Beagle/HLS Fellowship at NRDC

History and Purposes

The Beagle/HLS Fellowship at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) provides graduating HLS students and recent alumni with a two-year funded litigation position at NRDC. The Fellowship has been established by a generous gift to Harvard Law School by the Beagle Foundation that was created by Joy Covey '89 and Lee Gerstein. The purposes of the Fellowship are to create a two-year job at NRDC for a recent HLS graduate (the "Fellow"); to provide training and supervision for the Fellow; to enhance the Fellow's lawyering/litigation skills; and to promote the Fellow's interest in pursuing a career in nonprofit environmental law.

Beagle/HLS Fellowship at NRDC Guidelines

Eligibility

The Beagle/HLS Fellowship will be awarded to graduating Harvard Law School students, judicial clerks or recent alumni (up to three years out of law school). Barring exceptional circumstances, preference will be given to law clerks and third-year students. Applicants must be available to start work the fall following their application.

Selection Criteria

The Fellows are selected by NRDC and a HLS Committee appointed by Dean Kagan. NRDC and the Committee seek Fellows who have demonstrated an interest in, and commitment to, nonprofit law, especially environmental law, and who demonstrate promise for an outstanding career in nonprofit environmental law. This interest and commitment may be demonstrated through their prior public service experience, personal essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, law school course work, academic achievements, and current work plans.
Placement

Beagle Fellows for 2008-2010 will be placed in either the San Francisco or Washington, D.C. NRDC office. NRDC will try to honor the Fellow's preferences as to which of the two offices he/she is placed in.
Fellowship Awards

The Fellowship award will be the starting salary for a new attorney or Fellow at NRDC, according to the NRDC scale. For the year, 2008-2009, the salary will be approximately $46- 50,000. NRDC will provide medical benefits for each Fellow equivalent to those provided to other NRDC employees, and will cover overhead expenses.

Application Materials and Procedures

Applications consist of the following documents:

• A cover letter which should include a statement about which NRDC office the applicant would prefer to work in and which offices the applicant would consider working in.
• Resume
• Law school transcript
• Writing sample
• References
• Two letters of recommendation, preferably including one from an HLS faculty member
• A personal essay

Applications should be received by the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising, addressed to Alexa Shabecoff, no later than September 28, 2007.

Select applicants will be invited to interview with NRDC and must participate in the interview to be further considered for the Fellowship.

Questions may be directed to Alexa Shabecoff, Esq., Assistant Dean, Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising, at (617) 495-3108. Applications and correspondence should be sent to:

Beagle/HLS Fellowship at NRDC
Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising
Pound Hall 328
Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA 02138

Award Decisions

Applicants will be notified about the outcome of the selection process by November 15, 2007.

Each Fellow's salary will be treated as income for the Low Income Protection Program (HLS's loan repayment program). Each Fellow will be eligible, through HLS, for consideration for Kaufman and Skirnick supplemental funding.