2025 Sustainable Food and Farming Program Clerkship

Description Earthjustice’s Sustainable Food and Farming Program engages in litigation and advocacy to improve our nation’s food system, from crop selection and farming practices to food processing and sustainability. Working in partnership with communities, advocacy groups, scientists, and others, we fight for safe and healthy food, climate-friendly farming, reduced reliance on dangerous pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and animal farms—not animal factories. We take on cases with regional and national scope.

About Us

Founded in 1971, Earthjustice is now the premier nonprofit environmental law organization in the U.S. with approximately 575 staff nationwide and 15 offices located strategically across the country . We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health; preserve magnificent places and wildlife; advance clean energy; and combat climate change. We partner with thousands of groups and supporters to take on the biggest, most precedent-setting cases across the country and have a distinguished track record of achieving significant, lasting environmental protections. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.

Earthjustice’s work is currently divided into three major areas:

• Lands, Wildlife, and Oceans focuses on cases that protect endangered species, national forests, national parks, other public lands, water resources, and the oceans.
• Healthy Communities focuses on cases that protect public health, prevent air and water pollution, and curb exposures to toxic chemicals, particularly in disproportionately impacted communities. Recently, our healthy communities work has also begun to promote sustainable food and agriculture and the rights of farm workers.
• Climate and Energy focuses on cases that encourage the swift and just transition to clean energy while challenging the reliance on coal, oil, and other dirty fuels.

We welcome all interested law students from across the country to apply for a summer law clerk position. We expect that students will work proximate to or in an office where the program is located. In some limited instances, an office may hire clerks to work in an area that is outside that team ’ s geographic area, but still proximate to an Earthjustice office.

Responsibilities

Summer Law Clerks will h ave the opportunity to work with several attorneys on case development and litigation strategy . Students may draft pleadings and briefs, do legal research, develop strategy and legal theories, gather evidence, and attend client meetings and court proceedings. Earthjustice’s summer law clerk program also includes various programmatic offerings, such as in-person and virtual seminars with attorneys and guest speakers on current environmental issues, interactions with other local and regional environmental groups , and a job interview workshop .

Compensation

Earthjustice summer law clerkships are paid positions. The total stipend amount will be dependent on any external funding a student secures , such as through their law school’s summer funding program . Earthjustice will provide a one-time stipend at the start of the clerkship in the amount of $1, 319 .00 per week , minus the total amount received from any other sources and applicable taxes . The summer law clerkship is designed to be 10 weeks long at full-time hours ( 37.5 hours /week).

You are welcome to pursue outside funding. The ability to secure outside funding will not be considered as part of the hiring process.

How To Apply

Eligibility: C andidates must be enrolled in a U.S. law school through fall 2025 (i.e., not graduating before December 2025) and be available to commit ten weeks during summer 2025 . Summer law clerks must work from the U.S. during their clerkship.

INSTRUCTIONS

Interested candidates should submit the ir complete application via Jobvite by 5:00pm PT on September 2, 2024 . Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Each Earthjustice litigation team participates in clerk hiring; candidates may submit applications to whichever and however many litigation teams they are interested. Please be prepared to respond to our September follow-up e-mail, requesting your ranked choice of the teams for which you have applied. Do not include such rankings within your Jobvite application.

Application Materials Requested

Resume.

Cover letter that addresses:

(1) relevant aspects of your background that are not apparent or fully explained in your resume;

(2) why you are drawn to Earthjustice’s mission and the litigation teams for which you are applying; and

(3) whether there are particular environmental or public interest issues that inspire you.

Additional documents (select “Add Files” in Jobvite):

• (1) A recent legal writing sample of no more than 10 pages that primarily reflects your work. Please include a cover page indicating the extent to which your writing sample reflects edits and feedback from others.
• (2) Unofficial transcript.
• Finalists will be asked to submit two references; these may be law school faculty or legal professional, clinical, or volunteer supervisors.

RESOURCES

While identical applications for each team will be considered, we recommend tailoring your cover letter to describe why you are interested in that specific team. Additional information about our hiring process and tips for success can be found at https://earthjustice.org/about/jobs/hiring-process .

If you experience any technical difficulties or require any accommodations throughout the hiring process, please contact us at [email protected] . No phone calls, drop-ins, or hard copies.