Externship or Pro Bono, DC

Earthjustice is now accepting applications for a full-time pro bono attorney or externship position for Fall 2011 only in its Washington, D.C. office. This position is designed for a deferred/furloughed associate (with outside compensation) or a current or recent law student (with academic credit or academic fellowship) seeking the opportunity to work for a short-term period of 3 months or more on a variety of environmental litigation projects.

Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the earth's natural resources and defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. Originally founded as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in 1971, Earthjustice has been involved in many of the nation's most important environmental battles and has established valuable precedents in cases involving air and water quality, endangered species, forestry, public lands, and international environmental law.

Earthjustice's Washington, D.C., office serves both as a regional office for issues arising in the mid-Atlantic states, and as a center for litigation on important national environmental issues.

The Washington office's docket currently includes litigation to: protect public health and the environment from air pollution; prompt the regulation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; protect streams, wetlands, drinking water supplies, and other waters from pollution and outright destruction; compel the federal government to improve its management and protection of our ocean resources; and challenge the federal government's practice of allowing mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachians. For more information about the office's work, visit: http://www.earthjustice.org/about/offices/dc.

Responsibilities: Pro bono attorneys and externs will participate in a wide range of tasks that may include preparing briefs and motions; meeting with clients and experts; conducting case investigation, legal research, and discovery; performing administrative advocacy; and screening potential new cases.

Qualifications: Qualifications for the position include a demonstrated commitment to environmental protection, excellent research skills, a solid academic record, and a strong work ethic. Significant knowledge of environmental and administrative law will be a definite plus.  We also value initiative, creative thinking, and the ability to work collegially with others. Applications welcome from deferred/furloughed associates and from current or recent law students with academic credit or academic fellowship. There is no available compensation, salary or benefits for pro bono attorneys or externs.