HARVARD LAW SCHOOL invites applications for a full-time clinical faculty member who will also serve as faculty director of the Law School’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. The faculty appointment may be a Clinical Professor of Law, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, or Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, depending on the candidate’s amount and type of experience.

The Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic

The Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School offers students the opportunity to practice environmental law through work on a variety of litigation, administrative, legislative, and policy projects. The Clinic works with scientists, medical professionals, nonprofit and public interest organizations, and government clients on environmental and energy issues at the federal, state, and local level. The Clinic will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program to identify and advance solutions to environmental problems and train future leaders. 

The work includes writing briefs and comment letters, drafting climate change mitigation and adaptation regulations and policies for municipalities, preparing guidance documents and manuals for non-lawyers, drafting model legislation, and preparing policy papers. The Clinic develops novel strategies to address complex environmental problems; investigates new cases; works with scientific, economic, and policy experts to help them present their views about the impacts of legal reforms; advises citizen scientists; and convenes meetings of policy-makers and regulators.

Some students work off-campus with government agencies and nonprofit organizations, while others work on-campus on cutting-edge projects and case work under the supervision of the Clinic’s faculty and staff.

Role and Responsibilities

The Director will work with clinic staff and students to manage the legal work and operations of the Clinic. The Director will supervise clinical instructional fellows and/or clinical instructors and administrative staff and will have primary responsibility for identifying and leading various projects and initiatives of the clinic. The Director will also teach or co-teach clinical courses relating to the work of the Clinic and may have the opportunity to teach additional courses at the Law School. 

The Director will have the opportunity to coordinate with the faculty directors and executive director of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program to pursue programming and initiatives of mutual interest to the Clinic and Program, and of benefit to HLS students. The two enterprises, together with the Law School’s course offerings on related topics, comprise HLS’s larger environmental law program.

The Director will also have the opportunity to pursue complementary initiatives with other, related HLS clinics and programs, including the Animal Law Program and Food Law and Policy Clinic.

Qualifications

Applicants must have a J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school, admission to the Massachusetts bar or eligibility to practice and supervise students under S.J.C. Rule 3:04 while pursuing admission, a distinguished academic record, and a minimum of five years of practice experience in environmental law and policy. Applicants must also have substantial experience in the training, teaching, or mentoring of junior lawyers or law students, with clinical teaching experience a plus.

Applicants should have a track record of deep experience with law practice and engagement with public interest lawyering — in particular, with issues relating to environmental law, regulation, and policy — whether in a law school clinic, a nongovernmental organization, or a government agency. Some experience with clinical legal education and a deep interest in clinical pedagogy and education are also clearly important. (Depending upon, among other things, the extent of past clinical teaching experience, this position may be filled as a Clinical Professor of Law, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, or Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor of Law.)

Applicants should also have excellent oral and written communication skills and the patience and ability to explain complex material in a clear manner to students with little to no legal experience. The role requires exceptionally strong personal skills and an ability to guide students’ management of projects, development of lawyering skills, and representation of clients using non-directive clinical teaching techniques.

To apply, please send a letter of interest, a resume, and a list of three or more references to Harvard Law School Clinical Committee, c/o Christopher T. Bavitz; email address: clinicalhiring@law.harvard.edu. Please write "Emmett Environmental Clinic Application” in the subject line of the email.

The application period will be open until January 31, 2022. Only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. The successful candidate will be expected to begin work no later than July 1, 2022.

Harvard Law School is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, disability, gender, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other prohibited category. We strongly encourage women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, and all qualified persons to apply for this position.