Christina Squiers has one more year of law school to go. But she won't be spending much time in class next year, and already has a job guaranteed after she graduates.
Squiers, 23, is one of the lucky few chosen for an innovative experiment at the University of Minnesota that will largely replace the third year of law school with hands-on experience.
On Monday, the law school will formally present the program, known as the Minnesota Law Public Interest Residency, which will debut this fall.
While virtually all law schools have hands-on training programs, this is one of the first in the nation to offer a working alternative to the traditional third year, said Prof. Mark Kappelhoff, who created the program.
"I kind of modeled it after a medical school," he said. "You have a faculty member who's your supervisor … but you are mostly spending your time outside the four walls of the law school, learning how to practice law."
Instead of juggling a full load of classes, Squiers will work 32 hours a week at the Minneapolis City Attorney's Office next year, writing legal briefs and otherwise filling the role of a young lawyer. It's a chance, she said, to jump start her career. "We're out there in the community actually practicing law and learning on our feet," she said.
As part of the program, the students pay tuition and take one course a semester while working essentially full time, for free, for one of the participating city or county prosecutors or public defenders. When school is finished, the fledgling lawyers will get to stay on the job for a second year, with full pay, once they pass the bar.
The idea of a guaranteed job was "a really big appeal," said Alli Holznecht, a 25-year-old law student who will spend her "residency" at the Ramsey County attorney's office. "I thought it seemed too good to be true at first," she said, especially at a time when so many newly minted lawyers struggle to find work. "I really wanted to find a job within the public sector," she said. "Often, that can be really hard to get your foot in the door."