NRDC - Yale Environmental Justice Legal Fellow

Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. • Washington, DC

5d • $94,500 - $105,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

NRDC and Yale Law School are hiring an Environmental Justice Legal Fellow for a two-year fellowship starting in August 2027. For the first year, through August 2028, the Fellow will work at NRDC within its Environment, Equity & Justice Center (EEJC) to provide legal support with and for environmental justice communities across the United States, including but not limited to scoping, shaping, and advancing litigation, as well as legal, policy, and coalition-building strategies to redress environmental harms and secure environmental benefits in environmental justice communities. The Fellow will work closely with, and be supervised by, experienced NRDC attorneys. The Fellow will also collaborate with community-based partners and environmental justice groups externally and with other NRDC Departments internally. The Fellow will be affiliated with one of NRDC’s major domestic offices (New York, Washington, D.C., or Santa Monica), depending on the Fellow’s preference and NRDC’s needs. During this year, the fellow may be expected to occasionally travel to other NRDC U.S.-based offices.
For the second year (August 2028 through August 2029), the Fellow will work at Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, as a clinical legal fellow with the Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy (EJLA) Clinic, part of the law school’s Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization. Working with EJLA’s director, Professor Stephanie Safdi, the Fellow will supervise student attorneys in representing community-based organizations, Tribal Nations, residents groups, and non-profit coalitions to advance environmental justice and intersectional concerns such as Tribal sovereignty, environmental protection, public health, civil rights, and participatory environmental governance. Clinic cases may include matters undertaken in partnership with NRDC that the Fellow has worked on during the first year of the Fellowship. In addition to student supervision, the Fellow will participate in clinical teaching, case intake and docket development, and support environmental law and justice programming within Yale Law School and interdisciplinary offerings with other university programs. The fellowship will include engagement in scholarly activities at the law school and trainings in clinical pedagogy and practice through Yale’s clinical program. The fellow will be expected to be in person on Yale’s campus in New Haven, CT, at least three days per week.
The Fellow will be employed by the institution where they are based for the year, and will be subject to that institution’s applicable employment policies, including policies regarding benefits, hybrid work, and other HR matters. While at NRDC, the fellow is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035).
This position will be open to applications through EOD Monday October 5, 2026.

Requirements

• Juris Doctorate within the past three years, as of the start date of the fellowship, from any accredited law school.
• Admission to the Bar in the jurisdiction where the Fellow will be based during the first year of the fellowship, or willingness to complete the requirements for admission to that Bar.
• Strong legal writing, research, and analytical skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong academic and professional record.
• Ability to contribute effectively as a member of a team and collaborate across a large organization.
• Demonstrated competency in working with people with different social identities than their own (including race, gender, sexual identity or orientation, age, class, and disability).
• Creativity and resourcefulness.
• Commitment to NRDC’s mission, values, and DEI principles.
• Comfort interpreting scientific and technical concepts.
• Capacity to work hard, efficiently, and independently.
• Demonstrated interest in fields of environmental law and justice, Indigenous rights and sovereignty, and/or civil rights.
• Interest in mentoring students in advocacy related to environmental law and justice and in cultivation of legal practice skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in creative and community-driven advocacy.
• Prior legal experience such as through substantial clinical practice, a judicial clerkship, or other practice experience.
• Prior mentorship or teaching experience.
• Interest in scholarship and clinical teaching.
• Knowledge of environmental, civil rights, and administrative law.

Responsibilities

• Develop relationships with communities and work with them to identify opportunities to partner or collaborate; actively engage in existing coalitions and partnerships.
• Create project plans, track timelines, and determine key deliverables and milestones, while managing workflows and collaboration across multiple staff members.
• Facilitate and co-facilitate meetings, including creating agendas, taking notes, and capturing takeaways/next steps; follow up with responsible parties to ensure accountability.
• Screen and develop potential new litigation, including conducting factual investigations and legal and policy research.
• Write briefs, motions, memoranda, Public Records Act and Freedom of Information Act requests, and other legal filings.
• Review environmental documents and draft comments under the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act to identify deficiencies in environmental review, build the administrative record, and exhaust issues for potential litigation.
• Provide legal and policy research, as well as updates around environmental justice issues to members of the team and to partners.
• Facilitate and engage in communication and follow-up with clients and partner organizations.
• Represent NRDC at hearings, conferences, coalition meetings, and venues with decisionmakers.
• Advocate for the adoption or passage of critical legislation, city ordinances, and government regulations.
• Under the guidance of the Associate Director, supervise and delegate projects to interns and volunteers.
• Supervising student attorneys in representation of clinic clients.
• Partnering with the clinic’s director in shaping clinic seminar syllabi to support student learning and representations.
• Co-teaching substantive and skills-based classes as part of the clinic’s seminar for new students and its advanced seminar for returning students.
• Assisting in the clinic’s intake process, in needs assessments, and in shaping the clinic docket.
• Supervising summer interns during the law school’s summer break and covering cases during school holidays.
• Representing clients on matters in early stages of development or secondary matters not staffed by clinic student attorneys.
• Participating in clinical faculty meetings and trainings for new clinicians and contributing to development and enrichment of clinical programming in the law school.
• Collaborating in development and operation of interdisciplinary environmental law and justice programming across the law school and university.

Benefits

• Generous time-off policy, highlighted by a company-wide year-end Rest & Recharge Week
• Generous family leave policy beyond federal requirements
• Matching 403b whether you contribute or not
• Hybrid Policy: The freedom to balance your time around your needs that means, 8 days per month in-office. In-office day requirements can be met with off-site work events such as retreats, conferences, and other work-related travel.
• Premium Comprehensive healthcare and mental health programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree