Clinic: Environmental

• Semester: Spring 2021
• Course ID: 697C
• Credit Hours: 6
• Unique: 29500

Description

This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.

ENVIRONMENTAL CLINIC – 6 credits, pass/fail (application required)

Students in the Environmental Clinic work with non governmental organizations and underserved communities throughout Texas to advocate for solutions to today’s pressing environmental problems, including environmental injustice and climate change.  Students in the Clinic learn to think creatively about how to use the law to protect and improve environmental quality and public health. 

Students work on cases in teams, under the supervision of clinic faculty, and should expect to spend 10-12 hours per week working on clinic cases. Recent clinic projects have included:

• civil rights complaints,
• environmental enforcement in federal courts,
• permitting and rulemaking proceedings before courts and administrative agencies,
• nuisance actions,
• community education,
• pollution monitoring, and
• environmental policy research.

Through their work on cases, students in the Clinic have gained practical experience with factual investigation and analysis, client counseling and community education, administrative research and advocacy before regulatory agencies, and legal drafting and litigation support.

Students also participate in a weekly two-hour seminar in which we discuss environmental laws, environmental justice, the role of lawyes in social movements, and the efficacy of current laws for protecting health and the environment. This semester, the clinic will be taught remotely via Zoom.  While in person attendance will not be required or expected, we will look for opportunities - depending on student comfort and the state of the pandemic - for those who wish to meet in person to do so for team meetings and/or a few select classes.  

The Clinic is open to students who have completed their first two semesters. There is no prerequisite for the clinic. 

To apply for the Clinic, please submit the online application.

For additional information regarding the clinic, contact Clinic Director Kelly Haragan (kharagan@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-2654) or Clinic Administrator Sarah Beach (sbeach@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-2454).