Experiential Learning

Let us help you tailor your JD to meet your goals. Experiential learning allows you to gain practical and enjoyable experience while gaining exposure to the law profession throughout your education.

Experiential legal education is an active method of teaching that integrates theory and practice with actual hands-on legal training. Students perform the work of practicing attorneys by working on real cases and legal projects. These opportunities allow students to exercise and develop judgment, gain practical knowledge, and develop professional skills and professional identity.

All students at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law must participate in the experiential learning program.

USD Law’s curriculum provides an extraordinary range of opportunities for students to apply what they learn in the classroom in the real world. The end goal of experiential learning is to equip our students to hit the ground running as a new lawyer.

These opportunities may take the form of a clinic, practicum, or externship (field placement). 

An externship (or field placement) is a for-credit course in which a significant part of the learning relies on students either representing clients or performing other lawyering roles under the supervision of practicing lawyers or other qualified legal professionals outside of the law school. In addition to earning credit for their field work, students in field placements take a class led by a faculty member, designed to maximize and supplement the experiential learning.

Many types of field work may satisfy the Externship Program requirements. Including judicial, private practice, public sector, legislative, ect. When deciding whether to do an externship, it is important to consider how an externship experience fits within the student’s given student’s educational goals.

Examples of Externship Practice Areas:

• Law Firms
• Government Agencies
• Non-Profit
• Judiciary
• Trust Industry
• General Counsel's Office
• Intercollegiate Athletics

Legal clinics and practicums are for-credit courses in which a significant part of the learning involves students assuming the role of a lawyer representing actual clients, or performing other lawyering roles, under the supervision of a licensed attorney.

These opportunities allow students to develop a wide-range of skills, including: 

• Hands-on legal experience interviewing, counseling, and advising clients
• Conducting legal writing and research
• Legal drafting 
• Court presentation 

Law clinic and practicum courses include a classroom seminar that may address substantive or procedural areas of law, ethical rules, lawyering skills, and theory.

Criminal Defense Practicum

The Criminal Defense Practicum, a partnership with the Minnehaha County Public Defender’s Office, affords students an opportunity to work sibe-by-side with public defenders in Minnehaha County South Dakota. Through the practicum students will gain a  practical understanding of the importance of ensuring justice, fairness, and fulfillment of the legal profession’s responsibility to provide adequate legal services to those who cannot afford counsel. The practicum empowers students to improve their lawyering skills through advocacy. 

• Students develop fact investigation, witness interviewing, and case evaluation skills
• Students develop trial advocacy skills  
• Students identify, analyze, and apply relevant criminal law, case law, and local rules and procedures
• Students develop and improve client management and interviewing skills
• Students develop and apply an understanding of the various ethical responsibilities as representatives for their clients
• Students identify and respect diverse perspectives and backgrounds that may impact their work as professional advocates within the criminal justice system
• Students hone their research and writing abilities

The Criminal Defense Practicum requires a classroom component.

The Criminal Defense Practicum is traditionally offered in the fall semester.

Innocence Project Practicum

The Innocence Project Practicum, a partnership with the Great North Innocence Project, affords students with hands-on experience assisting with the screening, investigation, and litigation of post-conviction cases in state and federal court. The Great North Innocence Project provides post-conviction representation for incarcerated individuals claiming to have been wrongfully convicted of crimes in state or federal court in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

This practicum affords students the opportunity to assist with factual development directed toward uncovering new evidence of innocence, including witness interviews, review of court records and legal documents, consulting with experts, and identifying physical evidence. Students also assist with researching and developing legal theories directed toward post-conviction litigation. In some instances (depending on the stage of a given case), students may assist with drafting briefs and other legal documents in connection with litigation.

The Innocence Project Practicum requires a classroom component.

The Innocence Project Practicum is traditionally offered in the fall semester.

WORKS Practicum 

The WORKS Practicum provides 2L and 3L law students training in the areas of family law, alternative dispute resolution, and client relations. Based on training, students are permitted to assist with the WORKS Clinic. The WORKS CLINIC is a free service to qualifying individuals. It helps self-represented couples and families within South Dakota through the divorce process through assistance with necessary forms and mediation. The WORKS Clinic assists eligible self-represented litigants to achieve access to courts and conclude divorce and custody proceedings efficiently and Improves congestion of court calendars, which allows judges time to focus on cases and controversies that require judicial resolution.

