The Dane G. Hansen Externship Program through Washburn School of Law places as many as 20 law students in area legal practices for summer externships where they get experience working in a rural law.

Washburn now has between 10 to 20 students a year who enroll because of the externship opportunity. During the externship, law students perform regular functions of a rural Kansas attorney, including research, writing, court hearings, meetings, negotiations, depositions, and any other events common in the day-to-day life of rural legal practice. Each was immersed in the community and gained valuable experience and knowledge about the profession and the community they lived in.

Former externs have begun working in the area, and the experience has resulted in job offers for most participants.