Summer Legal Clerkship

Our Children's Trust is looking for current law students to join us as Law Clerks to support our Legal Team!

This is an unprecedented opportunity for a law student to be part of a cutting-edge legal strategy and work with some of the top attorneys and scientists from around the world to address the climate crisis.

Our Children’s Trust is a non‑profit public interest law firm that provides strategic, campaign‑based legal services to youth from diverse backgrounds to secure their legal rights to a safe climate. We work to protect the Earth’s climate system for present and future generations by representing young people in global legal efforts to secure their binding and enforceable legal rights to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate, based on the best available science.

We support our youth clients and amplify their voices before the third branch of government in a highly strategic legal campaign that includes targeted media, education, and public engagement work to support the youths’ legal actions. Our legal work – guided by constitutional, public trust, human rights laws and the laws of nature – aims to ensure systemic and science‑based climate recovery planning and remedies at federal, state, and global levels.

We seek legally‑binding, countrywide and/or statewide science‑based Climate Recovery Plans that will return atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to levels below 350 ppm by the year 2100.

Our Children’s Trust (OCT) is a nonprofit organization seeking law students interested in using the law to fight climate change. OCT works to secure the legal right to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate for current and future generations through its coordination of a global legal campaign. As a part of this strategic campaign, since 2011 OCT has supported youth in filing legal actions in every U.S. state, against the federal government in Juliana v.

United States, and in different countries around the world. Through litigation, administrative petitions for rule making, and climate recovery ordinances, OCT supports youth advocating for science‑based carbon emission reductions necessary to restore climate equilibrium on the planet.

Law clerks will directly support OCT’s legal efforts in local, state, federal, and/or international actions, including the constitutional and public trust climate case filed against the federal government by 21 young people in Juliana v. U.S. (D. Or. 2015). Law clerks will have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, which could include assisting attorneys around the country and the world in their legal efforts;

working with experts; conducting legal and evidentiary research; drafting legal memoranda; drafting, reviewing, and editing complaints, briefs, motions, discovery requests, and declarations; preparing for oral argument and trial; and assisting with document review. OCT relies heavily on law clerks for support, placing a premium on careful, accurate, and self‑directed work.

Positions can be full time or part time and can be completed remotely or in our office in Eugene, Oregon. Preference will be given to students who can commit to working at least 10 hours per week during the Summer.

A Legal Clerkship is an unpaid volunteer opportunity.

Our Children’s Trust is willing to support law students in securing outside funding or academic credit for their work. OCT is an equal opportunity employer and committed to fostering diversity and inclusiveness among our staff and law clerks. People of color, women, LGBTQ+, and people of different faiths and national origin are encouraged to apply.

Please complete our online application including:

• Resume
• Cover letter
• Short writing sample (no more than 7 pages) as an attachment to your cover letter.
• Copy of your transcript (unofficial OK)
• 3 references (at least one legal) with email addresses and phone numbers.

We recruit for three sessions per year:
Fall, Spring, Summer on a rolling basis.

“Working at Our Children’s Trust is challenging, engaging, and most importantly, deeply meaningful. The work was…