University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School

Overview ²

The University of Wisconsin Law School is located on historic Bascom Hill in the heart of the beautiful UW–Madison campus. It boasts a renowned faculty, an extensive curriculum and a dynamic student body. As part of a world-class university located in the state’s capital, the Law School also offers an unparalleled wealth of experiences beyond its walls.

An extensive curriculum places emphasis on the dynamics of the law—how the law relates to social change and to society as a whole—while at the same time stressing skill development. In addition to nationally recognized programs in several substantive areas, the Law School also has one of the largest clinical programs in the country. UW Law School offers many dual degree programs , concentrations and certificate programs.

With a focus on skills-based learning, our students graduate practice-ready and prepared for success. Most UW Law School students are pursuing a J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree, while many others are earning an LL.M. (Master of Laws) or the S.J.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science).

The UW Law School's nationally recognized faculty and staff work together to provide an outstanding learning environment for our students. Our faculty and staff come from a wide range of backgrounds and bring varying experiences, views and approaches to the Law School. They are inspired by the UW’s distinctive law-in-action approach, and they are committed to helping students develop into confident, successful lawyers.

Student-Faculty Ratio ³

7.7:1

Admission Criteria ⁴

	LSAT	GPA
25th-75th Percentile	156-163	3.3-3.72
Median*	161	3.58

The above LSAT and GPA data pertain to the 2016 entering class.

Director of admissions	Rebecca Scheller
Application deadline	April 1

Law School Admissions details based on 2016 data.

*Medians have been calculated by averaging the 25th- and 75th-percentile values released by the law schools and have been rounded up to the nearest whole number for LSAT scores and to the nearest one-hundredth for GPAs.

Admission Statistics ⁴

Approximate number of applications	1406
Number accepted	642
Percentage accepted	45.7%

The above admission details are based on 2016 data.

Law School Cost ⁵

Standard Student Expense Budget for Academic Year 2016-2017:

Expenses	Resident	Non-Resident
Tuition	$21,450.48	$40,146.72
Books & Supplies	2,450.00	2,450.00
Room	7,920.00	7,920.00
Board	3,500.00	3,500.00
Miscellaneous*	4,822.00	4,822.00
Travel	800	800
Loan Fees	214	214
Total:	$41,156.48	$59,852.72

Class Ranking and Grades ⁶

Class Rank

Students have a legitimate interest in knowing how their own academic performance stacks up against the work of others, either to better enable them to compete for jobs, or to better assess the effectiveness of their study strategies, or perhaps to help make decisions about their curriculum. Law school rules generally prohibit computing and releasing class rank, based on a belief that the ranking process can exaggerate the significance of relatively small variations in student grades. Instead, we provide tables relating grade averages to approximate position in the class, and a statement explaining the table. In 2003 we changed the way in which we compile these tables in order to deal with two problems.

The problems were, first, that we could not perform the necessary calculations until all of the grades had been submitted and processed; in fact this meant that sometimes the tables were not available as soon as students needed them to complete job applications. We are, compared to many other law schools, on a "late" academic calendar; our students receive their fall semester grades comparatively later in January than their counterparts at other law schools that begin classes in August and finish finals in early or mid-December. This problem was exacerbated when one or more faculty, often due to a health problem or family emergency, failed to get all the grades turned in by the deadline.

Second, and equally problematic, the tables were not designed to address the situation in which a student was proceeding through law school at a faster, or slower, pace than most students. At first thought, it seems that each person’s “class” is unambiguous; in fact, not so. Does your “class” consist of the people who started law school with you? Or who will finish law school with you? Enough variation exists in the speed with which students accumulate credits to make the determination of the make-up of “a class” an uncertain process. We concluded that the comparison which is most relevant consists of comparing a student’s performance with the performance of others who, recently, have been at the same relative point in completing their law school studies. The tables which we calculate are based on that conclusion.

