Opportunities!

Join the ABA’s Section on Environment, Energy & Resources

The ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ (SEER) Environmental Law Society Network (ELSN) just hosted a free networking event for students interested in working on environmental law in a government setting. Student attendees got to speak with over 20 government attorneys working in environmental roles (water law, pesticide and toxic substances law, and more).

This was the second event in the ELSN’s networking series (the first was with environmental law attorneys working in big law). These types of events are incredibly useful to help students identify and expand their understanding of all the types of careers available in environmental, energy and resources law. The easiest way for you to hear about these events is to sign up to the newsletter individually here (scroll down on the page for the individual sign up section).

Summer internships at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems

Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems is currently seeking law students for its Summer Honors Internship program from May 30 to August 4, 2023. Interns will receive a $6,000 stipend to work full-time with CAFS. Interns may work in person or remotely and group events will be offered by either a virtual or a hybrid method.

In past summers, interns have worked on projects related to developing a national food strategy in the US, food resilience, land trusts, preemption in food regulation, farmworker rights, USDA loans and the appeals process, federal and state meat inspection, challenges and opportunities for farms seeking to transition away from dairy production, and various issues associated with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). They have worked alongside project partners from Agrarian Trust, Farmworker Justice, the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Farm Aid, and the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, among other organizations. Interns’ assigned tasks depend on project needs and may include legal research, drafting law and policy documents, conducting original research in the form of interviews and surveys, drafting case studies, and providing general support.

Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Summer Session draws visiting faculty and lecturers from around the country and the world. Interns will have the opportunity to attend the summer lecture series and to meet with scholars and food system practitioners in small groups.

Qualifications: Currently enrolled in a JD degree program; a background in food and agricultural law and policy, public health law and policy, administrative law, environmental law and policy, state and local government law, and/or land use law and policy is preferred; strong research and writing skills are required. Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel) is required for the position; other skills (such as graphic design, web development, or GIS) are a bonus.

Please apply by submitting a cover letter, resume, list of three references, academic writing sample of no more than 5 pages (this can be an excerpt of a longer writing sample – please include a section that provides analysis, if possible), and unofficial academic transcript, hereThe application deadline is January 17, 2023.

Information about the internship is available at vermontlaw.edu/cafs-openings, and feel free to reach out to Claire Child (cchild@vermontlaw.edu) if you have any questions. 

Water Policy and Science Communications Fellowship Opportunity

The Center for Water Policy is seeking a candidate for a two-year funded Water Policy and Science Communications Graduate Student Research Fellowship, while earning a master’s degree from the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. 

To be considered for the Fellowship, the student must be admitted to the water policy Thesis track in our master’s degree program. Click here for information on how to apply for the master’s degree program. Applicants should indicate interest in this Fellowship on their personal statement. Fall semester 2023 admission deadline is January 15, 2023.

The Research Fellowship will begin in Fall 2023 and run through Spring 2025. The successful candidate will have a law degree and/or a bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, public policy, economics, environmental science, engineering or a related field and should be interested in conducting graduate research toward a thesis focused on water policy and science communications. The Research Fellowship represents a unique opportunity for a student who wants to explore the intersection between water policy, science, and communications.

The Research Fellow will be enrolled in the water policy Thesis track master’s degree at UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences and employed as a research assistant in the Center for Water Policy, conducting original research around the topics of water policy, science and communication. The specific topic of the student’s work will be determined by the student, in consultation with Center for Water Policy director Melissa Scanlan. Professor Scanlan will supervise the student work and serve as the student’s advisor. The work performed by the student will culminate in a thesis that will be defended before graduation. The student may have an opportunity to work with Dan Egan, Brico Fund Journalist in Residence and author of Death and Life of the Great Lakes and The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance.

The Center for Water Policy is interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education through their research. Qualified women and members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

Fellowship in Climate Change Law at the Sabin Center, Columbia Law School

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law seeks a Climate Justice Fellow for a one-year appointment, with an option for a second year, starting in September 2023. Under the supervision of Michael Gerrard, Faculty Director and Michael Burger, Executive Director, the incumbent will conduct independent research, literature reviews, and benchmarking studies on a wide variety of issues related to climate change law, with a special focus on issues related to climate justice and equity, as well as develop and implement advocacy strategies. The incumbent will work on a wide variety of research and writing projects concerning climate change mitigation and adaptation, including issues of justice and equity in those contexts; contribute to programs and projects that engage in active law and policy contexts; help organize conferences, seminars, and collaborative publications; contribute to conceptualization, management and implementation of the Center’s web resources; and assist with oversight of interns and volunteers, among other projects.

Minimum Qualifications:

  • JD, JD equivalent, or LLM.
  • Strong academic qualifications and a demonstrated interest in climate justice and equity, and/or in environmental, natural resources or energy law and policy, will be expected.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • 1 – 3 years of professional legal experience with a government agency (including through a clerkship), NGO, law firm, corporation, or law school center.

The position will be filled as either a Postdoctoral Research Scholar or an Associate Research Scholar. In both instances the minimum degree requirement is a JD, JD equivalent, or LLM within three years of beginning the fellowship. A candidate will be eligible for an appointment as Associate Research Scholar only if they have already completed a fellowship or postdoctoral training following their law degree.

