Jeff Gracer, a principal at the New York-based Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C. environmental law firm, loves the outdoors.
“I was an avid hiker and backpacker very early in my life,” Gracer says.
He says being an environmental lawyer is a perfect fit for him. These attorneys , who sometimes work in public interest jobs in government or at environmental nonprofit organizations, specialize in interpreting environmental laws and regulations at the international, federal, state and local levels . T hey often represent clients who are affected by various environmental policies.
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Gracer says most environmental attorneys are passionate about solving environmental problems, like pollution and climate change.
“I think a lot of people who go into environmental law are environmentalists, even if they’re representing the private sector,” he says.
For those considering an environmental law career, here are seven things experts say you should know about this field.
1. You don’t need an undergraduate degree in science. Experts say aspiring lawyers who had humanities majors in college shouldn’t be discouraged from pursuing environmental law careers.
Harvard Law School‘s “A Trail Guide to Careers in Environmental Law” offers words of encouragement in this vein: “Many would-be environmental attorneys are intimidated by the field because of the perception that it requires scientific expertise. While environmental lawyers often work alongside scientists to achieve their goals, this collaboration allows scientists to concentrate on the science and lawyers to concentrate on the law.”
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2. Environmental attorneys aren’t always businesses’ adversaries. Although environmental attorneys who work for public interest organizations often file lawsuits against companies that violate environmental protection regulations, other environmental attorneys represent regulated companies.
Gracer says working in the private sector as an environmental lawyer allows him to have a positive impact on the environment. “You’re basically helping your clients understand how to achieve compliance with environmental standards while also making a profit, and that can be challenging,” he says. “So it’s intellectually quite interesting.”
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3. Legal assignments will vary. Sahana Rao, an associate at the Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C., says she enjoys the fact that she does both litigation work and regulatory practice .
“There’s never been a shortage of things to learn,” says Rao, a recent law school graduate who earned her J.D. from the New York University Law School in 2016. “There’s always a lot of interesting things going on in the field as a whole.”
4. Protocol is critical. Gotthelf says one aspect of environmental law that some people find frustrating is the many documentation requirements. Companies that follow environmental protection regulations but fail to file proper paperwork can get in trouble.
“Good intentions don’t always get you brownie points in environmental law,” she says. “There is a certain way you have to do things and certain records you have to keep, and that’s just the way it is.”
But Gotthelf says one of the things she likes about environmental regulations is that they are typically clear and specific as opposed to being open to interpretation.
5. Law schools without a formal program can still provide high-quality courses. Though aspiring environmental lawyers should take courses in environmental law, it isn’t critical for them to attend a law school with an official concentration in this discipline, Gracer says.
“There are several law schools that have great environmental law programs,” he says, “but there are also law schools that are just excellent law schools that have great environmental law classes.”
6. Diverse skills are important for employability. Experts warn that the ebb and flow of environmental regulation enforcement means the demand for environmental attorneys changes depending on the political climate.
Beth S. Gotthelf, a shareholder in the Michigan-based Butzel Long law firm and co-chair of its energy and sustainability practice team, says it is prudent for aspiring environmental attorneys to diversify their legal skill set into related fields such as real estate law and government relations. Gaining a broad range of legal skills, Gotthelf says, will make aspiring attorneys more marketable and reduce their chances of being underemployed.
Gracer adds that aspiring environmental attorneys can benefit from taking business courses. “If I were going to law school today, I would get a joint J .D .-MBA because I think a lot of the solutions to climate change are going to be driven by market forces and private sector decisions in the business community,” he says.
7. Law school clinics can provide a solid foundation for an environmental law career. Rao, the NYU alumna, says an environmental law clinic can help students gain valuable introductions to potential career mentors and decide whether this type of legal work is right for them.
“It helped me get a flavor for what I would do in practice as an environmental lawyer, and it helped me to confirm that this is what I wanted to do,” Rao says.
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7 Considerations for Pursuing an Environmental Law Career originally appeared on usnews.com
