Howard-NRDC Legal Fellow

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 600 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C.

NRDC is seeking a Howard-NRDC Legal Fellow to work with the Litigation Team in one of our U.S.-based offices.

Position Summary

NRDC is seeking a recent graduate of Howard University School of Law to work as a fellow with the Litigation team in one of our U.S. offices: Chicago; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; or Washington, D.C. The term for this fellowship is Fall 2025 through Fall 2027, with the possibility of extension through Fall 2028.

The Howard-NRDC Legal Fellowship is open to candidates who graduated from Howard University School of Law in 2022 or later, as well as current Howard Law students who will graduate this academic year. Applicants must be available to start no later than Fall 2025.

We will consider applications on a rolling basis, with preference given to applicants who apply by October 15, 2024. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person resume drop-offs.

The Litigation Team is a group of approximately 40 lawyers, paralegals, and other operations staff who pursue litigation across a broad range of environmental and public health issues and in collaboration with and on behalf of communities most impacted by environmental injustices (including Black, indigenous, and people of color, and low-income and rural communities). Over the past several years, we have litigated cases against the federal government to prevent climate pollution, challenge agency approvals of toxic chemicals and pesticides, resist the suspension of clean water safeguards, oppose offshore drilling and seismic exploration for oil and gas, defend national monuments, and protect energy efficiency standards, among other matters. We also bring enforcement cases against corporate and governmental entities whose violations harm health and the environment-including recent cases to protect the people of Newark, New Jersey and Flint, Michigan, from lead in drinking water; to remediate toxic pollution in the Penobscot River in Maine; to abate mold in New York City public housing for residents with asthma; and to clean up a chemical manufacturing plant in Pittsburg, California.

Working with a team of lawyers and paralegals on active cases and case development projects, including by both providing support on cases led by senior attorneys and leading cases, or substantial aspects of cases, under the supervision of senior attorneys.
• Collaborating with NRDC program staff, clients, experts, and coalition and community partners to support litigation goals.
• Conducting legal research and factual investigations.
• Writing briefs, motions, and memoranda.
• Presenting oral arguments and participating in status conferences and other hearings.
• Engaging in discovery and conducting record and document review.
• Preparing for and taking depositions.
• Contributing to institutional initiatives such as projects related to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our work, intern hiring and coordination, and organizing CLEs.

This Fellowship is designed for recent law school graduates and attorneys with up to three years of litigation experience. In assessing candidates, we look for:

• Admission to the Bar of the jurisdiction in which they intend to practice, or willingness to complete the requirements for admission to that Bar.
• Strong legal writing and analytical skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and take initiative.
• Experience working effectively with a team.
• 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.
• Demonstrated commitment to public service, equity, or social justice (including environmental, economic, and racial justice).
• Commitment to NRDC's values and mission.

An ideal candidate will possess the following characteristics:

• Strong sense of teamwork.
• Strong work ethic.
• Growth mindset.
• Ability to maintain composure and sense of humor under deadline pressure.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically underrepresented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $91,000 to $100,000.

Our offices are open and we are operating in a hybrid model. We offer NRDCers flexibility, and we ask them to come into the office and spend meaningful time there in collaboration with their colleagues. We call this purposeful presence.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your resume, cover letter, law school transcript, list of three references, and writing sample (no more than ten pages). In your cover letter, please mention where you saw this posting and the NRDC office(s) in which you would prefer to work.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.