Course Schedule

This course is restricted to upper class students only. APPLICATION IS REQUIRED. Application and/or instructions on how to apply for this internship can be accessed on the web: http://law.utexas.edu/internships/application-information/u-s-attorney-internship/ 

To apply, please e-mail a copy of your cover letter, resume and transcript (unofficial is fine) to AUSA Daniel Castillo at daniel.castillo@usdoj.gov, Prof. Klein at sklein@law.utexas.edu, and the staffing office at usatxw.staffing@usdoj.gov. Students interested in the internship are encouraged to stop by Prof. Susan Klein’s office at TNH 3.207 for additional information. Her office hours are on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, or by appointment. You may call her at (512) 203-2257 or send an e-mail. You may also contact AUSA Castillo at (512) 916-5858 or via email.

** This course meets the Professional Skills requirement for graduation. **

Course Description:

This program offers four or five students internship positions with the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. Students are expected to work 10 hours per week for each semester. The office is located at 903 San Jacinto Blvd., Suite 334 Austin, Texas 78701. Some of those hours can be completed at school or at home. Students will assist in the prosecution of federal criminal cases under the supervision of Assistant U.S. Attorneys. Students will receive two credits "pass-fail" for the internship for each semester, for a total of four credits. Information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office is available at: www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/.

Students may wish to enroll in Adv. Fed. Crim. Prosecution & Defense, Federal Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure: Investigation, Criminal Procedure: Prosecution (bail to jail) and Evidence. However, none of those courses are required.

The application deadline for the next academic year is Friday, March 27, 2026. Though students will know whether they are selected for the program before fall registration, the unique number for the fall 2026 internship may not be available then. Interviews will be conducted at the Career Services Office or via Zoom.

 Additional Information

 Additional information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office internship program may be reviewed at

 https://www.justice.gov/legal-careers/job/law-student-volunteer-academic-year-0.

This course examines a range of contemporary issues in policing, prosecution, and punishment through the lens of a series of documentary films and related short reading assignments. Through class discussion and exchange of short response papers to the films, students will explore and critically examine a range of issues and controversies in the American criminal justice system, including the expansion in the role and powers of the police resulting from the War on Drugs; the use of racial profiling, no-knock warrants, and other policing practices; officer-involved shootings and the doctrine of qualified immunity; the "school-to-prison pipeline; sex offender registries; the prosecution of juveniles in criminal court; and long-term solitary confinement, among other issues. Students will discuss and explore the feasibility of alternative approaches to these practices and examine the legal, political, and practical obstacles to reform.

Jurisdiction & Judgments is a course in Conflict of Laws. Conflict of Laws addresses issues that may arise when a dispute or transaction has connections with more than one state or country. The subject is generally divided into three interrelated topics: (1) territorial jurisdiction (and related doctrines), (2) choice of law, and (3) recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. This course focuses on the first and third topics: specifically, territorial jurisdiction, forum non conveniens, forum selection clauses, and the recognition and enforcement of judgments rendered by the courts of other states and countries. Choice of law is the focus of a separate course titled “Conflict of Laws,” and is covered in Jurisdiction & Judgments only to the extent necessary to fully understand the topics that are the focus of this course. At the end of the semester, students should have developed a sound understanding of the law governing jurisdiction and judgments, including policy considerations that may shape further development of the law.

An introductory survey course about general jurisprudence and the rule of law, which asks questions like, "What is law? What distinguishes legal institutions from other ones? What, if anything, makes a legal claim true? And what does it mean to be governed by the rule of law?" Readings will include HLA Hart, Lon Fuller, and Ronald Dworkin.

This course introduces you how to use economic reasoning to analyze legal issues. The course will focus on the common law areas of property, contracts, and tort as well as the legal process and criminal law. Economic analysis of law analyzes legal rules with one main question in mind: how will people and firms respond to a given legal rule? That is, rather than look at the inherent "fairness" or "justness" of a legal rule, law and economics focuses on the incentives that a legal rule creates. The normative aspect of law and economics then asks how legal rules should be structured to create the most desirable incentives.

Explore intermediaries in the capital markets. Examine institutional workings of the securities business and its legal regulation including recent developments and interesting economic problems.

A survey of a range of core legal practice areas, including copyright, trademark, insurance, employment, immigration, contracts (with artists, sponsors, vendors and others), and working with municipalities using the backdrop of a live festival event. Expect guest lecturers from within the industry.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

This course uses law-practice simulation to teach students legal analysis and communication skills. The course covers legal research, predictive written analysis, oral presentation of research results, effective communication with different audience members, and writing mechanics.

Prerequisite: Legal Analysis and Communication This course is restricted to upper division students who have completed the first year, two semester, Legal Analysis and Communication course or who otherwise obtain the permission of the instructors. LLM and Exchange Students interested in taking the course should first contact the instructors to discuss whether their prior coursework includes instruction similar to a first year, two semester, Legal Analysis and Communication course. This one credit, pass-fail, seven week course will solidify and build upon legal research skills acquired during the first year of law school. It will focus on the identification and evaluation of relevant primary and secondary sources and efficient information retrieval. Students will learn how to design a research strategy that effectively integrates using online tools with an underlying understanding of traditional print resources. Students who successfully complete this course will gain a thorough understanding of the use of legal information and research resources in diverse contexts. Emphasis will be placed on U.S. federal sources, but Texas materials will be referenced in the course, and will serve as a model for research in the legal materials of other states. Students will be required to complete both in- and out-of-class exercises throughout the course, but there is no final examination.