The Environmental Law Clinic (ELC) provides students with hands-on experience in administrative agency practice, litigation, legislation, and policymaking on behalf of real-world clients, aiming to:
- make students creative and effective environmental lawyers
- address the environmental legal needs of underserved communities
- make an environmental difference
The clinic focuses on environmental health and environmental justice.
Course structure
Students enroll concurrently for four units of clinical fieldwork and a two-unit seminar. The classroom component combines substantive law relevant to clinic projects with skills training such as oral advocacy and legislative strategy, discussion of legal ethics, and exploration of the many roles and practice contexts for environmental lawyers. Project work is typically done in teams. Students meet regularly with clients and clinic staff to discuss progress and next steps, and wherever possible, take field trips to project sites.