Beyond learning the technical points of the law, the St. Thomas School of Law emphasizes to students the importance of professional relationships and continued career growth through individual reflection and vocational discernment. It also seeks to provide students with practical training to learn, in a hands-on way, the skills necessary to be successful in the legal profession.
competencies that might not be covered in the classroom. And because of the strong integration with the profession, the learning is guaranteed to be relevant to the real-world challenges of the day.” Students get to dive into different areas of the law, not only to see what their mentors do in the courtroom or with clients, but also to have discussions with their mentor about preparing for interviews, how to study for the bar exam, balancing work and life, building a law practice andmore. “They’re talking not only about the work that the attorney does, but also their life outside of work,” said Uyen Campbell , who taught a Mentor Externship course for 10 years before becoming co-director
These all come together in the school’s award-winning Mentor Externship Program , through which each St. Thomas Law student is paired with a lawyer or judge each year of law school to help them gain work experience, develop professional connections and navigate the legal field.
which is what the faculty and staff who designed the program in 2001 aimed to do when the law school opened and why the program remains impactful today. “Lawyers and judges have historically criticized legal education as long on theory and short on practice-ready,” said Associate Dean for External Relations and Programs LisaMontpetit Brabbit , who has overseen the program as part of her department since she started at the law school in 2002. “The mentor program sought to address that challenge head-on and bring professional identity formation to the mix to educate the whole person. The template allows students to reflect and to learn from their experiences, growing
“What we aim to do in the program is to give all of our
students an introduction to what it means to be a lawyer by being mentored by a lawyer,” Judith Rush , Mentor Externship Program co-director, said. By developing these relationships and exposing students to the day- to-day aspects of the profession, the gap between law student and legal professional is vastly narrowed,
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