Natural Resources & Environmental Law

Opportunities and Resources

Externships

The following is a sampling of firms and agencies that are likely to accept a student extern. Interested students are encouraged to contact a member of the Natural Resources Committee to discuss these or other externship possibilities. Students interested in pursuing a particular externship should contact Associate Dean Barbara Bergman or Career Services.

New Mexico

Out of State

  • U.S. Department of Justice (Washington, D.C.)
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Washington, D.C.)
  • Western Resource Advocates (Boulder)
  • Advocates for the West (Boise office)
  • Trout Unlimited Western Water Project (CO,UT,WY,MT)
  • National Wildlife Federation (Boulder)

UNM Law Clinic

On occasion, the UNM law clinic works with community groups and community partners on land use issues and environmental matters. Examples include working with the Pajarito Mesa Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association to obtain a water supply system for their community and clinic students working with the New Mexico Water Lawyers’ Association, a nonprofit organization.

Environmental Moot Court

The Pace Environmental Law Moot Court Competition is the preeminent environmental law moot in the United States, attracting competitors representing more than 70 national and Canadian law schools. Participants write and debate about an environmental topic that involves issues drawn from real cases. The competition is unique in that three teams argue the issues, reflecting the fact that environmental litigation frequently involves multiple parties ‒ the government, a public interest group and a member of the regulated community. Teams write and file their briefs for their respective parties in early December and travel to Pace in White Plains, NY in February for the oral phase of the competition.

Environmental Law Society

The Mission

  • Promote awareness of environmental, natural and cultural resource issues and their legal, political and socio-economic implications.
  • Facilitate environmental, natural and cultural resource activism through example, education and community involvement.
  • Encourage communication and collaboration between the conservation, social justice and political/legal communities.
  • Enhance the law school experience for students interested in environmental, natural, and cultural resource issues confronting New Mexico and our world.

American Bar Association Summer Diversity Fellowship in Environmental Law
For the past three years the American Bar Association, the New Mexico Environment Department and the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association have provided funds for eligible students to intern with nonprofit organizations representing traditionally underserved groups, nonprofit environmental organizations and local, state and federal governmental organizations with environmental responsibilities.
The program is open to students from underrepresented or underserved groups who have completed their first or second year of law school and are in good academic standing. In the past, the New Mexico Environment Department, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center and New Mexico Legal Aid have provided placements in New Mexico for these fellows. The students each received a $5,000 stipend (two students each summer). The program is open to all ABA accredited schools. Contact Professor Eileen Gauna for more information.

Institute of Public Law

The Institute of Public Law, the public-service arm of the Law School, is a resource for law students. Externships and work-study positions, when available, offer students the chance to deepen their knowledge of water issues and environmental regulatory programs. Students also participate in projects at the center for wildlife law, the only national center dedicated to education, research and the analysis of state, national and internal wildlife laws. They help edit the wildlife law news quarterly and write and conduct research for state and federal wildlife laws handbooks.

Dual Degree

Students can earn a dual graduate degree in law and water resources. Through the university’s water resources program, they can complete an interdisciplinary master’s degree in either the hydro science or policy/management aspect of water resources and combine it with their legal studies. For more information on the option, contact the Director of the Water Resources Program at 505-277-7759.

Some students combine Indian law and natural resources, earning certificates in each specialty.

Law Library

The UNM Law Library’s collection includes specialty materials on environmental law, oil and gas law, energy law, water law and law on Indian lands. It also collects the proceedings and reports of the rocky mountain mineral law foundation, of which the law school is a governing organization. Students can explore natural resources issues through a variety of resources, including the usgs series of water-resources investigations reports, cd-rom products such as BNA’s environmental reporter and web subscriptions to greenwire/environment and energy daily. The Law Library also has a complete collection of congressional reports and documents on microfiche, which aid in the study of congressional activities in the natural resources areas.