09/04/2019 - EELP News

Student Fellowships

BEAGLE/HLS FELLOWSHIP AT NRDC 

San Francisco, CA, Santa Monica, CA, New York, NY, Chicago, IL, or Washington, DC 

2020—2022 

History and Purposes 

The Beagle/HLS Fellowship at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) provides graduating HLS students and recent alumni with a two-year funded litigation position at NRDC. The Fellowship was established by a generous gift to Harvard Law School by the Beagle Foundation that was created by Joy Covey ’89. The purposes of the Fellowship are to create a two-year job at NRDC for a recent HLS graduate (the “Fellow”); to provide training and supervision for the Fellow; to enhance the Fellow’s lawyering/litigation skills; and to promote the Fellow’s interest in pursuing a career in nonprofit litigation and environmental law.

Beagle/HLS Fellowship at NRDC Guidelines

Eligibility: The Beagle/HLS Fellowship will be awarded to graduating Harvard Law School students, judicial clerks or recent alumni (up to three years out of law school). Preference will be given to law clerks and third-year students. Applicants must be available to start work the fall following their application.

Selection Criteria: The Fellows are selected by NRDC and an HLS Committee. NRDC and the Committee seek Fellows who have demonstrated an interest in, and commitment to, nonprofit law, especially environmental law, and who demonstrate promise for an outstanding career in nonprofit environmental law. This interest and commitment may be demonstrated through prior public service experience, personal essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, law school course work, academic achievements, and current work plans.

Placement: The Beagle Fellow for 2020-2022 will be placed in NRDC’s San Francisco, Santa Monica, New York, Chicago, or Washington DC office. NRDC will try to honor the Fellow’s preference as to his or her office placement. Applicants must be admitted to the Bar of the jurisdiction in which they intend to be placed or willing to complete the requirements for admission to that Bar before or upon the start of the Fellowship.

Compensation: The Fellow’s compensation will be equivalent to the starting salary for a new attorney or fellow at NRDC, according to the NRDC scale. For 2019-20, salary will likely be in the range of $65K. NRDC will provide medical benefits for each Fellow equivalent to those provided to other NRDC employees, and will cover overhead expenses. 

Application Materials and Procedures 

All applications must include: 

  • A cover letter, which should include a statement about which NRDC office the applicant would prefer to work in and which office(s) the applicant would consider working in, 
  • Resume, 
  • Law school transcript, 
  • Writing sample, 
  • Two letters of recommendation, preferably including one from an HLS faculty member, and the name of a third reference, 
  • A personal essay. 

Applications should be received by the Environmental Law Program, addressed to Kathy Curley, no later than September 30, 2019. Selected applicants will be invited to interview with NRDC and must participate in the interview to be further considered for the Fellowship. Questions may be directed to Kathy Curley at (617) 495-3097 or [email protected]. Applications and correspondence should be sent to: Beagle/HLS Fellowship at NRDC Environmental Law Program Harvard Law School 1575 Massachusetts Avenue Hauser 406 Cambridge, MA 02138

Award Decisions

Applicants will be notified about the outcome of the selection process by December 2019. Each Fellow’s salary will be treated as eligible for the Low Income Protection Program (HLS’s loan repayment program).