I want to pursue a career in environmental law (hopefully starting with the DOJ or EPA) but can't decide where I should apply. I'm seriously considering Lewis & Clark since it is highly respected for its environmental program, but does a school like L&C have as much clout with government agencies as somewhere like GULC (or other top schools with good or decent environmental programs)? I know GULC is ranked a lot higher, but I've looked at their environmental course offerings, and they really don't compare to L&C's. Also, GULC doesn't have an environmental-specific clinic or moot court team.

So, should I shoot for the best school I can get into or somewhere that highly specializes in environmental?

Just to note: I really have no interest in any other field of law, and my undergraduate major is environmental studies.

Thanks!

bump. I want to know the answer to this as well. I applied to L&C for this reason

I'm also going into environmental law. From what attorneys working at DoJ's ENR Division and several environmental nonprofits have told me, you should go to the best law school you can. Unfortunately, a good school matters a lot in the competitive hiring process. One Harvard-grad attorney told me a story about how her nonprofit over-emphasized the role she played in a campaign, even though her colleague from Vermont Law did most of the work, in order to impress a potential funder. That being said, someone at DoJ who graduated from L&C said he recommended it. The consensus seems to be, go to the best school you can (that has lots of environmental classes, obviously), but if you can't go to a "top" law school, then go to Vermont, L&C, or Pace. I would definitely avoid a T2, T3, or T4 school that has no reputation for environmental law.

By the way, OP, if you want to go to school in D.C., you should check out George Washington. They have tons of environmental law courses and their website has a profile of one of their students who works at DoJ's ENR Division.

Thanks for the great info and personal examples, kumba! And here's a link to where I posted this question in another category: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=98162 One of the responders posted an interesting link to his "Environmental Law Preference Rankings." They seem to mirror what you were saying.

At one point, I was very interested in environmental law as well, so I researched this very question.

It's anecdotal but... I talked to some people who visited L&C. They said the job prospects are not very good. They talked to lawyers in portland and they all said you had be top 10% to get a decent job.

If you just want a govt job, L&C may be alright. But I found the consensus to be: go to a higher ranked school with a environmental law concentration. The prestige of the school will carry further than a program ranking within the school.

And fyi, the L&C students said that most of the environmental job offers they get are not in portland, they are jobs out in the middle of nowhere.

This link might help explain that user-generated rankings a little better: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=79085

Otherwise, I will say that GULC does have a very interesting enviro law & policy institute, and you can get clinical experience through their public service clinic (not sure of what they call it). At either school you are going to face competition among your classmates for the specific jobs you are looking at, but the competition will be far greater at L&C because of how many people want to do environmental law and because of how few jobs are open to them. I would not be surprised if the Top 10% comment was on the ball for federal government work at DoJ or EPA.

Going to a school that specializes in environmental law is not necessarily better than going to a top school that offers a specialty within its curriculum. Most of the top law schools have environmental programs that offer a small portion of the students direct interaction with environmental law practitioners in a variety of fields. As an example, in the last 2.5 (almost) years at Vanderbilt, I've worked for one former general counsel of the EPA, met and introduced two other former GCs at a panel conference for our environmental journal in DC, worked under one of the most well-known public interest environmental attorneys in the country, worked in the environmental practice group of one of the top energy firms in the world, and taken classes with: our departmental director who specializes in climate change law; a treaty negotiator and former director at NOAA; a visiting expert in emerging technologies from Arizona St; and a former AA at EPA who, among other accomplishments, negotiated the original wetlands agreement between EPA and USACE under Bush I. I've gotten about as much exposure to the environmental field as one can get while in law school, and I've done it with median grades and limited competition in my class. Plus, I've had fun.

Point is, there are benefits in finding the people at the top schools you're considering and hear how they've fared in their school's environmental program. L&C is great for regional public interest work, but for work at the federal gov't level I have to go with the pro-GULC constituency (or at least pro-top programs constituency).

I say this as a huge fan of Pace and to a lesser extent Vermont, coming from the northeast. If I have my way we will be starting up a clinic based on the Pace/Riverkeeper partnership model in the next couple of years, similar to what Gonzaga Law just announced. And I can assume there are people like myself at other top programs across the country... the challenge to you is to seek us out and see what's going on. If nothing else you can contact program directors and ask them what they have planned in the near future. Our own program director enjoys discussing the law school with prospective students who are interested in this line of work, so it can't hurt to ask. G'luck

Does anyone have any really good information on Pace? It is so poorly ranked overall, I wonder how well it is really regarded in the legal field as a good place for potential new hires? L&C seems more up my alley (especially since it is so heavy into animal rights and in the vegan mecca of the US) but I live in Philly now an d love the east coast. NYC would be awesome, and they are offering a pretty good $$ package.

