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.

Learning Outcomes

In this Clinic, students develop fundamental lawyering skills in several key areas. All students leave the Clinic having secured enhanced skills in factual investigation. Throughout the semester, the students perform wide-ranging factual research as part of case development, legislative drafting, and administrative proceeding activities. Second, the Clinic endeavors to strengthen student problem-solving skills. The Clinic focuses on working to solve real-world concerns of clients facing environmental challenges and harms.  Third, Clinic students sharpen their skills in the areas of negotiation and collaboration by working with broad-based community organizations and developing consensus positions among stakeholder groups. Students may also participate in negotiating sessions with government officials and industry representatives who frequently have opposing positions.  In addition, every student receives intensive support in legal research and writing, including detailed, individualized feedback on student research and drafting assignments.

Finally, the Clinic places a high priority on cross cultural competence. Clinical seminars frequently discuss the disparate impacts of environmental problems on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. And in the course of the students’ clinical advocacy, they often work directly with diverse allies and community groups. Related to this, the Clinic emphasizes the ability to both recognize and address racism in the legal system. The topic of “environmental justice” is often discussed in the weekly seminars as well as embedded in the individual student-clinician’s work.

Student Contacts

Students are encouraged to speak with the 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.