Application Guide
How to Apply for Fall 2026 Legal Externship – Community Partnerships Program
at Earthjustice
🏢 About Earthjustice
Earthjustice is unique as the nation's premier nonprofit environmental law organization that exclusively represents clients free of charge, using litigation as its primary tool. Unlike traditional law firms, they partner directly with frontline communities and focus entirely on environmental justice cases, making them the legal arm of the environmental movement. Someone would want to work here to engage in high-impact environmental litigation while collaborating directly with communities most affected by pollution and climate change.
About This Role
This externship in the Community Partnerships Program involves working directly with frontline communities facing environmental harms from facilities like refineries, oil wells, and waste treatment plants. You'll support litigation and advocacy efforts that address pollution, toxins, and hazardous waste through legal research, drafting, and community engagement. The role is impactful because you'll help empower communities fighting for environmental justice while gaining hands-on experience in public interest environmental law.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve conducting legal research on regulatory frameworks for refinery emissions, drafting memos for ongoing community partnership cases, and participating in virtual meetings with team members across different offices. You could be analyzing environmental impact statements for waste treatment facilities while collaborating with supervising attorneys to develop legal strategies that support community-led environmental justice campaigns.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Earthjustice Is Looking For
- A law student eligible for academic credit who demonstrates genuine passion for environmental justice (not just general environmentalism)
- Someone with coursework or experience in environmental law, administrative law, civil procedure, or community lawyering
- A candidate who understands the specific challenges frontline communities face with pollution sources like refineries and incinerators
- An individual who embodies Earthjustice's core values of justice, inclusion, partnership, and excellence in their background and approach
📝 Tips for Applying to Earthjustice
Explicitly address your eligibility for academic credit or graduation requirement fulfillment in your application materials
Demonstrate specific knowledge of Earthjustice's Community Partnerships Program cases (e.g., mention specific communities or facilities they've worked with)
Highlight any remote collaboration experience since this is a remote/hybrid position
Connect your background to Earthjustice's specific values of partnership and inclusion, not just environmental passion
Tailor your materials to show understanding of the program's focus on refineries, oil wells, incinerators, and waste treatment plants specifically
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
['Your specific interest in the Community Partnerships Program (not just Earthjustice generally) and why frontline community work appeals to you', "How your background aligns with Earthjustice's core values of justice, inclusion, partnership, and excellence", 'Any relevant coursework or experience with environmental justice, administrative law, or community-based legal work', "Your understanding of the program's focus on specific pollution sources and affected communities"]
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Recent Community Partnerships Program cases and the specific communities they've served
- → Earthjustice's specific litigation strategies and how they differ from other environmental organizations
- → The geographic focus areas of their Los Angeles, New York, and DC offices where hybrid work is possible
- → Earthjustice's organizational structure and how the Community Partnerships Program fits within it
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Generic environmental passion without specific focus on justice for frontline communities
- Failing to address academic credit eligibility or graduation requirements
- Treating this as a general environmental law externship rather than specifically community partnership work
- Not demonstrating understanding of Earthjustice's unique nonprofit litigation model
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!