AALS Externship Spring 2021 Newsletter

Going Far, Together

Meg Reuter and Anahid Gharakhanian

We like the proverb that says: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

This has been the lesson of our time as co-chairs of the AALS Externship group (May 2019 to May 2021), and most certainly the lesson of this last year.

While it was a two-year term, the klieg lights of the pandemic all but eclipsed the work of the first year. This second year has been a story of collaboration with colleagues who have stepped up, have brought their chairs to the table, and made room for others to have a seat around our national externship hearth. 

Starting March 13, 2020, at the precipice of the pandemic shutdown, our Externship group pivoted and committed to weekly Friday meetings to share and ferret out all the issues related to moving to virtual externships. That role expanded in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, and we dedicated Friday meetings to issues of anti-racism as they related to our students’ experience, our teaching, our supervisor training, and our programs in all dimensions. In all, we’ve held twenty Friday national zoom events since last March, with dozens of colleagues stepping up to lead us in examining different facets of these major issues. And the programs were an unqualified success. Each one garnered an attendance of 20-80 colleagues. Almost 250 people came in all, representing 132 schools in the U.S. and Canada. These sessions exemplified the best of experiential teaching. They were interactive, required us to engage each other and work through issues in big and small groups. The teaching methods used and the materials shared made us all better teachers.

That gathering energy was the catalyst for the launch of our newest working group. The Think Tank and Repository for Antiracism Resources showcases the collaborative work ahead. This working group is an open forum for anyone interested in working to move the needle forward on all issues related to anti-racism and anti-oppression within the sphere of externships. The work includes participating in think tank discussions, organizing, and helping to create a repository of resources for externship professors. Our Externship group also committed to organizing brave and safe spaces within the larger community to have difficult and vulnerable conversations focused on radical candor to analyze how we evolve and learn through our own experiences.  

The Friday meetings and the new Think Tank are but some of the examples of our community supporting, motivating, and championing each other. Another example is our Scholarship subcommittee that nurtured seven would-be authors who had ideas to develop, write, and publish, but who knew that the help of others might sustain them and push them over the finish line. In one year, six colleagues who worked with the Scholarship subcommittee working groups finished their pieces and were invited by law reviews to publish in their publication. Brava!

Without the amazing collaboration of our colleagues--stepping up and making room--we could not have spurred this work by ourselves. We thank everyone who helped; that list is long and filled with dozens of friends and colleagues. We are humbled to be part of your orbit. 

We now enthusiastically hand over the baton to Amanda Rivas and Nira Geevargis, two remarkable friends and dedicated externship teachers who inspired us this year. 

From our New Co-Chairs!!

Meg & Anahid-- Thank you! ¡Muchas Gracias!

There are no words in any language to express our gratitude for your leadership over the last two years. With your guidance, we found consistency and community in a time of chaos. We are humbled and privileged to step into the co-chair roles. Though we move forward into the fall with continued uncertainty about the pandemic and state of the world, we are buoyed by the strength and support of our Externship family.

Our community has always recognized and celebrated a wide range of Externship programs. This year, we rallied to support each other, our students, and our supervisors during an unprecedented transition. We will continue to adjust and tackle obstacles together. We look forward to filling our cups with monthly Friday learning sessions hosted by our incredible sub-committees. Please explore whether your talents and/or passions could support their integral work.

Let’s strive to create an inclusive and supportive environment where questions and feedback are welcomed. We commit to listening and serving the needs of this community during our tenure.  We look forward to supporting you all!

Join a Subcommittee Today!!

Add your name here to join one or more of our Externship Subcommittees.

1. Communication and Content Subcommittee

Contacts: Kendall Kerew, Georgia State University, kkerew@gsu.edu; Amy Sankaran, University of Michigan, aharwell@umich.edu

2. International and Semester Away Subcommittee

Contact: Gillian Dutton, Seattle University, duttong@seattleu.edu

3. Membership Subcommittee

Contact: Sue Schechter, University of California Berkeley, sschechter@law.berkeley.edu

4. Scholarship Subcommittee

Contacts: Christine E. Cerniglia, Stetson College of Law, ccernigl@law.stetson.edu; D’lorah L. Hughes, University of California, Irvine, dhughes@law.uci.edu     

5. Teaching Methodologies Subcommittee

Contacts: Robert L. Jones, Notre Dame Law School, rjones1@nd.edu; Susan J. Kraham, Columbia Law School, sjk54@columbia.edu

6. Think Tank and Repository for Antiracism Resources Subcommittee

Contact: Chipo C. Nyambuya, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, cnyambuya@luc.edu; Christine E. Cerniglia, Stetson College of Law, ccernigl@law.stetson.edu