I am holding out for GW, but I visited there and lots of folks in the environmental program seem to be on the wrong side of the issue... I am all for diversity of ideas, but I think L&C and Vermont are more aligned with my views.

All I can say about Pace is that I know a lot of environmental attorneys in the NY area who went there for law school, and by and large their remarks are that it was really competitive. Something like a quarter of the 1L class either fails or drops out after first semester, and their curve is comparable to similarly-ranked schools, which means it can be very difficult to even hit a B average (vs. GW's curve, which I'm assuming is set at somewhere around a B/B+ median). And even though their environmental clinic is one of the best in the country, going to Pace doesn't necessarily mean you'll get in the clinic which only accepts 10 to 12 students at a time. Accepting $$ to go there may not be a bad choice if you know you want enviro law, so long as you're realistic about ending up in the middle of the pack (as most do) and would be happy with the job opportunities that would come with that.

I apologize that all I've got is hearsay... to my knowledge there aren't any Pace students on TLS. Contact the school and ask if they'll send you employment lists so you can see where the most recent classes are going to work. Let them know you're considering GW and Vermont as well and see how they respond. Leveraging your acceptances is your best shot at getting actual employment information. You can also look at the school's actual 1L attrition rates, since I pulled the fail/drop out percentage straight from a convo with a Pace 3L friend and didn't go back to verify that. It could have been specific just to her class.

As far as people being on the wrong side of the issue, your aversion to tackling issues from the other angle might cause problems down the road depending on what type of law you want to practice. Are you only looking at local work or do you want to do government/national ngo stuff? If your goal is doing something uniquely local (like working for a land trust, or a community development organization, or a waterkeeper program), then these schools are fine. But the large national nonprofits like NRDC or Earthjustice or large regionals like SELC or NELC will not hire recent graduates without a few years of experience, and they typically pull from law firms or other equally competitive entry positions, which are easier to get from a better law school. My understanding is that very few environmental attorneys will elevate their local practice to the national level unless they truly do something remarkable. There is a huge need for local representation on environmental issues, so if that's your real bent then I recommend going to the greenest school you can and networking with other similarly-minded people. But FWIW, there are vegans and freegans at just about every law school.

I currently work at a large environmental nonprofit with a substantial legal team. These jobs, if they are even available, are VERY hard to get, and most of them are occupied by graduates of top law schools (HYSCCN are the most common).

DOJ Honors is also considered far more competitive than landing a 160k job in Biglaw, though ENRD is one of the less competitive sections. Going to the highest-ranked school you can is the right advice if you want a shot at environmental law. Otherwise you better have substantial connections in your home market and hope to get a job with the state environmental agency.

EDIT: if you really have no other interest in law besides environmental law, go get a masters or PhD in something related to the environment. You'll have a much easier time finding an environmental job with that degree.

I thought i'd volunteers some information because i've been thinking about a lot of the same things....

I currently work for a state environmental agency dealing with air emissions. I'm looking at T3 and T4 schools due to my less than impressive LSAT(154)/GPA 3.4 (LSAC3.3). I originally applied to a bunch of law schools for fall 09...deferred enrollment to Pace for Fall 2010.

From working in an environmental state agency for almost 3 years i've noticed several things.
1. There are a lot of people walking around with JD's although they don't practice. (are you interested in policy?, rule writing?)
2. A lot of people from the AG's office don't have a science background (this was a surprise to me)
3. environmental jobs at the AG's office are coveted (what does this mean to me? Someone who as 0 env. law classes, but has been there for 10 years will work on those cases before me, if i even get there)

I'd love more than anything to work for the NRDC, DOJ, EPA, State EPA, etc, but if I can't get a job working as an environmental attorney due to my low ranked school and/or grades, I plan to fall back on my bachelors of science degree to find an environmental job to build my resume and just keep searching for a job that I spent 3 years working to be able to get. (Obviously, i'm currently not an attorney, but every day i'm up to my ears in regulations!)

Good Luck Everyone!