Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic Fellowship
The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC) at Vermont Law School invites applications for a two-year graduate fellowship. The fellowship combines the opportunity to obtain an LLM in Environmental Law from one of the leading environmental law programs in the nation with the opportunity to work with experienced environmental practitioners in a clinical setting with a public interest focus. The fellowship includes a full tuition waiver and a stipend to cover living expenses.
Nature of the Fellowship
In addition to pursuing an LLM in environmental law, ENRLC fellows work as “staff attorneys” in the clinic under the supervision of ENRLC faculty. Fellows take on significant responsibilities with regard to litigation and are asked to take the lead attorney role in at least one major case. In this role, fellows are the primary contact with clients and take the lead in developing and implementing litigation strategy and goals.
For example, during the 2005-2007 period, the fellow played a lead role in a complex federal environmental case representing a group of Passamaquoddy tribal members in Pleasant Point, Maine, who are challenging the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs’ approval of a long-term lease authorizing construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal. In this capacity, the fellow drafted and filed court pleadings, counseled clients, negotiated with Department of Justice attorneys, presented oral argument in federal district court for the District of Maine, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and managed a team of student clinicians throughout the case period.
Our current fellow is taking a significant role in the Omya groundwater contamination case representing Residents Concerned about Omya, a grassroots citizens group whose members are residents iiving near or adjacent to Omya, Incorporated’s calcium carbonate mineral processing facility in Florence, Vermont. The members of Residents Concerned About Omya asked the clinic for assistance after the State of Vermont ignored their concerns about Omya’s operational practices. The residents were fearful that harmful chemicals were leaching into their drinking water wells as a result of Omya’s improper and unregulated disposal practices.
Fellows may also participate in a teaching practicum in which they assist clinic faculty in teaching student clinicians. The teaching practicum offers opportunities to teach in both a traditional classroom setting for the clinic’s weekly seminar class and in a clinical role as a supervising attorney for students working on cases.
LLM in Environmental Law
The LLM in Environmental Law degree is designed for a select group of post-JD candidates seeking to specialize in the practice of environmental law, or pursue careers in teaching, research, or public policy. Candidates include recent law school graduates and practicing lawyers who wish to develop an environmental law specialty. The cornerstone of the LLM program is the Graduate Seminar. A minimum of 30 academic credits are required to complete the program. For the ENRLC fellow, this thirty credit program is spread over two years. Vermont Law School’s environmental law curriculum includes more than fifty courses in environmental law, policy, science, and ethics. For more information about the LLM in Environmental Law degree program, please visit our LLM Degree pages.
Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic
The mission of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic is three-fold:
- To provide a high quality, skills-based educational experience for law students to learn how to become competent, ethical attorneys with expertise in the field of environmental and natural resources law.
- To provide pro bono representation for individuals and organizations who would otherwise not have access to legal services.
- To ensure that laws protecting health and the environment are properly interpreted, implemented, and enforced to prevent and abate environmental problems, and to conserve and restore natural resources for the benefit of this and future generations.
State, regional, and national organizations and community groups in need of competent, creative legal assistance on significant environmental problems provide projects. Projects handled by ENRLC student clinicians primarily involve litigation. Cases range across the major federal and state environmental laws.
The clinic was successful on behalf of several conservation clients in challenging a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reduce protections for gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act. We are currently litigating a case in federal court in Vermont under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) alleging that a mineral processing facility is violating the RCRA prohibition on open dumping. As noted above, we also have a case in federal court in Maine challenging a federal decision to approve the lease for a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Passamaquoddy Tribe’s Pleasant Point Reservation. We are also appearing before the Vermont Environmental Court, representing the Connecticut River Watershed Council, in a challenge to a permit allowing the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant to discharge heated water into the Connecticut River.
Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions cited briefs filed by the ENRLC. Rapanos v. United States involved the extent of Clean Water Act jurisdiction over wetlands. The Court issued a split decision with Justice Anthony Kennedy casting the deciding vote and citing the clinic’s brief in his concurring opinion. In deciding S.D. Warren Co. v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection, the Court cited the clinic’s brief for its discussion of the water quality impacts of dams.
For more information about the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, please visit us online.
Fellowship Qualifications
Qualifications for the ENRLC LLM Fellowship include:
- admission to the LLM in Environmental Law degree program
- demonstrated commitment to environmental and/or public interest law
- prior work experience and/or course work in environmental law
- strong legal writing and communications skills
Clinical fellows must be members of or have applied to be members of the Vermont Bar.
How To Apply
While the ENRLC is not currently accepting applications, please let us know if you are interested in the fellowship program.
When we invite applications, ENRLC Applicants for the fellowship should submit the following:
- résumé
- two letters of recommendation from law school professors or attorneys who are familiar with the candidate’s work
- a recent writing sample
- a brief statement (not longer than one single-spaced page) explaining the candidate’s interest in the fellowship
Please send application materials to:
Monica Litzelman
Attn: LLM Clinical Fellowship
Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic
Vermont Law School
PO Box 96
South Royalton, VT 05068
For more information, please email mlitzelman@vermontlaw.edu.
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