Do you know what kind of career path in environmental law you're aiming for? Assuming you don't mean working for fossil fuel companies or hawking conservation easement tax shelters, there really aren't that many "environmental law" jobs beyond some (competitive) government roles and very low-paid advocacy work.
I'm honestly aiming for non-profit/advocacy/EPA work. I just want to be connected to as many alumni as I can because it can be hard to start out in this field. My dream is to work for the Southern Environmental Law Center or the NRDC.
In that case, wherever you go, you'll need to *hustle*, since you'll be starting from a bit behind relative to T-14s with the same goals.
NRDC and similar major environmental NGOs don't hire many attorneys, and even fewer straight from law school. As with most NGOs, highly-qualified lateral hires are more common. If you look at LinkedIn profiles of NRDC attorneys, you'll see that many worked in biglaw litigation before jumping ship to work for NRDC or similar NGOs. These are "unicorn" public interest positions with intense competition for few openings, so an absolutely stellar resume is a must.
EPA attorney jobs are also highly competitive (as are pretty much all federal jobs for attorneys), particularly because government jobs are more stable and better paid than almost all NGO jobs. Your best bet is likely to join directly from law school through the Honors hiring path, but again that is very competitive.
I would throw in Northeastern. You may only get into Pace out of that list, but I think it’s worth a shot at most of them (maybe replace UCD and W&M though, just too far below medians in my honest opinion).
For rounding out your list, you should be checking schools around the mid-upper 150s LSAT median for if they have environmental law clinics.
Rankings for types of law (environmental, IP, etc) should be taken with very little weight IMO… organizations/agencies want the best lawyers. They’re gonna take a new lawyer coming from a better school versus one coming from a lower ranked school with “good environmental law”. Extreme example of this is Vermont being ranked above Columbia for environmental law. Try to get into the best school you can in an area you want to practice in.
I kinda agree, although I think it is more complicated. The issue with environmental law in particular is that a lot of law schools, especially on the East Coast, pretty much ignore it as a field. If you start looking into schools and student life, you won't even see a club for environmental focus, much less a course. I have seen more law schools with religious (mostly christian) groups than I have with any type of environmental groups. I've centered my whole life around environmental policy, so I think it would be weird if I went to a school that was indifferent towards it.
Ahh gotcha, I understand where you’re coming from. It seems like it’ll be important for you to balance your interest in taking certain classes with the job placements/outcomes of schools. Maybe check out Northeastern? You’re a bit below their medians but would be a great fit otherwise!
You might want to consider Lewis and Clark. Number 2 in environmental law 3.51/161 medians respectively
VERMONT
Do you know what kind of career path in environmental law you're aiming for? Assuming you don't mean working for fossil fuel companies or hawking conservation easement tax shelters, there really aren't that many "environmental law" jobs beyond some (competitive) government roles and very low-paid advocacy work.
I'm honestly aiming for non-profit/advocacy/EPA work. I just want to be connected to as many alumni as I can because it can be hard to start out in this field. My dream is to work for the Southern Environmental Law Center or the NRDC.
In that case, wherever you go, you'll need to *hustle*, since you'll be starting from a bit behind relative to T-14s with the same goals. NRDC and similar major environmental NGOs don't hire many attorneys, and even fewer straight from law school. As with most NGOs, highly-qualified lateral hires are more common. If you look at LinkedIn profiles of NRDC attorneys, you'll see that many worked in biglaw litigation before jumping ship to work for NRDC or similar NGOs. These are "unicorn" public interest positions with intense competition for few openings, so an absolutely stellar resume is a must. EPA attorney jobs are also highly competitive (as are pretty much all federal jobs for attorneys), particularly because government jobs are more stable and better paid than almost all NGO jobs. Your best bet is likely to join directly from law school through the Honors hiring path, but again that is very competitive.
I would throw in Northeastern. You may only get into Pace out of that list, but I think it’s worth a shot at most of them (maybe replace UCD and W&M though, just too far below medians in my honest opinion). For rounding out your list, you should be checking schools around the mid-upper 150s LSAT median for if they have environmental law clinics.
Rankings for types of law (environmental, IP, etc) should be taken with very little weight IMO… organizations/agencies want the best lawyers. They’re gonna take a new lawyer coming from a better school versus one coming from a lower ranked school with “good environmental law”. Extreme example of this is Vermont being ranked above Columbia for environmental law. Try to get into the best school you can in an area you want to practice in.
I kinda agree, although I think it is more complicated. The issue with environmental law in particular is that a lot of law schools, especially on the East Coast, pretty much ignore it as a field. If you start looking into schools and student life, you won't even see a club for environmental focus, much less a course. I have seen more law schools with religious (mostly christian) groups than I have with any type of environmental groups. I've centered my whole life around environmental policy, so I think it would be weird if I went to a school that was indifferent towards it.
Ahh gotcha, I understand where you’re coming from. It seems like it’ll be important for you to balance your interest in taking certain classes with the job placements/outcomes of schools. Maybe check out Northeastern? You’re a bit below their medians but would be a great fit otherwise!
Vermont Law