A review of the distribution of cumulative GPAs over time revealed that the distribution of student grade averages was very consistent over time. The break point for the top 25%, for example, was very much the same from one year to the next to the next. We realized that we could take advantage of this stability to provide a table of the grade averages of students over the last three years, and that this would be an accurate representation of a student’s comparative position in his or her class, and that this could be done so that it would always be available for use by students. Therefore, we adopted a system of publishing tables which are cumulative summaries of the average grades for the previous three academic years. These tables are re-calculated twice a year, in early July and early February. They are available on the Law School website at: http://www.law.wisc.edu/career/new_grading_system.html#class_standing.

We also created a short description of how to interpret the tables which can (and probably should) be shared with potential employers. Although the tables don’t contain data drawn from the most recent semester until they are recalculated, we believe that this doesn’t significantly erode their validity, and any disadvantage is outweighed by the benefits of the new system. The numbers in the tables have been rounded to two decimal places, using conventional rounding rules (e.g., 3.2489 becomes 3.25, whereas 3.24499 becomes 3.24).

The Law School, though it does not provide individual class rank information (see above), does provide individual GPAs. GPAs may be confirmed by checking the unofficial transcript posted in Symplicity or, if you have computed your own GPA, you can contact the Law School Registrar to see if your computation of your GPA matches that of the Law School.

The grade tables are issued in 5% increments (except for the top 10%, which is provided in 1% increments; this is done to make our students more competitive for judicial clerkships). Even if your GPA falls, numerically, in between the GPAs that are the cutoffs for two different percentiles (for example, if the top 30% GPA is 3.30, and the top 35% GPA is 3.25, and your GPA is a 3.28), you should not split the difference and claim to be in the "top 32.5%" of the class. In that situation, however, you could state your class standing as an estimate or an approximation, using language such as "Approximately top one-third.”

University of Wisconsin Law School students receive letter grades for most law school courses. The grading scale ranges from A+ to F. For purposes of calculating student grade point averages, letter grades are converted to numerical equivalents according to the following conversion table:

A+ equals 4.3; A equals 4.0; A- equals 3.7; B+ equals 3.3; B equals 3.0; B- equals 2.7; C+ equals 2.3; C equals 2.0; C- equals 1.7; D+ equals 1.3; D equals 1.0; D- equals 0.7; and F equals 0.

Grades that are not classified as LAW will not factor into the law GPA. This includes cross-listed classes with ELPA and Business. Exchange program credits will not factor into law GPA except the Giessen summer program.

Law School courses are typically graded on a letter-graded scale from F to A+. Expressed numerically, this is a 4.3 scale (rather than the more-common 4.0 scale) with the relative values of the letters being as follows:

Letter Grade	G.P.A.
A+	4.3
A	4.0
A-	3.7
B+	3.3
B	3.0
B-	2.7
C+	2.3
C	2.0
C-	1.7
D+	1.3
D	1.0
D-	0.7
F	0

The Law School’s guidelines for faculty to use in assigning grades provides that for all first-year courses, and for advanced classes with an enrollment exceeding 30, the mean grade (i.e., the class average) should fall between 2.85 and 3.1 on the 4.3 scale. For advanced classes with an enrollment of 30 or less, the mean grade should fall between 2.7 and 3.3 on the 4.3 scale.

All of the First-Year Program courses are letter-graded, and there is no pass/fail (that is, “satisfactory/ unsatisfactory”) option available. Generally, the second- and third-year courses are also letter-graded; however, some courses might be graded on a mandatory (as opposed to optional) Pass-Fail basis (see section 9.3, below). Clinical programs, Trial Advocacy, directed reading and directed research projects, the law journals, moot court, and the main Lawyering Skills course are graded on a mandatory pass/fail basis. For a fuller discussion of pass/fail grading, see section 9.3, below and Law School Rule 2.03.

Pass/Fail Grades

Participation in clinical programs, moot court, the law journals, Trial Advocacy, Directed Reading, Directed Research, and the main Lawyering Skills course is automatically graded on a pass/fail basis (also sometimes called “Mandatory Pass-Fail”). Per Law School Rule 2.01(3), instructors may determine that other courses will be offered on a mandatory pass-fail basis.

