Environmental Clinic I: Earthrise

Environmental Clinic I: Earthrise - Earthrise Clinical Faculty

• Course Type: Highly Specialized and Experiential
• Credits: 3
• Enrollment Limit: Enrollment will be capped as necessary to align with clinic workload
• Description: Students work on actual environmental cases and administrative issues under the supervision of the clinical professors, staff attorneys, and legal fellows of Earthrise Law Center, the law school’s environmental litigation clinic. The clinic represents a broad spectrum of environmental organizations seeking to prevent or reduce pollution, protect wildlife, habitat, and ecosystems, and promote climate justice.

Each week, students are expected to attend and participate in a 2-hour classroom component (Fridays from noon-2:00PM), meet with a supervising attorney, and work an average of 10-12 hours on cases as assigned. Grading is on a pass/no pass basis. Class attendance is mandatory.

Registration Information: Any student who has finished the first year of law school, has achieved a 2.6 GPA or higher, meets the pre-/co-requisite requirements, and clears a conflicts check is eligible to take the Earthrise clinic. Students with lower GPAs can contact Lia Comerford (comerfordl@clark.edu), and seek permission to enroll.

Students may initially apply to enroll in Earthrise as part of a two-step process towards final enrollment. Applications must be submitted no later than Friday, May 17, 2024, at 5 pm PST. Applicants will be informed of admission decisions no later than one week prior to the start of the general law school registration process. After Spring grades are in, all registrants will go through a compliance check regarding meeting the pre-/co-requisites and minimum GPA requirements, as well as an overall assessment of each student’s application. By registering for this clinic, you are giving permission for the Registrar’s office to provide your cumulative GPA to the Earthrise professors after Spring grades are in. In addition, after final enrollment, students may be contacted in order to clear any potential conflicts of interest.

Additional information on the Earthrise clinic experience and the enrollment process can be found on the Earthrise clinic page.

Please note that final enrollment preference will be given to rising 3Ls as this is their last opportunity to take the clinic course. 

Earthrise prefers a full-year commitment (three credits per semester), but students can register for just one semester if they have unavoidable scheduling conflicts that prevent them registering for both semesters. However, students who only enroll in Earthrise for one semester cannot enroll in Earthrise Ethics, which is a mandatory two-semester course.

• Co- or Prerequisite: Environmental Law, Administrative Law; students are encouraged to take Environmental Litigation before or concurrently
• Evaluation Method: Written work completed in the clinic
• Capstone: no
• WIE: Optional; requires prior professor permission