ABOUT US

WRLC is a 501(c)(3) legal education organization and is currently the nation’s only hands-on legal training program specializing in legal education advocacy on behalf of natural resource users located throughout the United States.

Founded by a group committed to the advancement of natural resources education, WRLC grew out of the vision of resource development interests and the parallel desire on the part of a few legal educators and some determined students to balance the playing field at the foundation level of legal education. Our mission is to provide skills and training for law students seeking careers representing oil and gas interests, farmers, ranchers, timber companies, water users, mining companies, tribes, and other businesses that provide the natural resources and productive land uses on which modern life depends. We also serve to offer a balanced perspective to students who may have an emerging interest in environmental or natural resources law but who may be undecided about the direction of their careers. Our goal is to expose law students to, and stimulate their interest in, advocating for natural resource industries and landowners.

WRLC trained students and law graduates have been placed in externships and with public and private employers in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Texas, and Washington DC. 

WRLC staff also serves the natural resources industries in policy and legal work, not only in the West, but nationwide.

WRLC Mission Statement 
The Western Resources Legal Center is a 501 (c)(3) educational organization that provides law students with quality instruction and excellent opportunities to develop their legal skills and knowledge of natural resources and environmental laws through the legal representation of clients active in natural resource related industries that will lead to careers as attorneys and policymakers with an appreciation for the challenges faced by, and importance of, natural resource industries.