A career in Environmental Law By Dipanjan Majumder An environmental lawyer is an attorney that focuses on litigation having to do with a broad range of environmental concerns. Examples include air and water quality, climate change, wildlife protection and biodiversity, and chemicals and pesticides. The career outlook for an environmental lawyer is keen. They make on average $60-$103 thousand a year. An environmental attorney may also deal with issues like environmental impact planning, and sustainable growth and development. An environmental lawyer often works with the general public affected by environmental issues in individual litigation or class action lawsuits, or may work for government agencies, corporations, or non-profit organizations.Practicing law involves much more than the emotionally-charged trial proceedings of courtroom dramas. Lawyers spend most of their time in the office—not in court—since most cases, especially in environmental law, are settled before trial. Attorneys work mostly independently, with help from interns, secretaries and/or paralegals, but they’ll usually work in teams for high-profile cases. Since they often need to complete large, time-sensitive projects, attorneys clock in well over 40 hours per week, with many working as many as 80 hours per week. Occasionally they’ll travel for on-site visits or interviews. Environmental lawyers use legal skill and training to develop policies and engage in litigation that prevents environmental damage, results in environmental clean-up, or compensates people for harm they have suffered as a result of environmental contamination. Environmental attorneys play a key role in the system of checks and balances to prevent government and big business from engaging in practices that undermine the natural environment, and harm people in the process. Examples of cases handled by an environmental attorney include cases involving toxic mold in homes, builder negligence, illnesses resulting from companies’ negligence or willful contamination of water and air, and litigation against the government to clarify or compel environmental regulation. Environmental law combines knowledge in law and legal procedures with knowledge and passion for environmental concerns. If you enjoy engaging in research and writing, public speaking and debate, and working with clients one-on-one to address environmental concerns, then you may enjoy a career as an environmental lawyer. An environmental attorney must also be good at processing and synthesizing new information, and must have a solid background in understanding environmental concerns. [Excerpt] Read the full article here: lawlex.org/lex-bulletin/a-career-in-environmental-law/6137
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 01:45:23 +0000
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