Externship: Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance (Quaglia)
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Drafting Legal Documents
Other Professional Skills:
Grading
100% Other (Externships are graded Credit/No Credit )
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can make PowerPoint slides or other class materials available to you.
Meeting Times/Location
TBA
TBA
Category
Clinics/Externships
Credits
4.0
The Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project (CBAP) is a non-profit organization located at 718 Arch Street, Philadelphia, that was founded in 1992 to provide pro bono Chapter 7 Bankruptcy representation to low-income Philadelphians struggling with debt and needing a fresh start. The organization serves residents of Philadelphia who have gross incomes below official poverty guidelines. CBAP relies on volunteer attorneys, law students, and paralegals to accept client case referrals and assist clients in need of bankruptcy relief. CBAP provides law students with an opportunity to expand their skills, learn about Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and assist individuals who are unable to hire a bankruptcy attorney in the private market.
Externs will receive 4 credits (12 hours/week) . They will be assigned an initial caseload and will be responsible for scheduling all initial informational interviews, signing interviews, and clients’ two mandatory financial management courses. They will be expected to explain the entire bankruptcy process to clients, track case progress through required steps, compile all necessary documents, organize case files, and utilize bankruptcy software to prepare bankruptcy documents for filing in Bankruptcy Court. Depending on CBAP's current caseload externs may also be responsible for preparing motions, pleadings and depositions for student loan cases while sharpening their interviewing, listening, writing, and advocacy skills. In all cases externs maintain all client contact and therefore this externship is a great experience for those seeking direct client contact experience.
Prior bankruptcy experience is helpful but not needed. CBAP's supervising attorney will train on substantive bankruptcy issues as well as the intersection of bankruptcy and poverty law in general. Supervision will be provided through weekly meetings with a CBAP Staff Attorney and the attorney will also be available on an as-needed basis to answer bankruptcy questions as they arise.
If you would like to submit an application, please email your materials by 11 AM on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, to externships@law.upenn.edu. Please include “CBAP Application” in the subject line. The application should contain one pdf file that includes the following: i) cover letter, and ii) a resume.
IN-PERSON BI-WEEKLY SEMINAR COURSE REQUIREMENT: Before the semester begins, students will receive an email to choose one of two seminar times and should plan their course and work schedules accordingly. Students may not switch the seminar day and time once they have committed to one of the options. The options are as follows:
Civil Externship Seminar The Civil Externship Seminar taught by Professor Kathryn Quaglia will meet beginning the week of January 22. Students will choose either Tuesday 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. or Wednesday 12 to 1 p.m.
Advanced Externship Seminar Students who have previously taken the Civil Externship Seminar with Professor Quaglia and who are registering for a second civil externship will take the Advanced Externship Seminar. The Advanced Externship Seminar will meet every other week beginning the week of January 16 and is offered on Tuesday 12-1 p.m. or Thursday 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Note that a student may only take the Advanced Seminar if the student has previously taken the Criminal Justice Externship Seminar with Professor Quaglia and is registering for a second criminal law externship or has previously taken the Civil Externship Seminar with Professor Quaglia and is registering for a second civil law externship. A student who has completed a civil externship who is then registering for their first externship at a criminal law placement must take the Criminal Justice Externship Seminar; a student who has completed a criminal law externship who is then registering for their first externship at a civil law placement must take the Civil Law Externship Seminar.
Business and Corporate Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of business and corporate law; Perform legal analysis in the context of business and corporate law; Communicate effectively on topics related to business and corporate law; Demonstrate an understanding of the interconnection between the world of business and finance and that of business and corporate law, and how they affect other areas of law and society.
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.