Experiential Learning at Drake Law School
Graduate Ready for Your Legal Career
Drake University Law School students do more than learn how the legal field operates. They see it in action—and quickly start to contribute—in a city where courts, law offices, and corporate legal departments recognize what Bulldogs can do.
Your impact starts now—not after you’ve taken the bar. Drake Law School’s practical experiences build on your theoretical knowledge, giving you well-rounded training that prepares you to hit the ground running. Getting there, you’ll interact with clients, observe cases in real time, and manage research, developing the communication and analytical skills necessary to begin your career.
From our First-Year Trial Practicum and Legal Clinic to abundant internship opportunities in Des Moines, you’ll gain a background that equips you to thrive and promote justice.
Experience Right on Campus
Drake Law School immerses students in a rich, hands-on environment where learning extends beyond the classroom. But you don’t have to look far, either: Bulldogs often take on their first clients or produce legal scholarship right from campus.
Legal Clinic
Represent real clients while making a positive impact on others’ lives. Handling around 1,000 cases annually, our Legal Clinic has several distinct focal areas, so you can build experience that aligns with your specialty.
First-Year Trial Practicum
In the only program of its kind in the country, you’ll study a live jury trial from start to finish in the Drake Law courtroom and have opportunities to interact with judges, attorneys, and jurors.
Our Centers
Scholarship and real-world impact coalesce in Drake’s Centers of Excellence. Here, a combination of legal research, academic training, and hands-on application equips you to examine evidence, draw conclusions, and define a specialty for your practice.
Competitive Teams
Participate in one or more of Drake Law School’s numerous moot court, mock trial, and skills teams to develop your trial and advocacy skills. Intra-school legal competitions hosted on campus offer additional avenues to build your confidence and demonstrate your defense abilities.
Student Activities and Organizations
Connect with professionals and fellow students while diversifying your practical perspective through more than 25 active student organizations, including the editorial teams behind Drake’s respected student-run law journals, the Drake Law Review and Drake Journal of Agricultural Law.
Go Further and Grow Your Résumé
Curious about a sector of the legal field? As a Drake Law School student, you can make your introduction in Des Moines and the world beyond.
Help draft a bill that will shape state policy through an internship with the Legislative Practice Center. Forge friendships with legal colleagues in Europe during the Summer in France program. Be the first in line to apply for a clerkship with a local federal or state judge. And tap into an extensive alumni network to identify openings that fuse your interests with your preparation.
Internships and Clerkships
Access internships in Des Moines and across the country. Drake offers opportunities for credit in over 30 areas, including civil rights, legislative practice, environmental law, children's rights, and juvenile law. After graduation, many Drake alumni secure attractive clerkships for area judges.
Embrace Opportunity in Des Moines
Being the only law school in the state capital gives students a competitive advantage for securing internships and jobs in the city. Des Moines is a thriving regional hub for business, government, and the legal sector that’s supported by a strong and engaged community of fellow Bulldogs.
Summer in France
Gain an international perspective on the law at Nantes University Law School in France. You’ll take courses in English while getting first-hand exposure to the French legal system and the area’s rich history and culture.
Take the Next Step
Choose a legal education guided by hands-on discovery that gives graduates the real-world competence and confidence to excel.
