Mercer Law is forging new pathways for thinking about complex issues and preparing students both in and out of the classroom. A robust externship program is one way students can explore different career opportunities while earning course credit.
Students may work through specific externship courses — including judicial, corporate counsel, consumer bankruptcy and public defender — or with a variety of nonprofit or governmental offices through general externship courses. In classes tailored to individual interests and career goals, students gain hands-on experiences and engage in supervised reflection.
Opportunities for practical learning and formation of professional identity are important to a well-rounded legal education, and law faculty collaborate with the Office of Career Services to continue to refine and expand how students may engage in these programs.
Mercer Law’s Corporate Counsel Externship Program provides students the opportunity to develop critical practice skills by working one-on-one with practicing lawyers at some of the nation’s leading companies. This innovative program combines a practical, skills-based class taught by experienced in-house counsel with externships in legal departments of a wide range of companies and nonprofit organizations.
Companies participating in the program include Aflac, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, FedEx, Tractor Supply, The Multiple Sclerosis Society and Piedmont Healthcare, among many others. In today’s environment, many employers look for recent law graduates who are practice ready. This course helps prepare graduates to meet those expectations while exploring career options.
“Mercer Law is one of the few law schools in the country to have a dedicated in-house counsel externship program,” said Ben Parrish, who leads the program. “Since we started the program in the fall of 2022, students have participated in 78 externships with 26 companies and nonprofits. In addition to gaining valuable experience working with their host companies, our students attend a two-hour class each week that is focused on practice-oriented topics. Many of the classes include in-house attorneys who teach practice skills and share career advice.”
Lawson Haynes, ’24, spent three years at King & Spalding as a legal assistant in the firm’s investment funds practice group. He entered Mercer Law School in 2021 with the clear intention of becoming a transactional attorney. During the spring semester of his first year, he learned about the newly established Corporate Counsel Externship Program. Recognizing that this program aligned perfectly with his interests and career goals, he was eager to participate. At that time, he had already secured a summer position with Americold Logistics, a global temperature-controlled storage company, as a legal intern on its transactional team.
“I knew that the corporate counsel program would provide an excellent opportunity to further explore various aspects of transactional law,” Haynes said. “While at Americold, I had the privilege of working directly with the chief legal officer and other executives on numerous acquisitions and deals. I am pleased to note that Americold is now part of Mercer Law’s Corporate Counsel Externship Program.”
During fall semester of his second year, Haynes secured an externship position on the transactional team at Mativ, where he honed his skills in commercial contract drafting, particularly focusing on supply agreements and nondisclosure agreements. That spring, he secured another externship through the program with Southern Company Gas, working with its transactional team. Haynes said at Southern Company Gas he faced even more complex contract drafting tasks and contributed to a joint venture the company was undertaking.
“Through these experiences, I grew not only as an individual and future attorney, but I also built strong relationships with mentors and colleagues,” he said. “I still meet regularly with my mentors from Mativ and Southern Company Gas for lunch or coffee. Their guidance has been invaluable in navigating the early stages of my career and understanding the legal community. I am deeply grateful to Professor Parrish for the opportunities provided through the Corporate Counsel Externship Program, which directly contributed to securing my post-graduate position.”
Today, Haynes works at DLA Piper’s Atlanta office as a private equity attorney, representing private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a range of transactions and matters, including mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate issues.
Current third-year student Will Bazemore, ’25, has been a part of the Corporate Counsel Externship Program for two semesters and said it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his law school journey. After graduation and the bar exam, he will be working as an associate for Moore, Ingram, Johnson & Steele in Marietta, Georgia.
Bazemore’s first externship with the program was with Chicken Salad Chick, working closely with Executive Vice President and General Counsel Carol Terry, ’93.
“I was exposed to a variety of concentrations in the legal field while with Chicken Salad Chick. Contracts, franchise law, business formation, private equity law, privacy law, general litigation; you name it, and I dealt with it in some capacity,” Bazemore said. “Every week posed a new challenge and new assignments, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work on so many different things. The culture of the company was positive and refreshing, and I loved going to work each week. Carol was a wonderful supervisor, and she has become a trusted mentor for me.”
Bazemore said his experience with Chicken Salad Chick prepared him well for his second externship with The Home Depot, where his work was more specialized. He collaborated with the corporate governance team, the commercial transactions/privacy team, the commercial and general litigation teams, and the employment team.
“The externship program does a fantastic job of preparing students for work in this field, and it afforded multiple networking opportunities. These experiences have helped my resume stand out in the job application and interview processes,” he said. “I have been able to expand both my personal and professional networks. Prospective employers really like this firsthand, practical experience, and that is exactly what my externships have afforded me.”
Through the program, Stephanie Mendoza Torres, ’25, has enjoyed internships at Tractor Supply Co., Hero Practice Services and FedEx, helping to solidify her decision to work in the transactional area of the law.
“As a female Latina law student, participating in these internships has been an empowering and transformative experience,” she said. “Collectively, they have provided a strong foundation in legal research, drafting, compliance and cross-functional collaboration — skills that are essential for success as in-house counsel, transactional and corporate law. The networking opportunities during these internships helped me build relationships with attorneys, executives and professionals across various fields, have strengthened my career trajectory, and have positioned me as a competitive candidate for roles in intellectual property, corporate and regulatory law.”
Torres deeply appreciates alumni Rusty Phillips, ’89, FedEx staff vice president and Hero Practice Services’s Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel Eleanor Kasper, ’13, and Compliance Associate Tiphani Gay, ’13, for being exceptional supervisors and trusted mentors who have played a significant role in her personal and professional development.
Bazemore, Haynes and Torres gave Parrish high praise for doing a phenomenal job of building this program.
“Professor Parrish truly has the best interests of the students at heart, and it shows through how much this program has grown over the years,” Bazemore said. “The program has been one of my favorite parts of law school. Being able to get out in the corporate world and get direct training and experience from highly accomplished lawyers has provided me with a second-to-none experience. The classroom element of the program has been instrumental in my development, too. Professor Parrish has gone out of his way to help me and so many other students, and I will always be thankful for his enthusiasm and dedication.”
“We are very grateful for the tremendous support for the program we have received from our students and Mercer alumni,” said Parrish. “Many of our externships have resulted from alumni volunteering to host our students. The supervising attorneys at our host companies play a critical role by serving as mentors of our students. In many cases, the supervising attorneys stay in touch with the students long after the externships end.”
Parrish served as a senior executive and general counsel of four companies over a 25-year period. After beginning his career as an associate with King & Spalding, Parrish held several in-house counsel positions before being named senior vice president and general counsel of Smith + Nephew North America at the age of 38.
In January 2021, Parrish retired from his position as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Tractor Supply Co., one of the fastest growing NASDAQ companies over the last 20 years and one of the 300 largest public companies in the country.
As a Double Bear and double magna cum laude graduate, CLAS ’78 and LAW ’82, Parrish served as editor-in-chief of the Mercer Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Board. He was awarded for having the highest GPA in his first, second and third years. He was a member of the Brainerd Currie Honor Society, Order of Barristers and Phi Kappa Phi.
