Externs to Clerk at State Supreme Court

Third-year Students Will Spend Spring Semester in Olympia

Robbie McMillian, right, coordinates the Externship Program.

Three Gonzaga law students will spend spring semester in Olympia, Washington, clerking for state Supreme Court justices.

Amy D’Amato will clerk for Chief Justice Gerry Alexander; Megan Card will clerk for Justice Debra Stephens, and Stephanie Taylor will clerk for Justice Barbara Madsen, who by then will have been sworn in as the new Chief Justice.

“It illustrates the growing impact of the school’s Externship Program.”

Gonzaga’s Externship Program is directed by Professor Rosanna Peterson, who has held the position since 2002.

“Participation in the program has been growing steadily,” Peterson said. “Students have come to understand the benefits an externship can provide.”

An externship is “an experiential learning program ,” she said, that has multiple components.

In addition to the field work, in which the extern works for a judge or licensed attorney, students also participate in a concurrent classroom component. Those serving externships in Spokane attend an on-campus seminar; those working out of the area participate via a virtual classroom.

The program also has a “reflective component,” Peterson explained: “Students journal about their experience and submit that work to their faculty advisor.”

Externs can earn up to 10 externship credits toward graduation requirements.  The ABA, which approves the program, prohibits payment to any extern for work that earns credit toward graduation.

Card won her appointment after responding to an email notification circulated by GU Externship Coordinator Robbie McMillian.

McMillian manages the program, tracking students’ progress and maintaining the necessary paperwork.

Card will start her new job on January, 11, 2010. She will work in conjunction with Justice Stephens’ two permanent clerks.

“She’s very collaborative in her approach,” Card said, explaining that Justice Stephens seeks input from as many quarters as possible.

“She likes to know what the legislature is doing, for example, but she doesn’t have time to attend their sessions,” Card said. “I’ll be going to as many sessions as possible and reporting back.”

Card is studying Criminal Law and hopes to work for a large law firm upon graduation.

Amy D’Amato found her position through a colleague at Foster Pepper PLLC, where she has interned for two summers and plans to work in corporate law.

The third-year student from Steilacoom, Wash., expects her externship to be “the experience of a lifetime.”

Like Stephens, Alexander has two permanent clerks with whom D’Amato will work. She’s not yet certain of her responsibilities.

D’Amato credits the GU faculty for having provided her with networking opportunities key to her law-school experience.

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