Environmental Law Clinic

About the clinic: Our San Francisco location is a hub for environmental law practice, with top private and public law firms, state and federal government offices, and NGOs just steps away from campus. This area of the law is evolving quickly, creating a strong need for lawyers with on-the-ground experience to help shape policy and ensure that governments, businesses, and private citizens comply with existing environmental laws.

One way that UC Law SF students gain this experience is through the Environmental Law Clinic, where you could find yourself working with the California Attorney General’s Natural Resources Law Section, the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission, the Center for Biological Diversity, or any of dozens of other federal, state, or non-profit litigation and advocacy organizations with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Open to: 4th, 5th or 6th semester JD students, LLM students and MSL students; spring semester only.

6-7 units: 2-unit class component and 4- or 5-unit fieldwork component, both graded pass-fail. (4 units of fieldwork for 16 hours/week; 5 units for 20 hours/week)

Prerequisites: Completion of any two of the courses listed in the course catalog under the Environmental Law Concentration as required courses or qualifying electives.

Classroom Component: Meets for three hours one evening per week.

Fieldwork Component: Students are expected to work a minimum of 16 hours per week in placements. Students may apply to any of the recognized placements or seek approval for a new placement; enrollment in the Clinic is contingent upon receiving an offer. Students are required to begin their externship fieldwork the first week, or, if necessary, the second week of classes.

Faculty: The class component is taught by Prof. Brent Plater, the Associate Chief Counsel at the California Energy Commission.

More information about application and enrollment available on the Sharknet site.