The Turner Environmental Law Clinic provides important pro bono legal representation to policymakers, community groups, and nonprofit organizations that seek to protect and restore the natural environment and promote the well-being of local communities. Through its litigation, transactional, and policy work, the Clinic offers students a hands-on introduction to environmental law and trains the next generation of environmental attorneys. The Clinic enrolls up to ten second-year and third-year students each semester. Student attorneys work a minimum of 150 hours in the Clinic and receive three graded credit hours towards graduation. Students may work in the Clinic for two semesters.
Clinic students attending a zoning hearing in Forest Park, Georgia to support more inclusive zoning for farmers markets.
Clinic students attending a tour of the Chattahoochee Brick Site with the Conservation Fund’s Vice President and Regional Director, Stacy Funderburke
Clinic students and Emory pediatricians touring the headwaters of the Flint River.
Clinic students standing outside of Representative John Lewis’s office on a trip to Washington, D.C. to discuss with members of Congress the importance of timely responses to FOIA requests.
Clinic students visiting an urban farm in Atlanta, Georgia.
Emory undergraduate and graduate students, including Clinic students, presenting research at the 22nd United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties in Marrakech, Morocco.
Clinic students with co-counsel Diane Curran, at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearing regarding a proposed nuclear waste storage site in New Mexico.
An Impactful Legal Resource
Working Towards Sustainable Solutions: Each year, the Turner Environmental Law Clinic provides over 4,000 hours of free legal representation. The key matters occupying our docket—fighting for clean and sustainable energy, promoting regenerative agriculture and local food systems, and protecting our natural resources and communities—are among the most critical issues for our city, state, region, and nation. Lawyers are problem solvers by trade, and the Clinic is all about creating solutions that benefit people and places, today and tomorrow.
Contributing to the Future of the Field: Each year, the Clinic enrolls up to 24 Emory Law students. These students learn to master the core elements of environmental law by conducting actual legal work – taking part in all aspects of complex civil litigation, presenting arguments at administrative hearings, drafting and negotiating transactional documents, and working on legislative and policy issues. Not only do they emerge with newfound expertise and confidence, but they understand from firsthand experience the importance of providing public interest environmental representations.
Cultivating Community: The Clinic takes the lead on many representations, and works behind the scenes on others, facilitating positive change for the environment and communities. With a genuine commitment to making sure that all voices are heard, the Clinic is partnering with nonprofit organizations and law firms, community groups, scientists, and scholars to help address environmental harms across our country.
Contact Shree'ca Lott, Program Coordinator for the Turner Environmental Law Clinic, with any questions.
Email: shreeca.lott@emory.edu