The WORKS Practicum requires a classroom component.

The WORKS Practicum is traditionally offered in the fall and spring semesters.

WEB LINKS:

WORKS Clinic Website: WORKS Clinic
South Dakota State Bar Newsletter: South Dakota State Bar Newsletter January 2025

Contact: 
Professor Marilyn Trefz 
[email protected]  

Tribal Wills Practicum

The Tribal Wills Practicum offers a unique student opportunity to draft, revise, and oversee the execution of a comprehensive estate plan for pro bono clients on one of South Dakota’s nine Indian Reservations. Students learn how to review and oversee representation agreements, interview clients, draft complex documents, and supervise the proper execution of the various documents under the formalities demanded by law. Students also gain familiarity with the American Indian Probate Reform Act (AIPRA) and division of interest on Indian trust land. 

The Tribal Wills Practicum also requires a classroom component.

The Tribal Wills Practicum is traditionally offered in the fall and spring semesters.

Contact: 
Professor Tom Simmons 
[email protected]  

Law students who have completed four semesters (or equivalent) of law school can participate in legal work of varying kinds under the applicable rules and with the supervision of a lawyer, including making court appearances in both the state courts and the federal district court. 

Statutory Requirements:

• Completion of at least four semesters of law school (or the equivalent) 
• Receive certification by the dean of the law school as a person of good character, competent ability, and adequately trained as a legal intern; 
• Prior introduction to the court in which they are appearing by a lawyer authorized to practice law in South Dakota; 
• No compensation directly from the client but only from the student’s employer/contractor nor receive compensation if receiving credit; and Certification in writing of familiarity with the rules of professional conduct of the Supreme Court of South Dakota and relevant practice rules of the jurisdiction.

Student certification forms for both the South Dakota state courts and the federal district court can be obtained from the Director of Experiential Learning. A certification for the particular court may remain effective for a period up to eighteen months. A supervising attorney who is a member of the State Bar of South Dakota also must approve the temporary certification of the law student. Each time a student changes supervisors or positions, re-application for practice eligibility must be obtained.

To determine your eligibility, please consult South Dakota Codified Law 16-18-2.2.

For further information on the parameters and requirements of student practice please consult SDCL 16-18-2.21 to SDCL 16-18-2.10 and related rules. All supervising attorneys and student attorneys must be familiar with ensuring the student meets (and continues to meet) all the requirements outlined in South Dakota Codified Laws.

Pro bono opportunities are designed to inspire and to enable students to engage in pro bono service, while in law school. The primary purpose of these programs is to teach students why pro bono service is an important professional value and to introduce them to the ways in which they can contribute in their practice as attorneys. 

While pro bono activity does not satisfy experiential requirements for graduation, student participation in pro bono legal services is strongly encouraged. 

USD’s student run-organizations currently offer several opportunities to serve the community through pro bono. 

R.D Hurd Volunteer Law Society

RD Hurd Volunteer Law Society, a partnership with East River Legal Services, permits students to provide legal services to low-income residents of South Dakota. It is an opportunity for law students to get hands-on experience of working with clients and supervising attorneys and to gain confidence through experience.

Veterans Legal Education Group (VLEG)

The Veterans Legal Education Group (VLEG) provides free legal advice to veterans, active and reserve duty service members, and their families. VLEG coordinates with volunteer attorneys in the state,  the State Bar of South Dakota, and various veteran’s groups to organize drop-in legal clinics where veterans can obtain free legal services. Typical tegal services provided include trusts, will drafting and execution, real-estate advice, end-of-life documentation, child custody, and more. 

Volunteer Income Tax Clinic (VITA)

The Volunteer Income Tax Clinic (VITA) is a service which offers free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax returns. Students who volunteer with VITA must take and pass IRS tax training. 

Law students who have completed their first year may apply to participate in this program. Working under the supervision of the Director for Experiential Learning and the judge, students will develop their legal research and writing skills, learn about litigation through courtroom observation and learn how judicial chambers operate. Students may earn up to three credits. Participation is limited to rising second-year students. Credits earned in this program are purely elective and may not be used to satisfy the experiential learning requirement for graduation.