The State Bar of California Environmental Law Section is pleased to announce the availability of Environmental Law Fellowship opportunities for the summer of 2015. The Section's Environmental Law Fellowship was created to provide opportunities for law students to work in governmental and public-interest environmental law organizations in order to develop their interests and skills in the field of environmental law. Preference will be given to first and second year students; however, third-year students who are not taking the Bar exam during the summer will also be considered.

Fostering diversity in Section membership is one of the core objectives in the Environmental Law Section's Mission Statement. To that end, the Section encourages students from diverse backgrounds to become environmental lawyers and join the California environmental bar, with the goal that over time our Section membership will better reflect the diversity of all Californians.

The Fellowship:

• An 8-10 week internship as an Environmental Law Fellow for a participating government agency or a public

  interest organization in the field of environmental, energy, land use, or resources law, with a $5,000 stipend.

• Assignment of a mentor from the State Bar of California Environmental Law Section.

• Participation in State Bar of California and local Environmental Law Section events as may become

  available.

   

  Selection Criteria:

• Interest in environmental issues.

• Leadership qualities and ability.

• Academic record.

• Personal background that may have presented obstacles to accessing the legal profession (e.g., family

  financial hardship while growing up, being the first in one's family to go to college, pursuing one's education as a single parent, geographical circumstances that limited social interaction with lawyers such as coming from a rural or inner-city background, or other circumstances that could have limited a student's ability to access networks and connections within the legal profession).

   

  Eligibility Criteria:

• Open to all law students enrolled in public or private law schools interested in practicing environmental law

  in California.

• Law students must be members of the State Bar Environmental Law Section in order to participate in the

  Program. The State Bar allows law students up to three free one-year Section memberships; students who are not already members will be required to join the Environmental Law Section if they are selected for a Fellowship.

   

  Application Package:

• A completed application form. Application forms are available on the Environmental Law Section's website

  at http://environmental.calbar.ca.gov/EnvironmentalLaw/EnvironmentalLawFellowships.aspx.

• A resume.

• An undergraduate transcript.

• A law school transcript (except for first year law students).

• A personal statement (not to exceed 2 pages) describing the how the applicant meets the selection criteria.

• Two references, including one from a law school professor.

  Environmental Law Section Fellows will be selected based on the application materials and personal telephonic interviews by members of the selection committee. Applicants may also be interviewed by prospective employers.

  Instructions: Please send a completed application package, including the application form and additional required materials, to The State Bar of California, c/o Julie Martinez, 180 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

   

  Deadline: A complete application package must be received by February 2, 2015.

   

  For Additional Information Contact: Julie Martinez, Section Coordinator, The State Bar of California, 180 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA, 94105-1639, Phone: (415) 538-2523, [email protected].