Summer 2025 – Week One

FALL 2025 PRACTICUM INFORMATION

We are pleased to share some important information on our practicum course offerings for the Fall 2025 semester. A practicum course offers students an opportunity to earn 2- or 3-credits in connection with an unpaid experiential opportunity. In a practicum course, students will engage in a project for a real client under the supervision of an on-site practicing attorney or supervisor and a full-time faculty member. We offer two types of practicum courses: School Designed Practicums and Independent Practicums.

School Designed Practicum Catalogue – Next Deadline July 15th

Our School Designed Practicums are pre-approved practicum opportunities with designated faculty supervisors. Each semester, we published a School Designed Practicum Course Catalogue that provides a description for each practicum course and the application requirements. We are pleased to share the first version of our Fall 2025 School Designed Practicum Course Catalogue and encourage you to consider the opportunities in the document linked here: Fall 2025 School Designed Practicums (1).  We will update and circulate this list in the upcoming weeks and early summer months as additional opportunities become available or are confirmed.

Questions? Email lawpract@temple.edu or contact Associate Director Urmson at nurmson@temple.edu.

Independent Practicums: Information and Approval Form – Deadline Thursday, July 24

Independent Practicums provide students an opportunity to earn academic credit for an experiential opportunity not otherwise offered by the law school. Upon accepting an unpaid legal internship or externship position, a student seeking to pursue an Independent Practicum must obtain approval from Dean Ramji-Nogales by completing the Practicum Approval Form. Once approved, the student will then need to secure a full-time faculty member to act as the faculty supervisor for their practicum. The deadline to submit Practicum Approval Forms for the Fall 2025 semester is Thursday, July 24, 2025 at 12PM.

Questions? Email lawpract@temple.edu or contact Associate Director Urmson at nurmson@temple.edu.

Practicum Registration – Information and Practicum Agreement – Deadline Friday, August 15

All students who wish to register for a practicum must submit a completed Practicum Agreement, signed by the student’s faculty supervisor and site supervisor, through the Practicum Agreement Submission Form on our website. The Practicum Agreement serves as the registration form for the practicum course. Once submitted, the student will be administratively registered for their practicum by the end of the add/drop period. Students seeking to pursue a practicum opportunity for the spring semester should plan on registering for a full course load during general registration and dropping a course during the add/drop period if they need to make room in their schedule. The deadline to submit Practicum Agreements for the Spring 2025 semester is Friday, August 15, 2025 at 12 pm.

Questions? Email lawpract@temple.edu or contact Associate Director Urmson at nurmson@temple.edu.

2025-2026 Sheppard Fellowship: Judicial Placement in Commerce Court – Apply by Sunday June 8th

Temple Law is delighted to announce its partnership with the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s Honorable Albert W. Sheppard Fellowship Program in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas – Commerce Court Division. There are two to three slots available for third-year day and fourth-year evening law students in this year-long program designed to honor the memory of Judge Albert W. Sheppard, Jr., who served as a judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas from 1983 to 2011. During his tenure, Judge Sheppard, who was committed to promoting civility, courtesy, and respect in the court system, created the now internationally recognized Commerce Case Management Program which promotes fair and cost-effective resolutions for complex business disputes. The Sheppard Scholarship Fund will provide a $3000 stipend for the selected students’ fellowship in the fall. In the spring, the students will be supervised in a 3-credit (unpaid) Practicum.

 The experiential component of the Practicum will be under the authority of the Supervising Judge in Commerce Court, the Honorable Paula A. Patrick. Students will have the opportunity to engage in legal research and writing in the area of commercial litigation. Students will learn about Pennsylvania law, analyze evidentiary issues, gain experience in aspects of Pennsylvania civil procedure, and draft written work. The selected students will be required to complete a two-page report summarizing the experience which will be submitted in a finished form appropriate for publication and may be posted on the Bar Foundation’s website. The students will be recognized in the Bar Foundation’s Annual Report and at Bar Foundation events. Funding for the fall semester is provided by the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s Honorable Albert W. Sheppard Scholarship Fund. This fund was established by the Philadelphia Bar Association Business Law Section’s Business Litigation Committee in conjunction with the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, to honor the memory of Judge Sheppard and his contributions to the Philadelphia legal community.

 The Philadelphia Bar Foundation is dedicated to promoting access to justice for all people in the community. Through programs, grants, and partnerships, the Bar Foundation removes barriers to justice, engages the community in support of civil legal aid, and builds system-wide capacity in order to strengthen the provision of quality legal services and to ensure that all individuals understand their rights to equal justice under law.

 This unique, year-long Practicum is ideal for third-year and fourth-year law students who are interested in learning more about business law and commercial litigation and who want to gain research and writing experience. Preference will be given to 3L day and 4L evening students who have successfully completed Corporations. Students must commit to 10 to 12 hours a week for the 2025-2026 academic year. Interested students should forward a cover letter/statement of interest addressed to “The Honorable Albert W. Sheppard Commerce Court Fellowship/Practicum Selection Committee”, a resume, the names and e-mail addresses for two references, and an unofficial transcript to nurmson@temple.edu by 11:59 PM on Sunday, June 8, 2025.