Center for International Environmental Law

CIEL's intern/extern/fellowship program offers lawyers, law students and other exceptionally motivated students and graduates excellent opportunities to gain experience in the field of international environmental law. Externs work full or part-time during the school year, usually receiving credit from their schools. Summer interns typically work full-time during the summer months. Fellows serve full-time for varied terms.  Due to limited resources, internships, externships and fellowships are unpaid. We do not consider undergraduates for legal internships.

Responsibilities of an intern or fellow include researching and writing about areas of international law and policy; assisting with policy analysis and advocacy; attending meetings and conferences; assisting with the production of CIEL publications; and otherwise working closely with CIEL staff on various projects.

Successful applicants generally possess excellent research and writing skills and a strong dedication to public interest law. CIEL actively seeks applicants with diverse backgrounds.

To apply for internships or fellowships in Washington, D.C., please send a cover letter, resume, and short writing sample to Sofia Plagakis at splagakis@ciel.org, or mail them to:

Center for International Environmental Law
Attention Intern Coordinator
1350 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 1100
Washington, D.C. 20036

We accept applications on a rolling basis for Fall, Spring and Summer Internships.

CIEL offers one special fellowship each year, the Louis B. Sohn Fellowship in Human Rights and Environment, for public interest lawyers that have had significant on the ground experience working on human rights issues.