(1) VERMONT LAW SCHOOL invites applications for a tenured or tenure-track faculty position teaching environmental law courses and potentially a first-year course. Hiring rank will be dependent on the background and experience of the applicant. The successful candidate will be an environmental expert with a strong academic background including a demonstrated interest in scholarship; a commitment to excellence in teaching; and relevant experience in private practice, government service, or non-governmental organization. Vermont Law School is the top-ranked school for environmental law in the country. Our graduates become attorneys and environmental professionals who work across the country and the globe. We offer a rich array of environmental courses and a range of degrees including a Master of Environmental Law and Policy and an LLM in Environmental Law as well as certificates in the JD program in climate law, energy law, food and agriculture law, land use law, and water resources law. More information about our environmental program is available at http://www.vermontlaw.edu/academics/centers-and-programs/environmental-law-center.
Vermont Law School’s mission is to educate lawyers for the community and the world. The faculty believes that its scholarship, teaching and service should be meaningful and relevant to the local, national, and international communities. The law school is dedicated to building a diverse faculty, and it strongly encourages candidates of color, women, veterans, and members of other underrepresented groups to apply. Please submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and references to Vice Dean Stephanie J. Willbanks, Vermont Law School, 164 Chelsea Street, South Royalton, VT 05068. Electronic applications are strongly preferred and can be submitted tofacultyappointments@vermontlaw.edu. Materials should be submitted by October 20, 2017, although submissions received after this time may be considered until the position is filled.
(2) VERMONT LAW SCHOOL invites applications for a clinical professor at the law school’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic at Vermont Law School and Earthjustice are partnering to expand our environmental justice capacity through the creation of a new environmental justice initiative. We are hiring an attorney professor who will be located at the Clinic and will work with Earthjustice’s Healthy Communities program and as part of the Clinic’s growing environmental justice program area. Cases and projects will include Vermont and New England-based initiatives as well as efforts at the national level and in other areas of the United States.
About Vermont Law School
Vermont Law School’s top-ranked environmental program includes a curriculum of more than 60 environmental law courses, as well as master’s and LLM degrees in three areas – environmental law and policy, energy regulation and law, and food and agriculture law and policy.
Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic
The ENRLC forms a key component of the environmental education we offer our students. The program functions as a pro bono public interest environmental law firm and gives students the opportunity to hone their skills in real-world cases and projects. The ENRLC is organized into four main program areas – Water and Justice, Coal and Climate, Healthy Communities, and Biodiversity – and we retain the flexibility to take on cases and projects outside these areas as well. The clinic’s work includes a mix of litigation, administrative agency proceedings, client counseling, and other forms of environmental advocacy. Our clients are community groups and conservation organizations, and we partner with a wide variety of organizations at the local, regional, and national level. We are seeking to grow our environmental justice program. Clinic Director Jill Witkowski Heaps is a leader in the environmental justice field, serving as Vice-Chair of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. The addition of an environmental justice attorney will lay the groundwork for a more formalized program and the Clinic and in the law school as a whole. More information is available on the ENRLC website: http://www.vermontlaw.edu/academics/clinics-and-externships/ENRLC.
About Earthjustice
Earthjustice is the nation’s original and largest nonprofit environmental law organization. Earthjustice has more than a hundred attorneys in offices across the country, and it leverages its expertise and commitment to fight for justice to advance the promise of a healthy world for all. In the Healthy Communities program, Earthjustice fights for a future where children can breathe clean air, no matter where they live; where products in our homes are free of toxic chemicals; and where all communities are safer, healthier places to live and work. Like the ENRLC, Earthjustice represents its clients free of charge. More information is available on the Earthjustice website: http://earthjustice.org/.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Earthjustice Clinical Professor will be a full-time attorney housed within the Clinic. This position will be dedicated to working on environmental justice issues, with cases and projects chosen in collaboration between Earthjustice and the Clinic. Specific responsibilities include:
- In collaboration with and under the direction of Earthjustice and Clinic attorneys, developing and implementing a suite of environmental justice cases and projects. Cases and projects may include state and federal litigation, influencing administrative agencies, legislative work, client counseling, and other advocacy.
- Working with clients and/or community advocates to help build capacity and sustainability to empower them to continue efforts in conjunction with or subsequent to any litigation in their communities.
- Managing and fostering relationships with co-counsel, clients, and partners.
- Coordinating with and contributing to other aspects of environmental justice campaign work, including education, outreach, and messaging.
- Supervising and providing extensive feedback to students on project and casework.
- Teaching in the ENRLC seminar program.
- With other ENRLC faculty and staff, assisting in the administration of the Clinic through regular participation in staff meetings, helping with the student recruitment process, assisting with public relations materials and reports, etc.
- Participating in the life of the law school through attendance at faculty meetings and campus events, service on committees, and the like.
Requirements
- Minimum 3 years of significant legal experience, including litigation.
- Licensed in Vermont or willing to become immediately licensed in Vermont.
- Must have a passion for and experience with environmental justice communities and issues.
- A background in community organizing and an understanding of health disparities or public health background are preferred
- Must possess: cultural competency and significant exposure to communities that are vulnerable, disadvantaged and/or communities of color; an understanding of the opportunities and challenges of working with environmental justice communities and on environmental justice issues; solid grounding in some aspect of environmental law that is relevant to the projected work of the environmental justice initiative; good narrative skills; history of supervising others in a legal context; excellent communication, analysis, and writing skills; demonstrated good judgment and sensitivity in a variety of situations; very strong academics, initiative, and work ethic; the ability to work exceedingly well with others; project management capability, including strong creative and strategic thinking skills; and a commitment to engaging in clinical teaching.
- All types of diversity are welcome and encouraged.
Application Instructions
Vermont Law School is dedicated to building a diverse faculty, and it strongly encourages candidates of color, women, veterans, and members of other underrepresented groups to apply. Please submit a cover letter, resume, law school transcript, writing sample, and references online here https://vermontlaw.interviewexchange.com/static/clients/494VLM1/index.jsp.
The cover letter should clearly convey your interest in and experience with environmental justice communities and issues. The writing sample need not be a traditional legal writing sample but may reflect your past work on environmental justice issues. Electronic applications are strongly preferred and can be submitted online. Applications will be considered as they are submitted. Please submit your information no later than September 15, 2017.
Citizen Yang 