Barbara A Blanco & Sande L Buhai, “Externship Field Supervision: Effective Techniques for Training Supervisors and Students”

This article examines the dichotomy in externship field placement programs, where the primary concern is typically the agency’s work, and the secondary goal is the student’s education. The article identifies the methods and characteristics of an effective field supervisor and how they recognize and compensate for common barriers to effective field supervision. This article makes assumptions about the nature of clinic experiences based on American practices.

There is sometimes a decreased level of supervision of students in externship settings because they are typically monitored less than clinics (in this context, the assumption is that the clinics have direct ties to the law school).  Effective supervision is not a settled concept in the legal literature; however, it has been conceived as an interplay between the supervisor and supervisee, both of whom share supervision responsibilities. An effective mentor should supervise and mentor the student and be trained by the law school to ensure a high-quality focus and capabilities. 

Regardless of the model of supervision, there are persistent barriers to effective supervision in externships. Barriers include a failure of supervisors to share the supervision goals and objectives required by the law school, a failure by the supervisor to understand the dynamics of supervision and the supervisory relationship, a lack of time on the supervisor’s part to effectively supervise students and/or provide feedback, and a failure of the student to identify the best method of teaching that corresponds with a particular student’s learning style.

Barbara A Blanco & Sande L Buhai, “Externship Field Supervision: Effective Techniques for Training Supervisors and Students” (2004) 10:2 Clinical L Rev 611.