King Hall welcomes new Director of Externships Dena Bauman

New Director of Externships Dena Bauman joined UC Davis School of Law in early April. She brings a wealth of experience as a legal practitioner and law school educator and administrator, focusing on externships and professional development for law students.

Bauman most recently served as an adjunct professor for the Externship Program at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, and co-authored the chapter on externships in the 2015 publication Building on Best Practices: Transforming Legal Education in a Changing World. For more than a decade, she also served as the director of the UDC Office of Career and Professional Development.

A native New Yorker, she began her legal career in upstate New York in civil legal services before relocating to Washington, D.C., to supervise students in a law school clinic. Her career includes significant experience in managing local and national pro bono programs, and she is a frequent presenter at professional conferences.  She earned her J.D. from Cornell Law School, an M.A. in anthropology from the University of Chicago, and her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College.

Bauman says, “Externships are a powerful ‘bridge to practice,’ allowing students to integrate doctrinal theory with ‘real world’ issues and complexities. Students can ‘test drive’ different career paths and consider critical issues of professionalism and professional identity. Many students find that their placement is invaluable in helping them discover what it means ‘to be a lawyer’ while building their professional networks.”