Additionally, every semester some faculty may elect to make their courses available for students to take pass/fail on an optional basis. Pursuant to Law School Rule 2.03(1), only students who have completed 25 credits are eligible to elect to take such courses on a pass/fail basis. Lists of the courses for which taking a pass/fail grade is an option will be published to students, who will have until the last day of classes each semester to choose a course or courses to take pass/fail, should they wish (this is called exercising the “Pass-Fail option”).

The Pass-Fail option may be exercised in no more than two courses in one’s Law School career. A student may exercise the option twice in the same semester. “Mandatory Pass-Fail” courses do not count against the two optional Pass-Fail exercises. Finally, once a student requests to take a course Pass-Fail (by submitting the Pass-Fail selection form at the end of term) the request cannot be withdrawn once the submission deadline has passed.

Pass/fail grades are reported on the official University transcript as “satisfactory” (“S”) or “unsatisfactory” (“U”) as appropriate. However, should a student exercising the Pass-Fail option in a course receive a B+, A-, A, or A+, the particular letter grade earned will be recorded (instead of an “S”); the option will still be deemed to have been exercised. Should a student exercising the Pass-Fail option in a course receive a C, C+, B-, or B, the grade will be recorded as an S. If a student exercising the Pass-Fail option in a course receives an F, D-, D, D+, or C- the particular letter grade earned will be recorded; the option will nevertheless be deemed to have been exercised. As with the reported grades of B+, A-, A, or A+, the reported grades F, D-, D, D+, or C- are factored in to one’s GPA.

Grades other than “S” earned in courses wherein the student has exercised the Pass Fail option (that is, B+, A-, A, or A+, as well as F, D-, D, D+, or C) do factor into the student’s GPA.

Students exercising the Pass-Fail option who earn an “S” and desire to learn the nature of the underlying grade may seek the information from the course instructor (Law School Rule 2.03(3)).

NOTE: Students with a high grade-point average whose GPA might actually be negatively impacted by the recording of a grade of B+, A-, etc., should consider carefully before taking a course under the pass-fail option discussed above. Law School Rule 2.03 does NOT allow for the lowering of a duly reported grade in order to facilitate the recording of a grade of S.

Incompletes

If a student, by the end of the term, has not completed the required work (e.g., has not submitted a final paper), the faculty member may, if the faculty member feels it is appropriate, report a grade of "INCOMPLETE" and grant the student a first extension of one full semester. If, by the end of the next term, the student still has not completed the work required, a second extension of an additional semester may be granted by the faculty member "only if the student justifies the need for an extension based on illness or other serious change of circumstances." (See Law School Rule 6.01(4)(a)).

Honors ⁷

Honor	Criteria
Order of the Coif	The Order of the Coif is an honorary group selected from those graduating law students with the highest grade points. It is limited to no more than ten percent of the class but is not necessarily the ten percent with the highest overall grade point averages. To be considered, one must have 68 “graded credits.” For the purpose of Coif eligibility, a “graded credit” is one for which a letter grade has been earned. However, graded credits do not include clinical courses or courses taken on a pass/fail basis. For a full explanation of the eligibility for Order of the Coif, see Appendix D of the Law School Rules. (Note: grades earned in any semester following the semester in which the degree requirements are met are not counted for Order of the Coif eligibility purposes). Students who have re-taken a course should review the Law School Rules (Rule 6.09) for the impact on eligibility for honors.
Dean’s Honor List	Pursuant to Law School Rule 8.05, a student is eligible for the Dean’s Honor List (typically referred to as “Dean’s List”) if the following three requirements are satisfied: Registration for and completion of at least 12 new credits in the fall or spring semester; A GPA of at least 3.3 (on the 4.3 scale) on those credits, at least 8 of which must be graded on the 4.3 scale; Completion of the credits by the due date for turning in grades at the end of the semester in question. Students with disabilities that preclude a credit load of at least 12 credits should consult with the Director of Student Life about appropriate accommodations. Students who have re-taken a course should review the Law School Rules (Rule 6.09) for the impact on eligibility for honors. (Note: Prior to the Fall 2014 Term, the Dean's Honor List requirements were 14 new credits and 10 graded credits.)
Dean's Academic Achievement Award	Graduating students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.35 at the end of their penultimate semester receive the Dean's Academic Achievement Award which allows those graduates to wear an honors stole at the commencement ceremony. Students with incompletes ("I") for a grade on their law school record will not be eligible for the Dean's Academic Achievement Award until the incomplete is cleared from their record. Receiving the Dean's Academic Achievement Award is not to be confused with graduating 'with honors' (see above).
summa cum laude	A GPA of 3.85 or better qualifies a student for summa cum laude honors.
magna cum laude	A GPA of 3.65 or better qualifies a graduate for magna cum laude honors
cum laude	A cumulative GPA of 3.35 or better on reported 4.3-scale letter-grades qualifies a student at graduation for cum laude honors

