The Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE), Berkeley Law environmental and energy law faculty, and other members of the Berkeley environmental community frequently recruit graduate students to assist with ongoing research. Research can often be done for pay (GSRs), for academic credit (297 or 298), or as pro bono hours.
Please contact us if you have a particular research interest. Open positions will be posted here periodically, including details about the type of research involved and the application process.
— Open Positions —
Administrative, Environmental, and Energy Law
Eric Biber
Professor Eric Biber is looking to hire research assistants for the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021. RAs can work on a range of projects in administrative, environmental, and energy law, including but not limited to: (1) policy responses to fire risks on public and private lands in California and the West; (2) a survey and analysis of the California Endangered Species Act and how to reform it to make it more effective; (3) research on whether competition among states for business adversely affects state environmental laws and enforcement; (4) designing environmental laws and regulations to make them resilient to changes in political outcomes; (5) research on local and state land-use regulation in California and its impacts on housing production and costs; (6) research on the environmental regulations being developed by California for the state’s newly legalized marijuana industry; and (7) research on the optimal sequencing of climate policy to facilitate aggressive and resilient policy responses to climate change . RAs will have some choice as to which projects they will work on.
RAs can work for credit (as a 297 class). Commitments are expected to be between 5-10 hours/week. Students can receive 297 credit (1 credit for every 4 hours/week of work). Prior experience or coursework in environmental law is preferred, but not required.
Please contact Professor Eric Biber if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief statement of interest).
California Climate Research
Fan Dai
The California-China Climate Institute is looking to hire three research assistants for fall 2020 for policy research on the following topics:
- California’s 2045 Carbon Neutral Goal and Policies
- Low-carbon transportation and zero emission vehicles
- Carbon pricing
- Climate adaptation and resilience
- Sustainable land use and climate-smart agriculture
- Carbon capture and storage
The position will involve 4-8 hours of work per week. Students can receive 297 credit (1 credit for every 4 hours/week of work) or pay. Prior experience or coursework in environmental law and/or policy is preferred, but not required.
Please contact Fan Dai if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief statement of interest).
Developing an Environmental Rollbacks Schematic
Ken Alex
CLEE is compiling all environmental rollbacks during the Trump administration and evaluating whether and how those rollbacks might be rescinded, looking at different approaches, strategies, and legal arguments. This will develop into a prioritized list of actions that the next administration could take. We are seeking a student to research factors related to the importance of each rollback and research and evaluate legal strategies for rescission. This work is being done in conjunction with experts at Earthjustice, the Environmental Law Institute, private practice attorneys, and others.
Research can be completed for pay (GSR) or for 297 credit (1 credit = 4 hrs/wk).
Please contact Ken Alex and Jordan Diamond if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief statement of interest).
Fall Research Assistant – Reparations
Claudia Polsky
Professor Claudia Polsky seeks a fall research assistant who is available 6 hours per week to assist with research on reparations in theory and practice, viewed through the lenses of both racial and environmental justice. The research will inform teaching/presentations/writing on reparations-related topics, including reparations for land and natural resource dispossession of Native Americans, and of Black farmers. Students interested in racial and environmental justice, indigenous rights, and food security would be well suited for this project.
Please contact Professor Polsky directly by August 21 if interested.
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Promoting Environmental Justice
Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger, LLP
Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger, LLP, a San Francisco law firm representing community groups and public agencies in environmental, land use, and municipal law matters, funds one semester-long, student-led research project each academic year. To qualify, the project must investigate existing or cutting edge legal or policy tools at the California local/regional level aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Preference will be given to proposals that simultaneously address the promotion of environmental justice in disproportionally impacted communities. The application must propose a final work product, which may include a white paper, detailed research summary, and/or presentation (accompanied by written materials) in a relevant classroom or other academic setting.
Prior environmental law course experience is preferred. Position is paid, and would involve 4-6 hours per week.
Please contact Jordan Diamond if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief description of proposed project).
