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Conservation Law Clinic

Working with the staff attorneys of the Conservation Law Center, Inc., which offers the Conservation Law Clinic in cooperation with the Law School, second- and third-year students serve as legal interns. The clinic provides legal services to nonprofit organizations and other clients in support of natural resource conservation.

What is the Conservation Law Clinic?

Introduced in spring of 2006, this clinic is one of Indiana Law's newest. The course operates with three main objectives: (1) to make positive contributions to the solution of conservation problems; (2) to contribute to the development of a more effective body of conservation law and policy; and (3) to educate law students through a closely collaborative process involving staff attorneys and clients.

Center attorneys and clinic students collaborate to resolve organization and incorporation problems, draft model legislation, and advocate for conservation of wildlife, ecological systems, and protected areas for clients whose issues involve advocacy-in the broadest sense of the word-for natural resources..

Students develop skills in research, advocacy, legislative drafting, and administrative practice and gain experience in the broader application of non-legal disciplines by working with experts in the biological sciences, ecology, agriculture, and forestry.

Why should I be involved?

"I came to law school to be an environmental lawyer," recent graduate and summer CLC research fellow Denise Walker says. "Environmental law coursework gave me a great foundation, but working with the clinic has really reinforced my desire to be an environmental advocate."

The clinic fills a final gap in Indiana Law's acclaimed programs in environmental law and in collaboration with IU School for Public and Environmental Affairs. Conservation Law Center Director William Weeks's expertise in environmental and conservation law serves as an additional resource for practical study.

The group is fervent about its causes, and Weeks says that the Center's clients have been impressed. "It's really exciting to be able to take students from the academic realm to a professional environment and to see them excel," he says.

About W. William Weeks

W. William Weeks, Director of the Conservation Law Center and adjunct professor of law, has represented clients in natural resource conservation matters in private practice as a member of the Bar in Indiana and the District of Columbia. He also worked for the conservation of biodiversity as an officer (Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President),of the Nature Conservancy. He is an Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington graduate (1979, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif), and the author of Beyond the Ark (Island Press, 1996.)

As a clinic student, what kinds of projects will I work on?

In the clinic's first semester, legal interns poured energy into legal matters and research for five different nonprofit entities. Client matters for 2006 included: analysis of Indiana's drainage laws and the preparation of documents for a client on how they might be applied or amended to secure better conservation results; work on combating invasive species in the Great Lakes; analysis of Pennsylvania's gravel mining laws; and several Indiana land trust issues.

What is the time commitment?

Though research and time commitments can be fairly demanding, the atmosphere of the clinic is generally casual and collaborative. "As clinicians, we put in a lot of time working for our clients," Walker says, "but it's such meaningful work and work that's so important to us that we want to spend the time to do a good job."

The clinic is a three-credit-hour course that includes weekly readings and discussion relating to essential skills of conservation law practice, weekly client team meetings, and several scheduled one-on-one meetings during the semester with the Clinic Director. In addition to scheduled meetings, students will spend 10-12 hours each week on client matters, and maintaining time sheets to document client work.

I want to be a part of this...

Here's what you need to know about participating in the Conservation Law Clinic (B558):

• Permission from Professor Weeks is required prior to enrolling.

• Preference will be given to students who have completed half of the coursework required toward a joint-degree or degree.

• Students interested in enrolling for two consecutive semesters are also preferred.