Given Phoenix School of Law’s (PSL) mission pillar of Practice Ready Students, PSL has created the PSL Valley of the Sun Law Clerk Program (the Program).
“The Program has been designed to attract private law firms and business employers to hire our students as summer law clerks, and to provide them with high quality practice experience. Gaining practical legal experience in law school furthers our experiential learning philosophy, and increases the student’s value to prospective post-graduate employers,” stated Joseph Perez Assistant Dean of Professional Development at Phoenix School of Law.
“The Program is made possible by a grant from PSL to participating employers. The grant covers a match of the hourly wages paid to the student by the employer. For example, if an employer will pay $8 an hour, PSL will provide a matching grant of $8, for a total of $16 per hour paid to the student. The Program provides the employers with needed staff, and supplies our students with valuable legal experience, that they can leverage during their search for permanent employment,” added Perez.
Zarina Aguilar, a law student shares her thoughts on having participated in the Program, “The Valley of the Sun Program provided me with an invaluable experience. The Center for Professional Development (CPD) aims hard to bring employers from all over the valley including Tucson to accommodate every student’s preferred location. I was placed at Benavidez Law Group where I experienced first-hand criminal and immigration hearings. The people at the firm I worked for not only were great supervisors, but they became lasting friends and valuable references for the future.”
“Our firm participated in the PSL Law Clerk Program last year and hired two law students over the summer. We’ll be doing the same this year. The program offers tremendous value for the money; the students were well prepared and hard working. The most fun was getting to know the law students and experiencing their enthusiasm and excitement towards the law, something that diminishes after practicing for a while. They reinvigorated our firm with a renewed energy,” states Jennifer L. Kupiszewski, Esq. with the Kupiszewski Law Firm.
To view a complete overview of the program and if your law firm or business is interested in participating, visit this link and complete a quick registration form.
