1Ls can now apply to be an Earthrise Summer 2020 Clerk!
All applications must be received on or before March 2nd at 5 pm by Tom Buchele.
Earthrise Law Center is now accepting applications from current 1Ls—or anyone who has already completed more than 16 credits of course work—for its summer of 2020 clerkship program.
There are a few different ways to enroll or be hired as a summer clerk with Earthrise, but the work and responsibilities will be the same.
First, you can be hired by Earthrise as a paid intern. A student can also combine a paid internship with a paid 2-4 week internship funded by a PILP stipend. Because Earthrise has limited funding for summer intern salaries, Earthrise will encourage all successful internship applicants to also seek PILP funding or funding from other sources. If students obtain such funding it will take the place of the student’s salary from Earthrise for some or all of the summer.
Second, students can also apply to be a paid extern that while additionally receiving academic credit. Earthrise will pay all its summer clerks $16 per hour. Students should indicate in their application whether they prefer an internship, or an externship that also includes academic credit.
All applying students should indicate whether they are work-study eligible. Earthrise receives a work-study grant each year and does expect students who are work-study eligible to be paid, at least in part, with work-study funds.
Earthrise’s summer clerks’ responsibilities include assisting Earthrise clinical professors and staff attorneys in all aspects of public interest environmental litigation, including legal research, drafting pleadings and motions, participating in negotiations, and potentially court appearances. Earthrise is looking for applicants with strong research and writing skills and a demonstrated interest in public interest environmental law. Summer clerks will be expected to work a minimum of ten weeks, forty hours per week. Work schedules will be flexible, allowing for vacations and long weekends. Note also that Earthrise has a staff attorney based in Massachusetts, and it may be possible for the extern or intern also to be based in Massachusetts.
Each application should include a cover letter indicating your preference for an externship or internship and explaining your interest in working at Earthrise. For purposes of evaluating conflicts, please also complete the Earthrise conflicts form. Along with your cover letter and completed conflicts form your application must also include your current resume, a transcript (unofficial is fine), and maximum 10-page writing sample.
If possible please combine these documents into one PDF file. Do not send hard copies to Earthrise. Please e-mail Tom with any questions. Interested 1Ls should submit their applications electronically to Tom Buchele, Earthrise Co-Director at tbuchele@lclark.edu. All applications must be received on or before March 2nd at 5 pm. Tom will acknowledge his receipt of all applications via e-mail.
Becoming an Earthrise summer extern requires an additional step in the application process. Students first must apply directly to Earthrise. After Earthrise accepts their applications, students seeking an externship will then apply for their externships through the Career Services Office. Earthrise will assist those accepted students with the Career Services externship application process, but before applying to Earthrise students interested in externships should review Lewis & Clark’s general externship requirements to be sure they qualify. See http://law.lclark.edu/offices/career_services/externships/.
