For Students
WRLC Clinical Internship Seminar (CIS)
Limit 3 - 5 students
Course Description on Lewis & Clark Site »
Second and third-year law students interested in the legal needs of private individuals and businesses in the environmental and natural resources fields can gain practical skills through work with the Western Resources Legal Center (WRLC), a Portland-based non-profit organization. Under the supervision of WRLC's director/staff attorney, students will interview and counsel clients, conduct fact investigations, problem solve, draft documents, negotiate agreements, and represent clients at administrative hearings, trials and appeals. WRLC represents individuals and small businesses engaged in farming, ranching, forestry, dairy production, mining, and land developments as well as small, local governments, water and irrigation districts and other entities dependent on natural resource use and development. Areas of student work may include: water quality, grazing, wildlife, forestry, land use and zoning, transactions related to natural resource use, mining and property rights issues. Students will also gain exposure to local pracitioners and industry leaders and operators.
Law students will be supervised in their work by the full-time WRLC director, an attorney. No prior experience is required and both second and third year students are encouraged to participate. Class size will initially be limited to 3-5 students.
The Clinical Internship Seminar WRLC, is a 4-credit, Credit/No Credit course with no final examination. Students are required to complete a writing requirement, such as work on a brief, or a memo to a client. In most cases, the writing requirement can fulfill the WIE writing requirement. To successfully earn academic credit, students are expected to spend approximately 9-10 hours per week working on WRLC matters to the satisfaction of the supervising attorney. In addition, students are required to attend and participate in a weekly two-hour class that will cover general lawyering skills, overview of relevant substantive law, and discussion of cases in progress.
How To Apply
A student must have permission to register for this course. To do so, submit a letter of interest, an unofficial transcript and writing sample to Executive Director, Caroline Lobdell either by email to wrlegal@wrlegal.org or in hard copy form to 5100 S.W. Macadam Avenue, Suite 350, Portland, Oregon 97239. A resume, while not required, is also appreciated. If you have a resume prepared, please include that too. The deadline for receipt is June 10 of each year. Late applications will be considered on a rolling basis as class availability permits. Please include your name, contact information, year in law school, and reasons for your interest in working with WRLC. Your application must indicate which semester you are applying for, or if you are open to placement either semester. If there is more student demand than the CIS can accommodate, preference will be based on interest and year in school. The Registrar will notify all those who sign up for CIS: WRLC of their status, if the class is oversubscribed.
Meets the B writing requirement or the WIE writing requirement.
WRLC Advanced Clinical Internship Seminar (CIS)
Class size is limited to one or two students, depending on the complexity of the legal work involved and WRLC's case load.
The Advanced WRLC CIS is a two-credit pass/no pass clinical internship seminar offered to qualified and interested WRLC students during semesters where caseload and legal work allow. Only students
that have completed the WRLC CIS and have the professor's approval may apply to take this course.
Advanced WRLC CIS students assist in teaching the WRLC CIS and are responsible for making presentations to the WRLC CIS class. Given the student participation with teaching the WRLC CIS, there is a component of lecture time. The primary focus of this course, however, is the opportunity to work on advanced legal projects. Students work under the direct supervision of WRLC and are required to attend strategy meetings with co-counsel and/or the supervising attorney.
The specific work assigned often depends on individual student interest, skill set, and level. To date, students have worked on an amicus brief before the United States Supreme Court, a Ninth Circuit Court Appeal, motions for summary judgment and supportingmemorandum, and various other court pleadings and legal memorandums. The advanced WRLC CIS is offered only when WRLC's caseload offers advanced learning opportunities and the student is able to meet WRLC heightened requirements.
How To Apply
A student must have permission to register for this course. To do so, submit a letter of interest to Executive Director, Caroline Lobdell either by email to clobdell@wrlegal.org or in hard copy form to
Executive Director, Caroline Lobdell
5100 SW Macadam, Suite 350
Portland OR 97239.
Your letter should indicate which semester you are applying for, or if you are flexible.
