Students posing with their Field Placement

Field Placements: Experiential Learning

College of Law Academics

Nashville is Our Legal Clinic

The field placement program offers students the opportunity to earn academic credit while gaining practical legal experience working in live-client situations. Students may work in courts, government entities, public service agencies, non-profit organizations or corporate legal departments.   


Belmont Law students have completed field placements with more than 200 different organizations, including:

  • U.S. Department of Justice
  • U.S. Attorney’s Office  
  • Tennessee Department of Health
  • U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
  • International Justice Mission
  • Davidson County Department of Children's Services
  • District Attorney's Office, 20th Judicial District

  • Nashville Predators  
  • Federal and State Judges  
  • Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
  • Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation
  • Disability Rights Tennessee
  • 20th Judicial District Public Defender's Office
  • 20th Judicial District Criminal Court 
Raven Lockwood

"Interning at the Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts has provided me with invaluable opportunities, such as interviewing and communicating with clients; drafting incorporation documents; researching trademark and copyright law issues; and connecting with entertainment attorneys across Nashville. I have been able to contribute to multiple artists’ creative endeavours. Interning at the TN-VLPA has been an amazing experience, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in practicing entertainment law."

Raven Lockwood, Class of 2020

Joe Stovall

"Belmont promised to have me practice-ready coming out of school, and it followed through on that promise. Through its field placement program, I was able to gain a great deal of practical legal experience from working at a local, non-profit organization to interning with the Tennessee Attorney General’s office to eventually clerking at a U.S. Attorney’s Office, all while in school"

Joe Stovall, Class of 2018

Joseph North

"My experience with the Predators was invaluable. The externship not only provided me with insight into in-house counsel's daily responsibilities, but also refined my ability to reduce bold organizational objectives into manageable legal issues. My supervisors expressed real trust in my abilities, so I was able to hit the ground running. "

Joseph North, Class of 2020

 Field Placement Requirements 

Students must successfully complete one academic year of legal education prior to participation in the field placement program. Students may engage in field placements during the school year or during the summer. A student may apply a maximum of six academic credits for field placements (i.e., up to three field placements) toward the credits required for graduation. For a field placement, a student must work 100 hours on the job and complete the two classroom components that are offered in the respective semester. Students must be supervised at the organization by a licensed attorney. Students may not be paid for work performed during the field placement. Current students interested in exploring the Field Placements Program should look at the Field Placements Info Site. A link can be found on TWEN and in the Briefcase Resource Library. The info site contains information on qualifying sites, how to apply, limited licenses, how to book an office hours appointment with Professor Arth, and more.  

Students interested in a field placement must: 
  • Select a field placement site, which may involve meeting and interviewing with the prospective organization. Please view Briefcase for field placement listings or see the Director of Field Placements, Kristi Arth, if you need assistance in finding a field placement. 
  • Current students can apply for field placements through their Briefcase account.
  • Gain approval through the application process from Kristi Arth for the field placement. 
  • Register for the field placement class during normal registration. 
  • Attend the two mandatory classroom components held during the respective semester. 

Contact the Director of Field Placements

kristi-arth

Kristi Arth

Assistant Professor of Law & Director of Field Placements
Phone: (615) 460-6843
Email: kristi.arth@belmont.edu

Contact Us

College of Law

1901 15th Avenue South 
Nashville, TN 37212

Email:  law@belmont.edu
Phone:  (615) 460-8400

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