— Closed Positions —
Digital Economy & the Environment
Jordan Diamond
The rapid adoption and acceleration of the use of digital technologies is transforming the way we access and process information and live our daily lives, impacting the global economy and our social dynamics. These dramatic technological and social changes also have important environmental and energy implications. This initiative focuses on stimulating technical and policy research focused on ensuring maximum environmental and social benefit and minimal harm (e.g., increasing environmental footprint, algorithmic bias, etc) in conjunction with these new platforms. This fall, the GSR will focus on identifying and analyzing cutting-edge research and helping foment cross-disciplinary conversation and collaboration.
Students can receive 297 credit (1 credit for every 4 hours/week of work), or pay.
Please contact Jordan Diamond if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief statement of interest).
Offshore Wind
Jordan Diamond
CLEE’s Ocean Program is working to ensure the nascent California offshore wind industry is sustainable and equitable. The industry is still being proposed and is not yet entrenched, providing an opportunity to implement holistic and inclusive planning processes. We are looking for a student to assist with a convening, stakeholder survey, and summary report that discusses the key opportunities, concerns, and challenges associated with offshore wind in California.
Students can receive 297 credit (1 credit for every 4 hours/week of work), or pay.
Please contact Jordan Diamond if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief statement of interest).
Law 298 Group Project (Fall 2020/Spring 2021)
Environmental Justice and COVID-19: Disproportionate Risks and Impacts
Dan Farber, Ted Lamm, Nell Green Nylen
The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting environmentally and socio-economically disadvantaged communities. But the broader connections between COVID-19 and environmental justice—including both near-term and long-term impacts to communities’ health and prosperity in a changed (and changing) world—are only just emerging. Students in this two-semester group project will research these connections, identify the data that support them, and build a public resource for cross-cutting pandemic and environmental justice information. During fall semester, law students will research, analyze, and discuss the intersection between environmental justice, environmental health, and COVID-19 and prepare a preliminary plan for research and database creation in the Spring semester. During spring semester, students from the School of Public Health and Goldman School of Public Policy will join law students in a collaborative effort to co-develop an original, dynamic database tool or map-based resource to support future policy analysis. Although the project would benefit from continuity, students do not need to commit to participating in the spring in order to participate in the fall.
Credits: 1 unit
Meeting times: Tuesdays, 2-3 pm
Instructors: Dan Farber (faculty supervisor); Ted Lamm and Nell Green Nylen (project managers)
If you are interested in contributing to this project, please contact Ted and Nell (tlamm@law.berkeley.edu & ngre
ClimateBreak – Business Plan Development
Ethan Elkind
CLEE is seeking to hire a Business School grad student to help design a marketing plan for a UC Berkeley-based climate change solutions radio program, podcast, and website called Climate Break. The program (which features 90 second radio spots on climate solutions twice a week) is in start-up mode. We need help developing a plan for outreach and marketing to radio stations, on social media, in podcast format, and for the website, as well as to market to UC Berkeley students.
The position will be about six hours a week, and is available for pay.
Please contact Ethan Elkind if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief statement of interest).
ClimateBreak – Podcast Production
Ethan Elkind
CLEE is seeking to hire Journalism School students to help produce a UC Berkeley-based radio show and podcast for a climate change solutions radio program, podcast, and website called Climate Break. The program (which features 90 second radio spots on climate solutions twice a week) is in start-up mode. Students can participate in all aspects of program and podcast development and production, including topic selection, script writing, and audio editing.
The position will be about six hours a week, and is available for pay.
Please contact Ethan Elkind if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief statement of interest).
ClimateBreak – Climate Solutions Legal Research
Ethan Elkind
CLEE is seeking to hire a law student to help develop content for a UC Berkeley-based climate change solutions radio program, podcast, and website called Climate Break. The program (which features 90 second radio spots on climate solutions twice a week) is in start-up mode. We need substantive content and research on climate solutions and some legal research for climate solutions that are legal in nature or face legal challenge (for example, using Clean Air Act section 115 to set emission standards).
Students can receive 297 credit (1 credit for every 4 hours/week of work), or pay.
Please contact Ethan Elkind if you have any questions, would like to discuss, or to apply (resume, unofficial transcript, and brief statement of interest).