earthrightsinternational

earthrightsinternational

U.S. Climate Resilience & Environmental Justice Fall Legal Intern

Washington, District of Columbia, United States · Intern · Internship

No sponsorshipDetected 5 hours ago
SpringResearchCommunicationMentoringWriting

About the role

  • Description: EarthRights' U.S. Climate Resilience & Environmental Justice Fall Legal Interns are law students able to work full-time or part-time for at least 10-12 weeks during the fall semester.
  • For over two decades, EarthRights has worked alongside marginalized communities globally to use innovative legal strategies to hold entities accountable for disregarding human rights and the environment.
  • Applications may be considered on a rolling basis but students are encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible.

Responsibilities

  • EarthRights recently launched the U.S. Climate Resilience & Environmental Justice Project (CREJP) to support marginalized communities on the frontlines of climate change and environmental harms to build resilience and hold government, companies, and financial institutions accountable.
  • We work closely with our community partners to identify and use appropriate tools - including litigation, non-judicial mechanisms, campaigning, policy advocacy, and media strategies - to achieve their goals.
  • Under close supervision and mentorship from experienced attorneys and staff, interns engage in projects that emphasize skill-building rather than routine staff work.
  • Intern activities may include legal research and writing, factual research, observing and supporting advocacy strategy development, and participating in meetings with community leaders and civil society partners.
  • Interns do not independently represent EarthRights or perform work that would otherwise be assigned to regular staff.

Requirements

  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in teams and coalitions
  • Ability to handle sensitive client relationships and protect the confidentiality of our work and our communications
  • A background or experience in environmental law, civil rights law, corporate accountability, and/or Indigenous peoples' rights
  • Experience working with environmental justice communities, Indigenous communities, or grassroots organizations
  • Law students may be J.D. or LL.M. students, but must have at least one year of U.S. legal training by the time of the internship.
  • Our expertise is in supporting community struggles against powerful entities, aligning litigation strategies with community accountability goals to shift power dynamics and challenging systems of impunity.

Compensation

  • ERI is unable to provide a salary, stipend, or housing assistance, but will work with you to arrange course credit or a stipend through your school

Benefits

  • ERI is unable to provide a salary, stipend, or housing assistance, but will work with you to arrange course credit or a stipend through your school
  • CREJP Legal Interns participate in a structured educational internship designed to provide hands-on learning and professional development in community-centered lawyering and advocacy.
  • Interns work closely with members of the CREJP team and other EarthRights International attorneys as part of a supervised learning experience that complements their academic coursework and career interests.

Equal opportunity

  • equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices, and actively encourages people of color, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQI people to apply.

This listing is sourced directly from earthrightsinternational's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.