Clinical Externship Spotlight

Giving Back and Nurturing Talent with

Clinical Externships

Jacob Spaid ‘14 has a giving spirit. From talking with him, one would think he’s always understood the importance of giving back to the legal community, and his experience with Cal Western illustrates this point well. Spaid didn’t hesitate when Cal Western reached out to ask if he would meet a student over coffee to talk about careers. Three years later, that meeting has blossomed into an ongoing partnership with Cal Western’s Externship Program and his firm, Higgs Fletcher & Mack LLP. But the story of Spaid’s externship experience goes back further, to when he was once a Cal Western extern.

“I interned with Federal Magistrate Ruben Brooks for a semester and then asked if I could stay on for the clinical externship for the next semester. He said yes, and I ended up staying on for the better part of the year with him, which I thought was just a fun experience.”

That time with Magistrate Brooks made a lasting impression, so when Clinical Externship Associate Director Ruth Briscoe reached out to talk to Spaid about hosting an extern, Spaid was open to the idea of acting as a supervising attorney. Spaid understood the value of the Externship Program from his own time as an extern.

“I remember being terrified of messing something up or giving the wrong answers or just doing something completely ridiculous and not realizing it,” Spaid recalled. “I definitely have that in mind when I’m working with externs.”

From Spaid’s perspective, the externship is a win-win for students and his firm. Students earn academic credit for legal work while simultaneously gaining valuable insights and practical experience. Participating firms build a pipeline for new talent, gain fresh perspectives, and create mentorship opportunities for current employees. Plus, if attorneys are considering the prospect of teaching one day, supervising an extern is an excellent avenue to explore what it is like to work directly with students. For alumni like Spaid,

Greer Houston ‘22 and Externship Supervisor Scott Ingold ‘07

the added value of keeping ties to Cal Western and the gratification of knowing he is directly contributing toward building a more diverse law community makes hosting externships worthwhile.

“Giving back to the legal community is rewarding in and of itself. I’ve also found I enjoy the process of teaching and shaping students’ ethics, work quality, and professional habits,” Spaid said. “It’s helping me as well because I gain a different insight into other people’s thought processes and how they see things and do things. I think that’s all valuable.”

“ I love Cal Western. I had a great experience there. I made a lot of good friends, and I still speak with a lot of the professors that I had.

I’m just happy to continue to be a part of Cal

Western in this way or any other way.”

Jacob Spaid ’14 Externship Supervisor Jacob Spaid ‘14 and Iryna Axsom ‘22