From the EPA to the Arbor Day Foundation, students make most of their green summers

Each summer, Tulane Law students interested in environmental law head off to all the corners of the country (and occasionally, the globe), to get skills training in the field. These “green summers” provide a foundation that often becomes the nexis that launches the next generation of environmental advocates and lawyers.

Here’s what just a few of our students did this summer…

Steven Anton (L’24)

"This summer, I worked at the South Carolina Environmental Law Project in Mount Pleasant, SC. It was a really great experience. I was mostly researching and writing memos to help out attorneys and other employees. It’s a small organization and I got to know the people there well, one of the biggest reasons as to why I enjoyed my summer so much.

"Outside of writing memos, I attended a session of administrative law court where our attorneys argued against allowing a luxury development to destroy one of Charleston’s remaining creeks. It was great to see how passionate our side was about protecting Gadsden Creek and was a highlight of the summer."

If you are interested in SCELP’s, the link can be found here.  

Malcolm Lloyd (L’24)

"I’m a 2L from Boston, Mass., and this summer I worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York City. I was extremely fortunate to work the NRDC’s Environment, Equity & Justice Center fighting the toxic contamination of drinking water currently impacting the Illinois state prison system. In addition, I worked on food justice issues advocating for SNAP expansion and Black Farmers United in New York State. I’m extremely proud to have learned from our country’s leading environmental lawyers, and in researching how Legionella and Cyanotoxins can be litigated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which are both unregulated contaminants found in the drinking water in the Illinois state prison system.

"Prior to law school, I served as a staff investigator for five years at the Orleans Public Defenders,  and this year I’m a law clerk with the Tulane Legal Assistance Program and the ACLU of Louisiana. Additionally, I have a master’s in history from the University of Edinburgh, and wrote a dissertation investigating the relationship between the oil and gas industry and the prison system in Louisiana."

Alex Keiser (L’23)

"I spent the summer at EPA Headquarters in Washington D.C. clerking for the EPA’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. While there, I assisted staff attorneys by doing legal research, writing memos, and drafting judgments for administrative enforcement cases conducted within the agency. I also had the chance to attend seminars and trainings hosted by the attorneys in EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to learn all about the work EPA does across the country to enforce environmental statutes such as the Clean Air Act."

Edie Hanly (L’23)

"This summer I worked at a small plaintiff’s firm, Seeger Weiss, as part of their environmental team on toxic tort cases. A few highlights: I worked on a case representing the State of Vermont on state law tort and state hazardous waste claims claims against the manufacturers and sellers of PFAS (aka “forever chemicals”) throughout the state. I helped draft motions to compel discovery and researched issues of environmental sampling and expert cost recovery and was lucky enough to participate in client meetings and expert witness site visits.

 "I also worked on a case representing the City of Los Angeles in litigation against Monsanto for industrial pollution, where I helped prepare the winning oral argument on a motion to remand. It was a really great summer and I’m happy to say I will be returning next year as I was offered a position after graduation."

Cassandra Hemmer (L’24)

"As a rising 2L, I worked this summer at Arbor Day Foundation’s very first law student intern. I was able to create a model tree care ordinance template that ensures municipal ordinances comply with state law, conduct research on existing litigation pertaining to trees, advise on the potential claims that may arise against the ordinance, and formulate suggestions for future directions of their Tree Line USA utility program. Amongst these suggestions was a recommendation for Arbor Day to help utilities comply with their ESG statements to incentivize more utilities to be recognized by the program."

More on Hemmer's work can be found here.

Thomas Miller (L'24)

"This past summer, I worked for the Water Law Institute on research related to fracking, oyster shell recycling, urban farming, the 2022 legislative session, and the Louisiana Climate Action Plan. While I was there, I had the chance to make new connections with experts in the field who were looking for answers to the same questions as we were. Working for the Institute full-time was a truly invaluable experience, and I look forward to continued opportunities to further their mission."