Legal Externships

College of Law

 

A legal externship is a great way to gain practical legal experience while in law school and earn course credit at the same time. The University of Wyoming College of Law has a robust externship program with many opportunities available. Kipp Coddington, Director of the Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Clinic, serves as the Externship Supervisor for the program. Please contact him or Tim Crawford with any questions you might have. Many students have said this is one of the best experiences they have in law school. The opportunity to apply your legal knowledge to 'real-world' practice is invaluable to your legal education!

Externship Process:

• Standard Practice: Student should complete the online form found on the student page below for the respective semester they are applying, indicating
  • 1) their 3 preferred placements (the school will place the student in order of preference and employer selection after the deadline);
  • 2) the student has placed themselves (see next bullet), or
  • 3) the student is submitting a new employer outside of the approved placement list.
• Independent Placement: A student may contact an employer directly seeking information about the externship or to ask if the employer will accept them earlier than the school's set deadline.  Employers may choose to 
  
  • 1) not select the student, or any extern,
  • 2) accept the extern, or
  • 3) indicate they will consider all applications after the school's deadline.
• New Placement: If a student secures a position with an organization not on the school’s pre-approved externship list, they may have the supervisor complete the ‘Field Supervisor Application Form’ found through the employer page below for consideration of credit.  Note: All new placements must be approved no later than 30 days before the start of the term you wish to take the externship, short of an exemption from the faculty director.

Student Application

There is a simple application process for externships. Prior to the deadline, complete the online form below for the semester you are applying.  Please also supply any supplemental materials noted in the externship description found through the placement lists (https://www.uwyo.edu/law/experiential/legal-externships/placement.html). 

• Spring 2025 Application, (Deadline for school placement is first Friday in November)
• Summer 2025 Application, forthcoming (Deadline for school placement is first Friday in April)
• Fall 2025 Application, forthcoming (Deadline for school placement is the first Friday in July)
• Placement begins immediately after the deadline.  You will be contacted when you are placed.  If you have not heard from the externship office one month after the deadline, please reach out for an update!
• You may still submit an application after the deadline, if you have pre-placed yourself.

Faculty Director: Kipp Coddington

Professor Coddington joined the College of Law in 2023 and is the director of the Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Clinic.

He previously served various roles at the UW School of Energy Resources. Before moving to Wyoming in 2015 he practiced law in Washington, D.C. with international law firms Covington & Burling LLP; Ropes & Gray LLP; and Alston & Bird LLP, with a focus on environmental and energy law. For Alston & Bird he relocated to London to launch a Kyoto Protocol carbon markets practice. He co-founded an energy and environmental law firm and led its Washington, D.C. office.

He is an internationally recognized expert in carbon capture, utilization and storage. He also is an expert in voluntary and regulated carbon markets. He co-founded and led the North American Carbon Capture & Storage Association. He was the Convenor of the International Organization for Standardization’s committee that published the first technical standard for the geologic storage of carbon dioxide during enhanced hydrocarbon recovery operations. He has testified before Congress and state legislative bodies; advised governments, companies, and non-profits; and served as an expert witness.