Earth Lawyers’ Legacy
A Visionary Legal Fellowship for Recently Retired Legal Professionals
May 6-17, 2024
Are you a seasoned legal professional who is recently retired, semi-retired, or soon-to-retire and eager to make a lasting impact on our planet’s future? Come join us at Earth Law Center!
Through ELC’s innovative Earth Lawyers’ Legacy Fellowship Program, set to launch in May, 2024, you can contribute to one of the most dynamic and impactful environmental movements in the world today. In addition to lawyers, others with deep involvement in the legal field such as politicians, paralegals, judges, and lobbyists are welcome to apply.
What is Earth Law? Earth law is the idea that ecosystems have the right to exist, thrive, and evolve—and that Nature should be able to defend its rights in court, just like people can. Earth Law Center, founded in 2008, is at the forefront of a movement to advance Earth law via legal models, legislation, advocacy, and education. We work in countries around the world and through a wide range of programs and initiatives including drafting new laws, contributing to legal cases from a Rights of Nature perspective, forming grassroots partnerships with environmental advocacy organizations, offering Earth law education for law students and young lawyers, and much more. Our Earth Lawyers’ Legacy Fellowship invites retired lawyers to be part of this transformative movement, contributing their invaluable knowledge, passion, and skills.
What Will You Do? Participants will work closely with our expert team, engaging in high-impact legal and educational initiatives aimed at advocating for the Earth’s vital ecosystems and the rights of the natural world. From cutting-edge legal cases that challenge the status quo to advocating for local and global policies that recognize Nature’s intrinsic value, our Earth Law Fellows will be at the forefront of environmental justice.
Who should apply? Any recently retired, semi-retired, or soon-to-retire legal professional with a passion for environmentalism and the ability to meet the fellowship’s time and travel requirements.
Fellowship Details
Location: Durango, Colorado, with option to continue remotely.
Dates: May 6 to 17, 2024, with option for partial or extended stays.
Housing: You’re welcome to find your own housing in or around Durango, or we can assist in finding you lodging with a local supporter.
Additional details:
Enjoy two weeks working at ELC’s headquarters office in beautiful Durango, Colorado. Durango is one of the premier locations in Colorado for mountain biking and river sports, and it offers close proximity to numerous national forests and wildlife areas as well as Mesa Verde, Silverton, Telluride, and more.
Receive an in-depth, expert orientation to the Rights of Nature movement and other ecocentric legal models and movements.
Build relationships with other fellows in your cohort as well as ELC’s passionate team of young lawyers, law student fellows, and interns.
Contribute from your existing areas of expertise, whether your prior work was in environmental law or in a different area altogether.
This is an unpaid fellowship.
If you are a retired legal professional ready to embark on a purpose-driven new phase, the Earth Lawyers’ Legacy Fellowship is your chance to be a part of the change we so desperately need. Together, we can rewrite the narrative of our relationship with the Earth and leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.
Join us in shaping a world where the law protects, respects, and champions Nature.
To Apply
Email your resume and a 1–page maximum cover letter to volunteer@earthlaw.org
You’ll have an initial response from ELC within one week.