Awards ⁸

Name of Award	Awarded for/to
ABA/BNA Health Law Award	N/A
ABA/BNA Intellectual Property Law Award	N/A
ABA/BNA Labor Law Award	N/A
Abe Sigman Award	Scholarship and Service to Law School
Abner Brody Award	Constitutional Law and Community Service
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Scholarship	Family Law
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers’ Leonard Loeb Scholarship Award	Family Law and Community Service
American Bankruptcy Institute Award	Credit Law
Andre M. Saltoun Award	Wisconsin student on Wisconsin Law Review
Association of Women Lawyers’ Virginia Pomeroy Scholarship	Scholarship and Service
Barbara Crabb Award	Honesty, Fairness and Equality under Law
Bercovici Award	Jurisprudence
Bernard Berk Award	Service to Economically Disadvantaged
Bruce Beilfuss Award	Service to Law School
Catherine Manning Award	Outstanding Contributions to LAIP
Daniel H. Grady Award	Graduating 3L with highest GPA at 5th semester
Dean’s Academic Achievement Award	Graduating students with GPAs of 85.5 or better at the end of Fall 2005
Distinguished Service to Legal Defense Program Don A. Olson Award	Outstanding Student from Wisconsin
Frederick C. Suhr Award	Wisconsin Student in Top 25% of Class
George Laikin Award	Best Wisconsin Law Review Article ‘ general topic
Gordon D. Baldwin Scholarship	Criminal Law
Gwynette E. Smalley Law Review Award	In-coming Editor-in-Chief and Outstanding Board Member
Joseph Davies Award	Outstanding 2L on Wisconsin Law Review
Julie Strasser Award	Service to Needy by 1 or 2L
Katherine Held Award	Oustanding Contribution to Wisconsin Women’s Law Journal
Leon Feingold Award	Commitment to Community and Legal Profession
Mary Kelly Quackenbush Award	Best Student Article in Wisconsin International Law Journal
Mathy’s Memorial Appellate Advocacy Award	Best Oralists
Mathy’s Memorial Appellate Advocacy Award	Service to Moot Court
Melvin Friedman Award	Outstanding Contributions to Innocence Project
National Association of Women Lawyers Award	Scholarship and Community Service
Philip Owens Award	Outstanding Wisconsin Student
Ray & Ethel Brown Award	Character and Community Service by 2L
Ruth B. Doyle Award	Service to Law School & Community
Salmon W. Dalberg Award	Outstanding Student in Graduating Class
State Bar of Wisconsin Environmental Law Essay Award	Best Essay
Unemployment Law Award	news more information at a later date
Vicki & Brent Orrico Award	Leadership by 2L
William T. Page Award	Best Student Article in Wisconsin Law Review ‘specific topic
Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Award	Highest Grade in Professional Responsibilities
Wisconsin Public Interest Foundation’s Jackie Macaulay Award	Community Service

Journals ¹⁰

The Wisconsin Law Review is a student-run journal of legal analysis and commentary that is used by professors, judges, practitioners, and others researching contemporary legal topics. It includes professional and student articles, with content spanning local, state, national, and international topics. In addition to publishing the journal, the Wisconsin Law Review sponsors an annual symposium at which leading scholars debate a significant issue in contemporary law. Students earn membership through a writing competition at the end of their first year.

