Words of Wisdom from an Environmental Lawyer
By Carolyn Stoller & Danielle Choma; Interns at The Vegetarian Resource Group
What is Environmental Law?
Environmental law is a crucial legal practice governing how humans interact with the environment. Environmental lawyers contribute to the process of creating regulations and agreements that protect, preserve, and conserve our environment and the use of natural resources (Georgetown Law). Within this practice area, one can practice private law, work for Federal agencies, public interest groups, non-profit organizations, community groups, or environmental justice coalitions. In addition, there are a plethora of sub fields in environmental law, including energy law and policy, natural resources law, land use law, food and agricultural law, and much more. The opportunities for an environmental lawyer are endless with the countless environmental issues our planet has.
How Do I Become an Environmental Lawyer?
After speaking with a previous Vegetarian Resource Group intern from 2016, Heather Francis, here are some personalized tips and tidbits from a current environmental lawyer. Originally going to school to become a nutritionist, this environmental lawyer’s mind was swayed after interning at The Vegetarian Resource Group. After changing their major to international justice, with a focus on sustainability, Heather knew she wanted to pursue a career in environmental law.
While becoming a lawyer is considered a prestigious career path, you need to assess whether or not this profession is good for you and curate your skills. To be a successful lawyer, you must be willing to conduct a lot of research and writing every single day. If this isn’t your strong suit, law might not be for you.
Get into Law School:
If you want to become a lawyer, you have to first get into law school. To get into law school, you must complete an undergraduate degree in good standing, score well on the LSAT, and create a spectacular personal statement and resume.
For any aspiring lawyer, you need to make sure you are willing to enter a competitive atmosphere where involvement matters. Law school is an intense 3-year journey where you are constantly competing against your fellow students for the best grades. Most law schools grade a student’s performance in classes using a bell curve. This means that your grades directly depend on how the rest of the class performs. To be successful in law school, you must plan ahead and work efficiently.
What Law Schools to Attend for Environmental Law
When considering what law school to attend, it is also best to research schools that have environmental law clinics, and schools where the professors have been or currently work in the environmental law field. Following her undergraduate degree, Heather applied to law schools that were known for their excellence in helping future lawyers pursue a degree in environmental law. She suggested several law schools that are focused on environmental law, including Pace University, University of Vermont, Lewis & Clark, and Georgetown.
If you’re specifically interested in animal rights law, The Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver has an Animal Law program, dedicated towards educating the future generations of animal advocates to protect the non-human animals in the USA. This program focuses on the issues surrounding the use of animals for food, entertainment, experimentation, and fashion (Sturm College of Law). This type of law falls in the category of environmental law, as lawyers in this field are protecting a natural entity that cannot speak for itself.
Finally, do not just focus on the name of the university. The weight or ranking of the name of a certain law school will not ultimately determine your future. Only you can control your future through hard work and dedication.
After Law School
After graduating law school and passing the Bar Exam, prospective environmental lawyers must land a job. Since environmental law is primarily public interest focused, environmental attorneys often work for public interest organizations that files lawsuits against companies that violate environmental protection regulations. Other environmental lawyers represent regulated companies to help them understand how to achieve compliance with environmental standards while also making a profit (US News). At the beginning of her law career, Heather has clerked for Federal judges in their environmental law committees. Moreover, Heather has also interned for Conservation Law Foundation and a Washington, D.C. internship focused on environmental litigation. For aspiring environmental lawyers, there are plenty of job opportunities to pursue a career in this particular legal field.
Veganism and Environmental Law
Animals are a part of the natural Earth’s ecosystem, as each individual animal plays a vital role in our world. Land animals and animals living in water are a part of a larger natural system. One of the biggest environmental hazards in regards to animal life is animal factory farm pollution. Maintaining a vegan diet is one way individuals can promote and uphold protecting the natural integrity of animals. In your law career, you can work on related regulations, laws, court cases, business law, nonprofit law, contracts, rights of non-human animals, animal welfare issues, religious rights, and even trusts and wills. From the vegan point of view, food, health, ethics, and environment are all intertwined and can involve the law.
For articles about other careers related to veganism and vegetarianism, see
https://www.vrg.org/links/JobSearch.htm
Works Cited
https://www.law.du.edu/animal-law
https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue1/2015_issue1_food_technologist.php
