Georgetown University Law School -Environmental Law & Justice Clinic (the “ELJC”) -Clinical Teaching Fellow
Georgetown’s Environmental Law & Justice Clinic (the “ELJC”) conducts public interest legal work on behalf of underserved clients in the areas of environmental protection and justice, pollution control, climate change, and natural resources. The Clinic is an immersive and multi-modal experience, exposing students to the broad range of work in which environmental attorneys engage. We teach students key lawyering and advocacy skills through work on live cases that are excellent learning vehicles. Our case load involves a mix of regulatory work, litigation-related matters, and other advisory projects. The ELJC advocates on behalf of groups ranging in size from small community groups and neighborhoods to Indigenous Communities, to environmental or public justice organizations.
The students work in the Clinic nearly full time and receive 10 academic credits for their project work and for their participation in the Environmental Law & Justice Clinic Seminar four hours a week. The students work on projects under the supervision of a Clinical Teaching Fellow/Supervising Attorney and faculty member. Our Clinic seminars address various substantive fields of law such as administrative practice and environmental justice, lawyering skills (including client-facing, internal collaboration, and external advocacy-related skills), topics on professional responsibility, and also consist of team project presentations regarding issues that have arisen in a representation and moots of client meetings.
Description of The Fellowship
The two-year Fellowship is an ideal position for an environmental and/or environmental justice lawyer interested in transitioning into legal academia and developing teaching and supervisory abilities in a setting that emphasizes a dual commitment—clinical education of law students and law employed in the public interest.
The Fellow will have several areas of responsibility, with an increasing role as the Fellowship progresses. Over the course of the Fellowship, the Fellow will:
• Supervise students’ day-to-day clinical projects, working closely with the students on improving their lawyering skills, especially legal research, writing, and analysis. Much of the supervising attorney's time is spent: guiding students in conducting legal and factual research; reviewing student drafts; offering suggestions for improvement as well as highlighting what students have done well and should replicate; and preparing the students for oral presentations. Fellows are expected to give and receive formal and informal feedback in timely, constructive, respectful ways;
• Take responsibility for their own case load as necessary;
• Share responsibility for designing and teaching seminar sessions;
• Take an active role in project/case development and assist with administrative and case handling responsibilities of the Clinic;
• Participate in a clinical pedagogy seminar and other activities designed to support an interest in clinical teaching and legal education.
This Fellowship offers an opportunity to work on critically important, often cutting-edge matters. Fellows also participate in a clinical pedagogy seminar and other activities designed to support an interest in clinical teaching and legal education. Fellows get first-hand experience in teaching, clinical supervision, and deep knowledge of pedagogical philosophy and course design. Fellows can also receive substantial guidance on scholarly projects—including development, writing, and presentation of scholarship—and on entering the teaching market. Successful completion of the Fellowship results in the award of an L.L.M. in Advocacy from Georgetown University. The Fellowship start date is July 1, 2026-August 1, 2026 and the Fellowship is for two years, ending June 30-July 31, 2028.
Fellows receive an annual stipend of $70,000 the first year and $75,000 the second year plus an opportunity to participate in group health insurance and other benefits, and all tuition and fees in the LL.M. program. As full-time students, Fellows qualify for deferment of their student loans. In addition, Fellows may be eligible for loan repayment assistance from their law schools.
Qualifications
Applicants must have: at least three years of post-J.D. work experience in domestic environmental law and/or environmental justice; exceptional legal research, writing and communications skills; commitment to creating a supportive, hospitable learning environment and commitment to exhibiting emotional intelligence. Experience with litigation is valuable but not necessary, as is experience in helping others improve their legal writing, research, and analytical skills. Applicants must be admitted or be able to be admitted to the D.C. Bar within 6 months of entering the Fellowship.
Application Process
Please submit a cover letter, resume/CV, official or unofficial law school transcript, and three references with contact information (we will only contact references following second-round interviews). Candidates selected for an interview will be asked to share a writing sample that is no longer than 10 pages and not significantly edited by someone else. Please address your letter of interest to Professor Sara Colangelo, Georgetown Law, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20001, and submit application materials through Interfolio, found here. https://apply.interfolio.com/180027
Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis through February 20th.