The Wisconsin International Law Journal was established in 1982, and is written by both professionals in the field and by law students. The journal offers articles of scholarly and practical interest in various areas of international law. Student members of the journal edit articles of interest in various areas of international law and draft articles for submission and possible publication. Each spring, the student members coordinate a conference on recent topics of interest in international law.

The Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society is a student-edited journal with a national scope. The Journal, which was established in 1985, publishes contributions from faculty, students, and practitioners on a wide-range of legal topics. Its focus is on scholarship that examines the intersection of law and gender with issues of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation. The Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society is open to all students.

The Gargoyle is the alumni magazine of the University of Wisconsin Law School. It takes its name from the stone figure that once stood atop the earlier Law Building and now stands in the atrium of the Law School. The magazine is published twice a year in paper form, funded by alumni donations. It is also available online, where a digital archive provides access to issues going back to Volume 1, published in 1969.

Moot Court ^11-12

Moot Court is a mock appellate advocacy experience that helps law students develop the following skills to practice law:

• strong writing and oral advocacy skills;
• intellectual flexibility;
• the ability to function well under pressure; and
• the self-confidence necessary to be successful advocates.

Similar to law review, Moot Court gives law students an opportunity to focus on a single issue, prepare an in-depth written product and improve their writing. Also like law review, employers directly recruit from our Moot Court Board. Moot Court sends 16-17 teams to compete in competitions across the country in a variety of subjects. Competitors, also known as “mooters,” work on teams to write briefs and prepare oral arguments as if they were appearing before an appellate court.

Moot Court participates in diverse competitions across the United States each year. Check out where our Mooters compete this year below:

• National Criminal Procedure Competition
• National Moot Court Competition
• Appellate Lawyers Association Competition
• Chicago Bar Association Moot Court Competition
• Wechsler First Amendment Competition
• Philip C. Jessup International Law Competition
• Tulane Sports Law Competition
• Vanderbilt First Amendment Competition
• Saul Lefkowitz Intellectual Property Competition
• Rendings Products Liability
• UCLA Cyber Crimes Competition
• Jerome Prince Memorial Evidence Competition
• J. Braxton Craven, Jr. Memorial Competition
• Ruby R. Vale Corporate Competition
• Kaufman Securities Law Competition

Clinical Programs ¹³

UW Law School is committed to practical experience as a part of legal education. UW Law was one of the first law schools to initiate a clinical program, and since then, it has strengthened and increased the number of clinical opportunities it provides. Clinicals provide hands-on lawyering experiences with real people—clients, victims, witnesses, family members, lawyers, and judges—and give you a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a lawyer. Under the direct supervision of clinical professors or supervising attorneys, students meet with clients, perform factual investigations, research legal issues, prepare client letters, draft legal documents, and write briefs.

The law school offers numerous clinical programs, including:

• Center for Patient Partnerships
• Consumer Law Clinic
• Criminal Appeals Project
• Family Court Clinic
• Family Law Project
• Federal Appeals Project
• Government and Legislative Law Clinic
• Immigrant Justice Clinic
• Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic
• Legal Assistance to Institutionalized Persons (LAIP)
• Neighborhood Law Clinic
• Oxford Federal Project
• Prosecution Project
• Public Defender Project
• Restorative Justice Project
• Wisconsin Innocence Project

Placement Facts ¹⁴

Starting Salaries (2015 Graduates Employed Full-Time)

Private sector (25th-75th percentile)	$55,000 - $120,000
Median in the private sector	$75,000
Median in public service	$49,429

Employment Details

Graduates known to be employed at graduation	48.9%
Graduates known to be employed ten months after graduation	78.1%

Areas of Legal Practice

Graduates Employed In	Percentage
Law Firms	45.2%
Business and Industry	16.2%
Government	23.9%
Public Interest Organizations	8.1%
Judicial Clerkships	4.6%
Academia	2%
Unknown	0%

Externships/Internships

Externships^15-19

Our experiential learning and skills training programs include a large number of externship opportunities: field placements outside the Law School, where students receive academic credit, but not compensation, for their work. Many of these externships are clinical course offerings, supervised by clinical or adjunct faculty members. Others are student-initiated externships in the legal departments of government or nonprofit agencies or in-house legal departments at corporations. To participate, students must have completed their first year of law school.

