Externships

Specialized placements with the Center for Law and Business

C-LAB has curated a select group of externship placements for students whose interests lie outside the traditional On-Campus Interview (OCI) process. These opportunities are designed to reflect the interdisciplinary goals of students seeking experience in areas such as business and commerce-related policymaking, in-house counsel roles at small businesses or startups, and community economic development.
The placements range from transactional legal work to policy-oriented experience, offering students a chance to engage meaningfully in settings that align with their career goals. Each externship has its own application process, but all applicants must begin by completing the application below and carefully following the instructions provided. Below are brief overviews of each placement opportunity.

• Colibri Legal PLLC is a low bono law firm committed to serving immigrant small business owners through culturally responsive, bilingual legal services. Led by solo attorney Brenda Pfahnl, the firm focuses on transactional law tailored specifically to the needs of immigrant entrepreneurs. Drawing on her background in both business and immigration law, Brenda advises clients on how immigration status may affect business formation, governance, and other legal decision-making. Colibri Legal also engages in direct immigration work and collaborates with legal aid organizations, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), nonprofits, and government partners to better understand and advocate for immigrant entrepreneurs. The firm operates with a “Spanish-first” approach and works closely with the Latino Economic Development Center and its network of clients. As an extern, students will contribute to legal research, policy and client memos, and development of outreach materials. Depending on Spanish fluency and project needs, students may assist in preparing educational presentations or participate in client-centered work. The placement offers valuable exposure to the intersection of immigration and business law in a community-focused legal practice. This externship is unpaid, primarily remote, and involves approximately 50 hours of fieldwork per semester. Additional compensated project work may be available depending on firm needs and student availability.
• LegalCORPS. LegalCORPS is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that provides free transactional legal services to low-income entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations across Minnesota. For Summer 2025, LegalCORPS is offering one externship position for a Mitchell Hamline law student. The extern will work 8–16 hours per week between May 26 and August 5, with some in-person availability required. Students will be supervised by Mitchell Hamline alum Joshua Franklin, Legal Services Director at LegalCORPS, and will gain experience in business law areas such as client advising, entity formation, contracts, and nonprofit legal compliance. The position is unpaid, but offers valuable mentorship, exposure to real-world transactional law, and the chance to support underserved communities through pro bono legal work.
• North Star Policy Action is an independent research and communications institute dedicated to advancing bold, data-driven solutions that improve the lives of everyday Minnesotans. Their work focuses on economic development, labor, commerce, and public policy, aiming to create opportunities for working people to thrive. As an extern with North Star Policy Action, students will assist in developing policy initiatives and advocacy strategies related to labor, commerce, and business practices in accordance with student interest and organizational need at the time. This experience offers a chance to contribute to meaningful policy work that impacts economic development and market structures in Minnesota. Students will gain practical insights into the intersection of law, business, and public policy, making it an ideal placement for those interested in community economic development and policy-making. Students may have the option to fulfill their long-paper requirement using research and writing completed during the externship, if approved by both the on-site supervisor and the Center director.
• The Public Health Law Center, a nonprofit affiliate of Mitchell Hamline, is a team of attorneys and policy analysts working to promote public health through the power of law. The Center collaborates with its partners, locally and nationally, to reduce and eliminate commercial tobacco, promote healthy food access, pursue climate justice, and address other causes of chronic disease. The Center’s partnerships include Tribal health leaders, federal agencies, national health advocacy organizations, state and local governments, researchers, attorneys, and community coalitions all working together to help create healthier communities around the country.
  

  Externs will engage in legal research, writing, and policy analysis related to public health law and regulation within the Center’s program areas. Students may assist with drafting legal memoranda and preparing educational materials—depending on organizational need and student interest. This externship is ideal for students interested in public health law and policy, administrative law, and in advancing principles of health equity.

  Students may have the opportunity to fulfill their long-paper requirement using research and writing completed during the externship, if approved by both the on-site supervisor and the Center director.

  The externship is paid and may be completed remotely or in a hybrid format, depending on the student’s location and availability.

• Yardstik. Yardstik is a Minneapolis-based technology startup focused on safer, smarter hiring through background screening, compliance, and fraud detection tools. Externs can work between 8–16 hours per week with a flexible schedule designed to accommodate part-time students. Externs will be supervised by MHSL alum Ann Vanga, Yardstik’s General Counsel and Head of Compliance, who brings over 15 years of legal experience in B2B SaaS, regulatory compliance, and in-house counsel roles. Depending on interest, students can gain experience with both pre-litigation and transactional work, including policy and process development, arbitration-related issues, privacy law, CFPB compliance, in-house legal templates, and corporate governance. The position is ideal for students interested in arbitration, regulatory compliance, privacy, or in-house legal practice within a fast-paced startup environment.

Students may also independently identify their own externships to fulfill the experiential learning requirement for the Certificate in Law and Business. These placements must be approved by the Director in order to meet the certificate requirements. Students should submit the same form linked below for review and approval prior to starting their externship. All externships may occur in any semester, including the summer semester, in accordance with the placement’s ability to accept.

Getting Credit for Your Business Externship

Complete the following process if:

• You have identified your own business-related externship placement and would like credit towards the Certificate in Law and Business; or
• You would like to apply to one of the externship locations of the Center of Law and Business listed on its webpage.

Step 1: Initial Contact & Application
Review the instructions on this page from beginning to end very carefully. Then, fill out the Law & Business Externship Application.

Step 2: Determine Eligibility for Business Law Credit

• If your externship is business law-related, Professor Vu-Dinh will approve it to count toward the Certificate in Law and Business, if you wish to pursue the Certificate.  You are not required to apply for the Certificate in Law and Business in order to apply for an externship in one of the C-LAB’s designated externship sites.
• If Professor Vu-Dinh determines that your externship is not sufficiently business law-related and therefore cannot be credited toward the Certificate in Law and Business, but you still would like school credit for this externship, you must complete the following steps:

1. Log into your 12Twenty account.
2. Submit your externship proposal through 12Twenty. Click on Experiential Learning, then New Experience, Choose Self-Identified Externship Site.

If you have any questions about this process for non-business-related externships, please contact Professor Erica Strohl ([email protected]).  You should only submit your online proposal after you have secured a placement, as MHSL staff will contact your proposed site supervisor for externship verification.  (Note: The online proposal submission through 12Twenty is the only step required for enrollment in the General Externship Course.)

Step 3: Register for the Appropriate Externship Course

If Professor Vu-Dinh has determined that the externship is business law related, she will refer you to the Registrar’s office to register for the Business Externship Course.  (If that course gets canceled, then Prof. Strohl will either 1) connect you with a faculty supervisor to do an Independent Externship, or 2) advise you to enroll  in the General Externship Course.  To receive academic credit, you must register for one of the aforementioned options.)

Step 4: Report the site of your business law externship in 12Twenty & First Class Meeting Requirements

Once registered with the Registrar’s Office for the course component, you must:

1. Report your externship site in 12Twenty,
   • Select Experiential Learning, then New Experience, and finally “Report Assigned Site” when asked what “experience type” your proposal will be.

Step 5: First Class Meeting Requirements

Once registered with the Registrar’s Office, you must attend the first class session of your specialized externship course.  Here you will discuss, revise, and ultimately submit your Educational Agreement.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. We look forward to supporting your externship experience!