Summer 2021 Nature Program Legal Internship

Overview:The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our staff helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our staff of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and internationally from our offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Santa Monica; San Francisco; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing.Position Summary:  NRDC is seeking a legal intern to work with the Nature Program’s Dirty Energy Team in our Washington, DC office. This legal internship will support the Nature Program’s legal and advocacy work pertaining to federal fossil fuel regulation and policy and public lands defense. This work includes protecting public lands, wild places, and communities from the impacts of fossil fuel development utilizing advocacy, administrative processes, and litigation. Please note that this internship will include a variety of responsibilities, such as legal research, data analysis, and legislative and policy analysis.Responsibilities:The legal intern selected for this position will perform legal research and writing to support litigation and policy advocacy, in collaboration with and under the supervision of a NRDC lawyer. The Dirty Energy Team works on a range of issues pertaining to fossil fuel transportation and development, climate change, and public lands and endangered species defense. Once the internship is complete, the legal intern will have a working understanding of the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Endangered Species Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.  Specific assignments depend on immediate priorities and needs and can include:Research on legal, factual, legislative, and policy issues relevant to the Nature Program’s Dirty Energy Team advocacy; andLegal research and drafting of memoranda on topics researched for use in existing or prospective litigation.Qualifications:You should be in your second or third year of a J.D. program, or in an advanced legal degree (such as an L.L.M.) program. You should have a strong academic record; well-developed writing, research, and interpersonal skills; and a demonstrated interest in and commitment to public service work or environmental and public health issues.  This is an unpaid internship, so candidates must be eligible to receive academic credit in conjunction with the internship, and would be available to work remotely, while based out of the NRDC’s Washington, D.C. office for a minimum of two full business days each week over the course of the summer term (beginning in June and ending before the start of fall quarter). Full-time interns are welcome provided that they can be working remotely for 35 hours a week.  We will work with interns to help them claim any available academic credit.    NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming a diversity of voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically underrepresented in the environmental movement. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and commensurate with skills and experience. This is an unpaid internship for college credit.To apply, please visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your resume and cover letter through our online portal. We would like you to upload any additional papers or project work that you think would showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of resumes, only qualified candidates will be contacted. Please no phone calls, emails, faxes, or in-person resume drop-offs. Please reference where you saw this posting. NRDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.If you are having technical difficulty while applying, or if you are a person with a disability and you need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care by dialing 1-800-889-4422.For further information about NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org.