Region 1: EPA New England

Honors Attorney Fellowship

Applicant Qualifications
The United States Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office seeks applications for its Honors Attorney Fellowship only from:

• law students at accredited law schools or joint degree programs completing their degree work in the 2008/2009 academic year, and
• current judicial clerks recently graduated from accredited law schools.

The Fellowship begins in September, 2009, and the Fellow is expected to commit to a two-year term. A new Fellow will be hired each year---thus two Fellows serve concurrently. Applications must be submitted via regular or express mail, or email and must be postmarked no later than October 10, 2008.

Fellowship Description
The US EPA New England Honors Attorney Fellowship is designed for applicants who are about to graduate from law school or complete a judicial clerkship. Applicants must have a strong interest in a career in environmental law or in the public sector and academic credentials, experience, and other attributes that demonstrate a significant potential for success.

• The Fellowship offers a unique opportunity for entry-level law students or clerks to join an office dedicated to protecting public health and the environment in New England. The Region offers new attorneys significant responsibility, the opportunity to handle a complex caseload that includes counseling and enforcement work, and extensive training and mentoring from colleagues with regionally and nationally recognized expertise.
• The Region has innovative initiatives addressing environmental justice, brownfields redevelopment, and urban environmental issues, as well as programs to protect our air, water, and land.
• The Region's legal offices offer a diverse, supportive, and family-friendly work environment. The salary and comprehensive benefits will ordinarily be at the GS-11 level (currently starting at $58,986) or, in exceptional circumstances, may be at the GS-12 level (currently starting at $70,699).

The U.S. EPA New England Offices of Regional Counsel and Environmental Stewardship

Attorneys in the Offices of Regional Counsel and Environmental Stewardship provide legal advice to the approximately 700 employees of EPA New England, which is the regional office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The regional office works with state, tribal, and local governments to implement national environmental law. The Honors Attorney Fellow is a member of the Office of Regional Counsel but will also undertake approximately half of his/her work assignments in the Office of Environmental Stewardship.

Examples of the type of work performed by lawyers in the Office of Regional Counsel include counseling to EPA staff on implementing programs under the major federal environmental statutes, advice to states on the adequacy of state environmental laws to support program authorization by EPA, and counseling on matters involving ethics, civil rights, personnel, and contracts. The work requires the interpretation of statutes and regulations in the context of environmental policy development. The Office of Regional Counsel employs about thirteen lawyers as well as support staff.

Lawyers in the Office of Environmental Stewardship handle civil and criminal enforcement cases which the EPA brings against individuals, corporations, and governmental entities. Cases may proceed administratively or be referred to the Department of Justice and be heard in United States District Court. Enforcement attorneys work closely with EPA inspectors, scientists, and engineers. The Office of Environmental Stewardship includes approximately forty attorneys, as well as inspectors and support staff.

Application Process
Applicants must submit the materials listed below by no later than October 10, 2008. Application materials sent via regular or express mail must be postmarked no later than this deadline. Application materials sent via email must be received by EPA no later than this deadline. EPA can review email documents in Word, Wordperfect, or PDF formats. Email submissions should include "2009 Fellowship Application" in the subject line of the message. No hand-delivered or faxed submissions will be accepted.

1. A resume including significant accomplishments, work experience, class rank (or equivalent indicator of academic performance), day and evening telephone numbers, and email address if available.
2. A copy of your law school transcript.
3. A personal essay, separate from any cover letter, of no more than 300 words that provides a concrete example of how you overcame a challenge or challenges to achieve a goal or describes aspects of your experience or background that you believe are relevant but which might not be evident from the balance of your submission.
4. The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references. Please include a current or former employer and a law school professor or advisor. You may submit with your application any letters of recommendation you believe the committee should consider (this is optional).

Email to:
region1.fellowship@epa.gov

You should receive an automated response when EPA receives your application, and if not, please contact Sally Burt at 617-918-1099.

Or send to:
Application for and questions about the EPA New England Honors Attorney Fellowship should be directed to:

Sally Burt/Mail Code: RAA
US EPA New England
1 Congress Street/Suite 1100
Boston, MA 02114-2023
phone: 617-918-1090

Selected applicants will be invited for interviews, at the candidate's expense, in Boston in late October and November 2008. Each selected candidate must submit a writing sample and an official law school transcript copy prior to the interview; offers will generally be made in November or early December.

Honors Attorney Fellowship 2009 Brochure (PDF) (2 pp., 1.44 MB, about PDF)

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EPA is an equal opportunity employer. Selection for this position will be based solely on merit without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status or other differences. EPA encourages people of color to apply.

Honors Attorney Fellowship 2009 Brochure (PDF) (2 pp., 1.44 MB, about PDF)

Past Honors Attorney Fellowship Participants "The EPA Honors Fellowship gave me the foundation that I needed to pursue a career in the environmental legal field.  …I was able to work on projects with both local and national implications.  EPA gave me a broader understanding of the environmental legal structure that I use in a more focused manner everyday in my current position." Wendoly Ortiz Langlois, Assistant Attorney General, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Environmental Crimes Strike Force Boston, Massachusetts "EPA is an agency whose legal practice spans across so many different sectors and disciplines – from dry cleaners to power plants, from public health to economics.  From the start, I was thrilled to be in a place that challenged my imagination.  And within months, I knew I wanted to stay." Jeanhee Hong Office of Regional Counsel EPA Region IX San Francisco, California "I found that the Honors Attorney Fellowship provided a terrific opportunity to develop as an attorney.  I gained a great deal of substantive knowledge while working on matters ranging from Superfund enforcement actions to Clean Water Act regulatory matters.  …I felt that as a Fellow, I was given much more responsibility than many of my peers in private firms, yet I could always rely on my supervisors and colleagues when I needed help." Andrea Treece Center for Biological Diversity San Francisco, California "My cases - permit appeals, enforcement actions, contaminated military base cleanups, environmental justice issues, and more - are my own. My colleagues, whose experience in environmental and administrative law is deep and broad, provide as much help and support as I need. My clients are biologists and engineers dedicated to protecting the environment and public health from pollution, and my opposing counsel are usually senior partners at major law firms. This is a good way to start a legal career! " Ronald Fein Assistant Regional Counsel, EPA – Region I, Boston, Massachusetts