Graduate Research Fellow for 2016-17
Land Use & Sustainable Development Law Institute

Touro Law Center’s Land Use & Sustainable Development Law Institute is seeking a Graduate Research Fellow to take a key role on an innovativeZoning for Coastal Resilience project funded by the New York Sea Grant. The Institute is undertaking this project in coordination with a number of government and community partners, including the New York State Department of State and Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Pace University’s Land Use Law Center, amongst others.

Threats from sea-level rise and coastal storms create significant social, environmental and economic risks. To help address these threats, the Zoning for Coastal Resilience project will provide to three Long Island, New York communities practical tools and critical information that will assist in increasing coastal resilience, including assisting local leaders in undertaking a detailed assessment of local laws, identifying land use techniques to increase resilience, and helping to develop implementable local strategies that will enable a more resilient future for the region.

To achieve these objectives, the project team will work collaboratively with community leaders and project technical experts to assist community leaders in assessing and amending their zoning codes and other related local laws to increase coastal community resilience. The project team will not recommend any particular policies or strategies, nor will they promote a particular point of view. Instead, the project team will provide support to local government officials, staff and community leaders to empower them in assessing and amending local laws to increase coastal resilience. This collaborative support may include, for example, legal research and analysis of issues related to amending zoning codes and other community planning documents to increase resilience, surveys of existing best practices, facilitation of workshops with technical experts, and assistance in drafting and assessing potential local law amendments.
The Position: The Institute is seeking a Graduate Research Fellow to staff the Zoning for Coastal Resilience project. The Fellow will work directly with the Institute Director, Professor Sarah Adams-Schoen, and the Institute’s law student Fellows. The Graduate Research Fellow will network with local, county, state and federal government and private sector partners; undertake research and analysis related to coastal resilience and local law; and help create practical tools that will directly assist coastal communities in increasing their resilience by developing land use leadership capacity and providing technical assistance on assessing and amending local laws. The project represents an excellent opportunity to work on legal issues of critical importance to Long Island, New York and the nation.
The Graduate Research Fellowship begins in July or August 2016 and continues until February 28, 2017, with the possibility of renewal for a second term from March 1, 2017 through February 28, 2018, depending on interest and performance. The Institute Director, Sarah Adams-Schoen, supervises the Graduate Research Fellow, but the Fellow is expected to assume substantial responsibility for his or her own work and to assist the Director in supervision of law student research fellows and research assistants. The Graduate Research Fellow will work closely with the Institute Director, students and administrative staff of Touro Law Center, as well as with NYSG project partners including local, county, state and federal government staff.
Qualifications: The Graduate Research Fellowship is offered to graduating law students or recent law school graduates with outstanding academic and legal credentials who are committed to sustainability. Strong candidates will have excellent legal research, writing and analytical skills. Experience in land use and zoning or local environmental law is preferred, but not required. Fellows need not be licensed to practice law.
Salary: The salary for the first-year Graduate Research Fellow is $4,583 per month, plus benefits. A cost-of-living increase is possible for second year Fellows. Fellows work 35 hours per week.
Application Procedure:  Applicants should send a cover letter of no more than 1 page, a resume, a writing sample of no more than 5 pages, and 3 references to Sarah J. Adams-Schoen, Director, Land Use & Sustainable Development Law Institute, Touro Law Center, 225 Eastview Dr., Central Islip, NY 11722, or by e-mail to sadams-schoen@tourolaw.edu<mailto:sadams-schoen@tourolaw.edu> with NYSG Graduate Research Fellow in the subject line. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until a candidate is hired. Interested applicants are therefore encouraged to apply as soon as possible.