Title: Seeking 2 Spring Term Legal Externs (Volunteers)
Position type: Student Position
Schedule: Internship (Academic Year)
Salary: Unpaid/Volunteer
Legal Areas: Environmental
Strategies: Policy

Anticipated Start Date: The beginning of the Spring term (around 1/15/21), with a working period of 8-10 weeks.

Possibility of Earning Academic Credit:
Law students may be able to earn academic credit through their law school for their volunteer work at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), if their law school has a program that allows for externship academic credit. The student is responsible for arranging for any applicable academic credit.

Qualifications:

  • Current law school student.
  • Background or interest in air quality, climate, environmental justice, and public interest work.
  • Strong legal writing and research skills.
  • Ability to exercise good judgment and work effectively and cooperatively within a diverse working environment.

Responsibilities:
The Volunteers work as Legal Externs to support the mission of the Legal Office. They conduct research and assist with the production of legal products at the direction of supervising Legal Office Attorneys, and under the supervision of an Assistant Chief Counsel, with supporting mentorship of an Extern Committee made up of Legal Office Attorneys. Their research is designed to provide the Externs a meaningful educational experience that supplements their graduate work and trains them for future positions, while providing the Legal Office assistance and useful research that can be used within the Office’s programs. Volunteers may work on such topics as emission reductions and pollution control, climate change, environmental justice, constitutional issues, and other legal issues.

CARB Legal Office Description:
CARB’s Legal Office plans, organizes, and directs the activities of staff to further the Board’s mission to protect and preserve California’s air quality while considering the effects on the State’s economy. The Legal Office is part of the Executive Office. Its mission is to provide the highest-quality legal advice and representation to the Board and staff to support programmatic efforts to protect public health and the environment by improving air quality, and to ensure that all of CARB’s legal obligations are met in carrying out these objectives. CARB’s attorneys provide legal support on a variety of complex topics related to the control of air pollution (criteria pollutants, toxic air contaminants, and greenhouse gases), by providing advice on the adoption, interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of State and federal environmental laws and regulations, litigation in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office in federal and State court, contracts, conflicts of interest, hearing procedures, and proposed legislation. The Legal Office also provides legal assistance to California’s 35 Air Pollution Control and Air Quality Management Districts.

Application Deadline: 11/30/2021

Application Instructions:
Please submit the following application materials to CARB’s Exams and Recruitment unit at careers@arb.ca.gov by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, November 30, 2021:
• Cover Letter that describes why you are interested in this position and how you can contribute to the Legal Office
• Current Resume
• Law School Transcript(s)
• List of 3 References