The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center is a nonprofit, public interest law organization that focuses on furthering environmental justice in Michigan by providing legal and policy services. We work with residents, environmental advocacy organizations, and policymakers to identify and develop legal and policy solutions to environmental justice issues that impact the health and quality of life of communities of color throughout Michigan. While we work on a wide range of issues, some of the most common include drinking water quality and affordability, water quality, air quality, and civil rights. Our work focuses on a wide variety of strategies, including but not limited to: litigation; commenting on and appealing administrative decisions; transactional services to promote the sustainable reuse of vacant land in Detroit, including urban agriculture and renewable energy, and; state and local policy research and development.
The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center places an emphasis on work that furthers environmental justice. We do this by primarily working on environmental issues that are impacting communities of color or lower income and be engaging in community lawyering. Community lawyering consists of us providing our legal knowledge and skills to residents, community groups, and other nonprofits to help them address environmental issues in a collaborative manner. In doing so, we seek to work with communities to identify how the law may be used to address an environmental issue in a manner that they deem appropriate and effective so that the people we work with are empowered by the work we do.
The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center has a long-standing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law through its Environmental Law Clinic. Working with the Clinic Director, the person hired for this position will help to supervise Clinic students on specific projects.
Desired Qualifications
- Must have a J.D. or on track to obtain a J.D. by Spring 2023. If not admitted to practice by the Michigan State Bar, applicant must be willing and able to seek and obtain admission to the Michigan State Bar promptly upon hiring.
- 0-5 years experience practicing law. Candidates with experience practicing environmental law in either a clinical or post-graduate setting are preferred.
- All candidates must have a strong, demonstrated interest in environmental law as well as racial and economic justice.
- Interest in working with law clinic students is preferred.
- Experience with litigation and other adversarial proceedings is preferred.
- Proven ability to work autonomously.
- Must be willing to move to the metro-Detroit area upon hire.
- Experience working with racially diverse community groups is preferred.
- Experience communicating with a variety of audiences through speaking engagements and the media to advocate for GLELC’s clients and causes.
Compensation
Compensation is dependent on experience and qualifications and will be in the range of $57,000 to $75,000 per year. GLELC offers a benefits package that includes fully-paid health insurance, employer contributions to a health savings account, employer-sponsored retirement account, paid child-birth and parental leave, and generous paid time off.
Applications
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and a list of three references by email to Nick Leonard, Executive Director at nicholas.leonard@glelc.org.
