Mentor future legal leaders as a Residency-in-Practice Program supervisor

The Residency-in-Practice Program is the signature program of Elon Law’s groundbreaking, 2.5-year curriculum that integrates experiential learning throughout a student’s law school career. This program requires every student to complete a faculty-guided, course-connected, credit-bearing, full-time field placement in the law. The Residency is part of the student’s iterative immersion into the practice of law which culminates with full integration into the legal profession after graduation.

The Residency promotes learning by doing — providing students with opportunities for substantial lawyering experience reasonably similar to the experience of a lawyer advising or representing a client or engaging in other lawyering tasks, under direct attorney or judicial supervision at the field placement. Residency site supervisors must have been licensed for at least four years.

By stepping into the role of a lawyer, student residents deepen their legal knowledge acquired in substantive courses, sharpen skills needed to be a successful lawyer, and make the professional connections and observations important to career development.

JUDGES & LAWYERS: Express interest in becoming a Residency site supervisor here.

How the Residency-in-Practice Program works

When and where are Residencies hosted?

• Students complete their Residency in the winter or spring trimester of their second year, after having completed well over half of the academic credits required for graduation.
• In Residency, students work as an integral member of a legal team between 30 and 34 hours per week for 10 weeks from January to March or April to June of the student’s second year. Students earn academic credit; students do not receive compensation for their Residency.
• Students may be placed anywhere in the world in an approved governmental, judicial, non-profit, corporate, or private law office.

How are Residency placements made?

Residency placements are guided by students’ preference for a placement or practice area consistent with the students’ professional goals and eligibility. The Residency-matching process begins at the end of the students’ first year and continues through the first term of the students’ second year. All students go out on Residency at the same time with their peer colleagues in the second half of their second year.

Student interests in specific areas of law and in geographic location drive the Residency placement process, enabling each student to develop specialized knowledge and skills, while building credentials and networks that support their career goals.

Students are permitted and encouraged to independently arrange their Residency placement anywhere outside of the Greensboro Triad that will further advance their professional goals.

How is the Residency-in-Practice Program administered?

Residents participate in a concurrent academic component, which includes:

• a faculty-directed orientation session prior to the beginning of the Residency
• a learning and goals plan
• written reflective assignments
• student practice affinity group meetings (in person or via technology)
• faculty conferences and a meeting among the student, Residency Supervisor and Faculty Supervisor.

Students keep and submit weekly timesheets. On-site supervisors give regular feedback and provide a formal evaluation of the students, in writing, at mid-term and at the end of the trimester.

Students also enroll in an accompanying academic course related to the type of work in which they will engage during their Residency. Students working away from Elon Law have the option of taking a course with an online participation option as their accompanying course.

What are the responsibilities of a residency supervisor?

Supervising judges and attorneys who have been licensed for at least four years and agree to the following responsibilities:

• Accepts primary responsibility for overseeing the student experience at the placement throughout the term and monitoring the progress of all student work including any work assigned by other attorneys.
• Agrees to assign tasks to the student that are representative of the placement and site supervisor’s work. When appropriate, the student will be certified to appear in court or personally represent a client under attorney supervision.
• Agrees that as appropriate, the student will be offered opportunities to participate in all aspects of placement cases or projects, including, but not limited to, client interviewing, counseling, case planning, negotiation, fact investigation, trial preparation and trial, meetings, policy development, legal research, drafting, legal writing, and guided observation of these or other lawyering activities.
• Ensures that the student is not assigned clerical tasks, e.g., filing, photocopying, library updating, indexing, unless such tasks are specifically related to an educational activity.
• Agrees to meet with the student as often as necessary to provide timely and meaningful feedback on assignments and lawyering tasks, and to ensure student is getting substantial lawyering experience.
• Agrees to meet with the student at the start of the term to review and discuss the student’s educational goals and strategies for achieving goals, memorialized in a Learning Goals and Plan.
• Understands that the student is required to take an accompanying course from Elon Law that may require scheduling accommodations. This course is in addition to the course component to Residency which is facilitated by the Faculty Supervisor.
• Agrees to prepare a written evaluation of the student’s performance midway and at the end of term and to submit the evaluations to the Faculty Supervisor in such form and at such time or times as required.
• Understands that students may not receive compensation in Residency.

We hope you will join us as a Residency site supervisor. If you are interested, please complete this form. Thank you for your time and consideration!