In the last three years, 14 Chapman Law graduates have been offered clerkships in Bankruptcy Court. This is quite an accomplishment for such a short period of time and one important reason stands out: externships. All of these successful graduates first completed judicial externships while in law school which bolstered their resumes and provided them with an attractive set of skills. “Students leave their externships with more ability and experience than most lawyers,” said Judge Theodor C. Albert, a Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge and adjunct professor at Chapman.

Judge Albert says that he selects Chapman Law students as externs because “we have outstanding students.” Although Judge Albert might be slightly biased, he noted that other judges have taken notice of our students and have begun to recruit their externs from Chapman as well. Earlier this month, we profiled Leslie Seibert (3L) who externed with Judge Albert in the summer after her first year of law school and has been offered a clerkship in Judge Erithe A. Smith’s chambers.

“Chapman Law School is an up and coming school,” explained Judge Albert, “and Professor Carolyn Larmore runs an excellent externship program that provides us with dedicated and hardworking law students.” Chapman Law student Lauren Shaw (3L) says the best part of her externship was going into the Judge’s chambers and getting a weekly lesson on contemporary legal issues from a sitting jurist. Lauren was so inspired that she enrolled in Judge Albert’s Bankruptcy 1 course offered at Chapman Law School.

If law students pursue externships, they will learn a lot in a short amount of time.  They will learn to file motions and write briefs. And perhaps best of all, externships allow for networking and keeping current with important legal issues.

“Because bankruptcy is a growing part of jurisprudence, it is essential that students have an understanding of one of the busiest courts,” says Judge Albert. And we are proud that in the last three years, 14 Chapman alumni have found meaningful work in the bankruptcy arena with the help of their externships.

Judge Theodor C. Albert is a Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge for the United States bankruptcy court, Central District of California and an adjunct Law Professor at Chapman University School of Law. Judge Albert teaches Bankruptcy 1 and Bankruptcy 2, in the spring and fall semesters respectively. Click here to read more.