Externship Spotlight: Maria Sabatino

For some law students, it takes a bit of time to determine which area of law they would like to practice.  

However, Maria Sabatino, who came to Widener Law Commonwealth with an interest in immigration law, had her practice path confirmed during her externship this summer at the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center in York (PIRC).  
  
Her externship was focused on assisting her supervising attorney with a Convention Against Torture removal defense case. The support involved a substantial deal of work for her, including client meetings, extensive research on country conditions, co-writing the pre-hearing memorandum, assisting with witness preparation, and conducting the examination of the country conditions expert witness at the merits hearing. In addition, Sabatino also had the opportunity to visit a civil detention facility to assist PIRC staff attorneys with the presentation of legal orientations.   

Sabatino said the externship exceeded her expectations in every way: “In addition to the immense amount of learning and practical experience, I had the privilege of being part of a team of outstanding professionals. I saw what excellence in immigration lawyering and advocacy looked like on a daily basis.” 

She highly recommends an externship to law students as an essential part of the law school experience. “Not only did it provide me with real-world experience and learning, it also helped build my confidence and confirmed this is the area of practice I want to pursue after graduation.” 

Interview was conducted in Summer 2023.