Finding my people at the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic

By Ben Diamond ’25

I applied to law school knowing I wanted to work on legal issues related to climate change and the clean energy transition. I chose Harvard primarily because of its ample environmental law resources, including its experienced and pedigreed faculty.

For that reason, I was eager to join the environmental law community at HLS—perhaps a little overeager, as evidenced by the anxious email I sent Prof. Andy Mergen when I was initially on the waitlist for the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic during my 2L fall. I ended up being able to join the clinic, and I am grateful that I had an ideal placement.

There are two pathways for students in the environmental law clinic. One is to work directly for the clinic, under the supervision of clinical staff, on projects for the clinic’s clients. The other is to do an externship with an outside organization. I chose the latter, working with Donahue, Goldberg & Herzog, a small firm focused on appellate environmental advocacy. Through this externship, I met and learned from kind and brilliant attorneys, vastly improved my legal research and writing skills, and gained further insight into how litigation works and what a career as a litigator might entail.

Regardless of the path chosen, all students take the clinical seminar together. I will admit, when I registered for the clinic, the seminar was somewhat of an afterthought. But in fact, it turned out to be of one of the most helpful classes I took in law school. Through the seminar, I learned and practiced litigation skills like interviewing a standing declarant, drafting a standing declaration, writing a Notice of Intent to Sue under the Clean Water Act, and exercising judgement in deciding whether to appeal a lower court decision. I also got the chance to know my fellow classmates and learn about the interesting work that everyone was doing.

After getting to know the clinical team through the seminar and other campus activities, I registered for the clinic again during my 3L fall. I thoroughly enjoyed my externship experience, but this time, I wanted to work directly for the clinic. And I was glad I did––working directly with the clinic turned out to be a highlight of my law school experience. I served as the sole student working on a research memo examining the National Park Service’s statutory authority to respond to climate change. I led meetings with the client and was responsible for researching and drafting the paper. This project was particularly meaningful because it was the first chance I had in law school to have sole responsibility for a piece of client-facing writing. The clinical team also played an instrumental role in supporting and elevating my work, providing me with some of the most thorough and engaged feedback I’ve received in my professional career.

As I reflect on my law school experience, one piece of advice that I received during my 1L year cuts through: find your people. Between the clinical team and student peers, I am grateful and thankful to have found such people at the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. It is a warm and inviting place that does meaningful and impactful work. But more importantly, it is filled with great people that will keep you coming back for career advice, discussions of environmental current events, and, of course, semester kick-off and send-off Bagelsaurus bagels and Tatte coffee.