Law intern program
Since 2007, the Provincial Court and the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia have partnered in a Judicial Externship Program. The program provides an opportunity for third-year students to spend a term working with Provincial Court judges for credit towards their law degree. The Court benefits from research assistance not otherwise available.
Students are assigned to a courthouse (or a rotation of courthouses to ensure exposure to all aspects of the Court’s work) and work with judges from Monday through Thursday of each week. Friday mornings are devoted to a workshop held at UBC.
Students receive training from judges on topics including judicial independence, judgment writing, sentencing, Youth Court, and child protection. Students’ work includes research, preparing memoranda, attending trials and other proceedings, and other tasks to assist the judiciary. Students also have the opportunity to accompany a judge and a court party to a remote registry in BC for a circuit court sitting.