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Clinics

Environmental Law Clinic

L02.2510 / 2517
Professor Sarah Chasis
Professor Eric Goldstein
Open to 3L (preferred) and 2L students
Maximum of 8 students
Fall and Spring semesters
5 credits*
No prerequisites or co-requisites.

Course Description

Fieldwork
The Environmental Law Clinic program emphasizes environmental policy and litigation from the public interest point of view. Clinic participants will work under the supervision of attorneys at the Natural Resources Defense Council. 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. A maximum of eight students per term are generally accepted for the clinic. Typical issues that students have worked on recently include: protection of New York City's drinking water, fisheries crisis, energy efficiency, global warming, water pollution, and environmental justice litigation.

The Seminar
The group meets for a two-hour session on Wednesdays from 5:05 pm to 6:55 pm. These sessions are devoted to discussion of environmental law practice, led by NRDC attorneys and visiting experts. 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 will be given a copy of the term's current seminar schedule by contacting the clinic's support person, Renata Silberblatt, via email or at 212-727-4564.

Application Procedure

Applicants should submit their application, resume and transcript via the CAMS system. Applicants are interviewed at the NRDC's offices, 40 West 20th Street. Ms. Silberblatt will contact students to arrange an interview with either Professor Chasis or Goldstein. While third-year students are preferred, second-year students will be considered. If you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact Ms. Silberblatt.

Student Contacts

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

Fall 2008 Spring 2009
Stephanie Aronzon
Joshua Bernstein
Ted Cardos
David Frankel
Maron Greenleaf
Melissa Krenzel Lang
Joseph Richie
Kenneth Rock
Jennifer Rosen
Jessica Almy
Jacob Beinecke
Lisa Bennett
Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz
Aaron Love
Sheldon Welton
Kristina Miles
Margot Pollans

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

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