A student's eligibility to participate in any Law School internship or externship program is contingent on the student's being in good standing, both academically and with respect to disciplinary matters. A student's placement in an internship or externship program may be denied or revoked if the Law School determines that a student's conduct or academic performance makes that placement inappropriate for any reason.

Labor Law Externship

The Labor Law Externship allows students to spend 16 hours a week working under the supervision of attorneys of the National Labor Relations Board in Milwaukee, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Milwaukee, or the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission in Madison. Placements are also made at the U.S. Department of Labor in Chicago, the Employment Section of the Madison City Attorney's Office, the State Personnel Commission, the Milwaukee School Board, and the Elder Law Center in its new Pension Rights Project. Very occasionally placements are made in the U.S. Attorney's Office, if someone is working on a major employment law issue (novel interpretation of the American with Disabilities Act, criminal prosecution under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, etc.). The school cannot reimburse students for the cost of transportation to and from externships located in Milwaukee or Chicago. A minimum of eight hours is spent on site at the agency, and the other eight might be spent in the field, in court, at the agency or, more often, in the UW Library here in Madison.

Wisconsin Department of Justice Externship

The Wisconsin Department of Justice Extern Program offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience at the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Students will practice civil trial, appellate, and administrative law with some of the most well-respected litigators in Wisconsin, working on issues and cases of statewide importance.

Law Externship Program

In the fall of 2011, the Law School began a new externship initiative, allowing students to apply for a broad range of potential externship opportunities at government agencies, non-profit organizations and corporate legal departments and, if approved for enrollment in the Law Externship program by the Externship Director within the first two weeks of the semester, to receive appropriate academic credit for participation. In order to receive academic credit for an externship, a student must devote a minimum of 45 hours of work for each academic credit, and must submit periodic reports on the externship experience, including a final paper reflecting upon the value of the externship. Students enrolled in the Law Externship course for academic credit may not receive compensation for their work at the externship site, but can be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the field placement.

Students interested in a field placement for credit are encouraged to meet with Ms. McBride to discuss which organizations might be the best fit for the student's career goals and interests. For-credit externships can be arranged during the spring, summer and fall semesters. In addition, for students with some flexibility, school-year externships outside of Wisconsin can be arranged, and it is possible for a student to earn as many as 12 credits for an externship if the student works virtually full-time at, e.g., a federal agency in D.C. or at one of the agency's regional offices in some other city. An excellent resource for learning about which agencies operate externship programs for law students during the fall and spring semesters is the Government Honors and Internship Handbook, a password-protected online publication that the UW Law School Office of Career and Professional Development subscribes to -- students may obtain the username and password from the OCPD.

Corporate Legal Department Externships

The Law School permits students with an interest in corporate and business law to obtain academic credit (one to seven credits) for work at in-house legal departments. These externships can provide a student with invaluable experience and an opportunity to see first-hand the type of legal work companies keep "in house" and what sort of legal work is typically handled by the company's outside counsel.

Internships^20-21

Judicial Internship Program

The Judicial Intern Program gives students an opportunity to work with trial and appellate judges and view the judicial process from the perspective of the decision maker. Placements include the Wisconsin Supreme Court; Wisconsin Court of Appeals; Dane County Circuit Courts; and the United States District Court in both Milwaukee and Madison. Students are able to observe the court system from the inside; learn about the work of judges and their law clerks; and evaluate the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of lawyers appearing before the courts. The actual work performed may vary from judge to judge but the emphasis is on research and writing.

The Judicial Intern Program takes approximately 25 students during each semester of the academic year and during the summer. It is open to all students who have achieved second year status; thus students are eligible to participate in the summer following their first year. Second- and third-year students have priority and are generally placed.

