Environmental Law Clinic

Course Description

Fieldwork

The Environmental Law Clinic program emphasizes environmental litigation and advocacy from the public interest point of view. Clinic participants work under the supervision of attorneys at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Approximately 12 to 15 hours of work per week is required. This is a one-semester clinic that is offered in both the fall and the spring. Up to eight students per term are accepted for the clinic. Issues that students have worked on recently include: defending Presidential designations of National Monuments, securing information from recalcitrant federal agencies, challenging agency rollbacks of federal regulations, targeting lead contamination of drinking water, opposing construction of new fossil fuel pipelines, protecting fisheries and marine mammals, advancing policies related to sustainable food supplies, implementing regulations for stormwater pollution control, protecting environmental justice communities, safeguarding drinking water quality and advancing sustainable waste policies in the New York region.

The Seminar

The group meets for a two-hour session on Tuesdays from 3:40 pm to 5:40 pm. These sessions are devoted to discussion of environmental law practice, led by NRDC attorneys. At the seminars, speakers lead discussions on current issues in environmental law, as well as environmental lawyering skills, strategies and tactics. At one session, students participate in a moot court argument of a pending environmental case. Interested students can request a copy of this term's seminar schedule by contacting the professors via email.

Application Procedure

Applicants should submit their application, resume and transcript via the CAMS system. There will be no interview. Third- and second-year students will be considered, as will LL.M.s. Please note there is a separate application form for LL.M.s. The deadline is different from that for JDs, and is posted on the Clinic Application Timelines page. If you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact the professors.

Student Contacts

Students are encouraged to speak with current and former Clinic students listed below:

* Consult the Clinics Open to LL.M. Students page to see if the clinic is available to LL.M.s in the current year.

** 5 credits include 3 clinical credits and 2 academic seminar credits.