Environmental Law and Community Engagement Clinic

LAW8640
Section 1, Spring 25

Schedule Information

Enrollment: 3/8
Credits: 4
Days Time Room Start Date End Date

Mon

 		1130-1250 SL284 01/27/2025 04/21/2025

Course Description

The Environmental Law and Community Engagement Clinic fits within the Law School’s Program in Law, Communities, and the Environment (PLACE). Students in this semester-long clinic have the opportunity to work on real-world environmental cases in a variety of venues — before courts, administrative agencies and public utility commissions. The clinic has represented a diverse array of public-interest clients in recent years, from a community group working preserve an early 20th century African-American schoolhouse to local governments filing an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States. In addition to working on in-house clinic cases, students are also afforded the option of working closely with attorneys at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nationally prominent environmental law and policy organization that is headquartered in Charlottesville. Students interested in a yearlong clinic experience may enroll in the Advanced Environmental Law and Community Engagement Clinic.

Course Requirements

Exam Information

Final Type (if any): None

Description: None

Written Work Product

Students should expect to perform legal research, draft memos, briefs and motions, develop interrogatories and cross examination scripts. Students should expect the clinic to require an average of 13-14 hours of work per week.

Other Course Details

Prerequisites: Environmental Law and/or Administrative Law recommended but not required. Because the credits in this course count toward the JD Program Professional Skills requirement, JD candidates will be given enrollment priority for this class. Concurrencies: Environmental Law and/or Administrative Law recommended but not required.

Exclusive With: None

Laptops Allowed: Yes

First Day Attendance Required: Yes

Course Resources: To be announced via Canvas.

Course Notes: NOTE REGARDING ENROLLMENT: Enrollment in this clinic is through (1) an application to the instructor AND (2) prioritization of the clinic during the clinics-only lottery process in early July. See the instructions on LawWeb. When the application period for clinics closes, clinic instructors for each clinic will notify SRO of the applicants who are eligible to obtain a seat in the clinic-only lottery. If seats are available in this clinic after the application/lottery process, students must seek special permission from the instructors for a seat. If a student seeking a seat in this class is enrolled in another clinic, enrollment authorization from the instructors from both clinics must be provided to the Student Records Office via email ([email protected]).

Graduation Requirements

Satisfies Understanding Bias/Racism/Cross-Cultural Competency requirement: Yes

Satisfies Writing Requirement: No

Credits For Prof. Skills Requirement: Yes

Satisfies Professional Ethics: No

Additional Course Information

Schedule No.: 125210077

Modified Type: Clinical

Cross Listed: No

Waitlist Count: 0

Concentrations: Environmental and Land Use Law , Litigation and Procedure , Public Service and Leadership

Evaluation Portal Via LawWeb Opens: Tuesday, April 22, 12:01 AM

Evaluation Portal Via LawWeb Closes: Sunday, April 27, 11:59 PM

Information reflected on this page was last refreshed at: Tuesday, January 14, 2025 - 7:04 AM *

*During open enrollment periods, live enrollment data may be found in SIS.