Students register for a law school course and receive credit for their work, but no pay. The preferred level is at least five credits, though up to seven may be earned. Each credit requires 45 hours of work during the course of the semester. Thus, a five credit placement requires a total of 225 hours of work. Students keep track of the number of hours they work each week and submit it to the person designated by the court in which they work. At the end of the semester the complete time log is signed by the designated person and turned in to the law school by the student and the appropriate number of credits is awarded. Also at the end of the semester, a final report is due that evaluates the student's experience and describes: the nature of the work done; observations about the court system, the work of the judges, and the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of lawyers appearing before the courts; and insights into the substantive law that may have emerged while working in the courts. The judges who participate are committed to seeing that the students have productive experiences and receive feedback on their work. Students typically find their placements to be demanding but very valuable.

Students interested in placements with the Supreme Court of Wisconsin or the U.S. District Court for the W.D. of Wisconsin should keep in mind that those Justices/judges, in order to avoid the potential for conflicts of interest, will only allow students to intern in their chambers if the students have no other legal employment or law school clinical obligations.

Summer Internships

A summer internship with a public interest organization is an excellent way to obtain practical skills and training, and to explore an area of law about which you are passionate. Summer public interest interns often develop skills in such areas as: client intake and counseling; legal and trial strategy; oral advocacy and negotiation; legal research and writing; and community organizing/outreach. Further, many public interest organizations prefer to hire attorneys who were former interns at their organization or another organization doing similar work, so summer internships can be invaluable networking opportunities. While the majority of public interest organizations have insufficient funds to pay their summer interns, numerous resources exist to aid students in finding supplemental funding.

Student Organizations ²²

• American Constitution Society
• Asian Law Students Association
• Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
• Business & Tax Law Association (BATLAW)
• Children's Justice Project
• Christian Legal Society (CLS)
• Elder Law and Estate Planning Society (ELEPS)
• Environmental Law Society (ELS)
• Federalist Society
• Health Law Student Association (HLSA)
• If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice
• Indigenous Law Students Association (ILSA)
• Intellectual Property Students Organization (IPSO)
• Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA)
• Latino/a Law Student Association (LLSA)
• Law School Family Association
• Legal Assistance for Disaster Relief (LADR)
• Middle Eastern Law Students Association (MELSA)
• National Lawyers Guild (NLG-UW)
• Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF)
• QLaw (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Law Students)
• Sports and Entertainment Law Society
• Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF)
• Student Bar Association (SBA)
• Unemployment Compensation Appeals Clinic (U Clinic)
• Wisconsin Agricultural & Food Law Society (WAFLS)
• Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL)
• Wisconsin International Law Society (WILS)
• Women's Law Student Association (WLSA)

References

1. http://law.wisc.edu/about/contact.php
2. http://law.wisc.edu/about/
3. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-wisconsin-madison-03170
4. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-wisconsin-madison-03170/admissions
5. https://law.wisc.edu/prospective/tuitionandcosts.html
6. https://law.wisc.edu/current/rtf/09.0.html
7. https://law.wisc.edu/current/rtf/09.0.html
8. https://law.wisc.edu/current/rtf/09.0.html
9. http://law.wisc.edu/newsletter/Must-Know_Info/Student_Honors_and_Awards_2006-02-07
10. http://law.wisc.edu/pubs/
11. https://law.wisc.edu/academics/mootcourt/
12. https://law.wisc.edu/academics/mootcourt/competition.html
13. http://law.wisc.edu/clinics/
14. https://premium.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/university-of-wisconsin-madison-03170/career-prospects
15. http://law.wisc.edu/academics/externships/index.html
16. http://law.wisc.edu/academics/clinics/laborlawexternship.html
17. http://law.wisc.edu/academics/clinics/deptofjusticeexternship.html
18. http://law.wisc.edu/academics/clinics/lawexternship.html
19. http://law.wisc.edu/academics/clinics/cld_externship.html
20. http://law.wisc.edu/academics/clinics/JudicialInternshipProgram.html
21. http://law.wisc.edu/career/publicinterest/summer_funding.html
22. https://law.wisc.edu/current/orgs.html