 must be placed with public interest and non-profit organizations..
Students in this course must complete a minimum of 120 hours of work for their host placement. Students will be required, in consultation with their placement supervisor, to develop new and advanced learning goals for their experience. Students participating in this course must also participate in and complete an online asynchronous course component. This course component will explore the clients, constituencies, and causes of public interest lawyering, the various practice sites of public interest lawyering, effective advocacy strategies and impact litigation, lawyering for a cause, funding and supporting non-profit lawyering positions, and organizations that serve the legal needs of the poor and marginalized populations.
This course is graded on the experiential learning scaled Pass/Fail system.