How to Apply:

Please apply here. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and we encourage you to apply no later than January 15, 2023.

Internships at the Council on Environmental Quality

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is looking for Spring 2023 Interns. CEQ interns provide critical research and writing assistance on a range of environmental policies and have the opportunity to perform diverse and substantive policy work. CEQ is looking for students who are highly motivated and able to handle face pace and quick turnaround assignments. CEQ offers part-time and full-time internships but requires a minimum commitment of 16 hours per week. This is an in-person paid internship and applicants must be U.S. citizens and current undergraduate or graduate students. The deadline to apply is this Friday, October 28, 2022 by EOD Eastern Time. https://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/internship-program/

Harvard Law’s Environmental & Energy Law Program Legal Fellow

EELP is seeking a Legal Fellow for 2023-2024 with the potential to renew for one additional year. The fellowship is a full-time, internally funded position in Cambridge, Massachusetts beginning in the fall semester. The Fellow will work on current projects, including the Biden administration’s regulatory actions to address climate change and environmental protection. The Fellow will also develop new projects, both independently and collaboratively with EELP colleagues, to provide rigorous legal analysis to advance deep decarbonization and protect public health and the environment.

More info here.

Two-year Yale-NRDC Environmental Law Fellowship

NRDC is hiring a Legal Fellow for a two-year fellowship starting in August 2023. For the first year, (through August 2024), the Fellow will work at NRDC. During that time, the Fellow will focus on litigation or policy efforts to redress environmental and public health harms, such as air and water pollution, climate change, threats to endangered species, environmental injustice, and exposure to toxic chemicals. The Fellow will work in one of NRDC’s subject matter programs (Climate & Clean Energy; Nature; International; or Healthy People & Thriving Communities) and may represent NRDC and its members in federal or state court litigation or pursue policy initiatives in one or more of those areas. The Fellow may also collaborate with other environmental, labor, public health, and racial justice groups. The Fellow will work closely with, and be supervised by, experienced NRDC attorneys. The Fellow will be affiliated with one of NRDC’s major domestic offices (New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, or Santa Monica), depending on the Fellow’s preference and NRDC’s needs.   
  
For the second year (August 2024 through August 2025), the Fellow will work at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, providing support for environmental law clinics, dual degree students, and events and activities relating to environmental law and policy. The Fellow’s primary responsibility will be to coordinate and co-teach the Environmental Protection Clinic alongside NRDC experts and a Yale faculty member. The Environmental Protection Clinic is an interdisciplinary clinic offered jointly between Yale Law School and the Yale School of the Environment. The Clinic creates teams of graduate students to work on substantial projects for outside organizations, particularly those with a significant environmental justice focus. Projects include litigation support, administrative advocacy, legislative drafting, strategic and communications planning, network building, scientific literature reviews, and more. In addition to being the primary coordinator of the Clinic, the Fellow will also have substantive supervision responsibilities for particular Clinic student projects. It is the intention of NRDC and Yale that those projects will include matters that the Fellow has already worked on during the first year of the Fellowship at NRDC.  

More information is available here.

Young Energy Professionals’ Law Conference

The 6th National Young Energy Professionals’ Law Conference will occur in-person in New Orleans on October 5-6, 2022.

Designed primarily for energy professionals and attorneys under 40 years of age, this conference provides attendees with (1) opportunities to network with their peers from in-house and law firm environments, (2) energy related CLE for a low price, (3) professional development programming, and (4) fun social events.

Details here.

Job posting at environmental NGO in Madison, WI

Midwest Environmental Advocates is hiring a staff or senior staff attorney to provide legal and technical support to community groups and partner organizations to protect public rights to a healthy environment.

More information is available here: https://midwestadvocates.org/about/jobs-volunteers

MEA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is rooted in our organizational values of community, stewardship, empowerment, and justice. We strive to contribute to a more powerful and equitable movement for environmental justice in Wisconsin, and we believe it is essential all communities see themselves reflected in that movement. Diversity, equity, and inclusion at MEA strengthen our organization’s ability to advance environmental justice.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.


Yale Law Journal Student Essay Competition

The Yale Law Journal hosts an annual Student Essay Competition open to current law students and recent law school graduates. This year, the topic is Law and the Changing Environment, broadly construed. The submissions deadline is September 9.

  • Topic: We encourage submissions on a range of topics, including climate change; energy law; environmental justice; agency environmental regulation; migration and refugees; land use; local government; infrastructure and transportation; Indigenous rights; financial regulation; animal law; and legislation and policy proposals involving the environment. We welcome topics in related areas as well, and we hope to receive both clinical and academic submissions.
  • Eligibility: The competition is open to JDs and LLMs from the Classes of 2018-2025 from any ABA-accredited law school. 
  • Submission Criteria: Essays must be between 4,000 and 8,000 words, including footnotes. Each individual may submit only one Essay. Essays must be previously unpublished and may not be submitted to other law reviews during the competition period.
  • Submission Deadline: September 9, 2022.
  • Prize: Up to three winners will receive a $300 cash prize. Winning Essays will be published in the Yale Law Journal Forum and accessible on our website, LexisNexis, and Westlaw.

More details on the competition, including submission instructions, are available on our website here.