Enrollment in this clinic will fulfill the HLS JD pro bono requirement.

Required Class Component: Food Law and Policy (2 fall classroom credits). Some seats are saved for clinical students. Students who enroll in this clinic will be enrolled in the required course by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. Students who drop this clinic will also lose their seat in the required class component.

Additional Co-/Pre-Requisites: None.

By Permission: No.

Add/Drop Deadline: August 13, 2021.

LLM Students: LLM students may apply to the clinic through the LLM General Clinic Application.

Placement Site: HLS.

The Food Law and Policy Clinic of Harvard Law School (FLPC) provides students with the opportunity to practice using legal and policy tools in order to address the health, environmental, and economic impacts of our food system. FLPC utilizes substantive expertise in food law and policy and a robust policy skill set to assist clients and communities in understanding and improving the laws impacting the food system.

Students enrolled in the clinic get hands-on learning experience conducting legal and policy research for individuals, communities, and governments on a wide range of food law and policy issues. Students have the opportunity to: comment on major federal regulations, such as the Food and Drug Administration rules impacting food safety on the farm; identify and promote creative policies to reduce the 40% of food that goes to waste in the U.S.; train and empower food policy councils and other community coalitions to achieve their food system goals; and research and recommend policies increasing access to healthy food at all levels of government.

Students develop a variety of transferable skills in areas such as research, writing, creative problem-solving, project management, oral communication, and leadership. In particular, students will have the opportunity to draft memoranda, white papers, and regulatory comments; conduct statutory interpretation; compose legislation and regulations; petition for agency rulemaking or enforcement actions; conduct interviews and fact-finding; and prepare and train communities about civic engagement, the food system, and policy change. Clinic clients are located around the United States and the globe, and some students may have the opportunity to travel.

For more information about the clinic, please email Professor Broad Leib at ebroad@law.harvard.edu or visit our clinic at 1607 Massachusetts Avenue, 4th floor.