Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Legal Extern for Legal Services Unit
Spring 2021 Semester
DEADLINE NOVEMBER 1, 2020
General Information: The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) engages in a wide variety of activities to ensure that human health and the environment are protected in Minnesota. The Agency’s Legal Service Unit has 9 staff members, including 7 attorneys who provide legal advice in the areas of permitting, enforcement, rulemaking, Data Practices Act, and policy to the Agency’s land remediation, air quality, water quality, and solid waste programs.
Legal Extern: The Legal Services Unit seeks externs for the Spring 2021 semester to directly assist attorneys with a variety of legal matters. Tasks include short and longer-term legal research and drafting memoranda on a broad spectrum of issues. The externship provides a singularly unique opportunity for exposure to a broad spectrum of administrative and environmental law issues and insight to how a regulatory agency functions. Our attorneys make every effort to ensure that the extern attends a mixture of meetings, hearings, and other events related to the extern’s assigned projects or to the general operation of environmental programs at the MPCA.
Appointment: We will select one or two externs for the Spring 2021 semester. We will consider applicants for 2-3 credits (100-145 hours).
Compensation: This is an unpaid position.
Minimum Qualifications:
• 2nd or 3rd year law student attending an accredited law school
• Strong legal research, writing, and oral communication skills
• Ability to function in a supporting role to accomplish the work of the Legal Services Unit
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers
• Time management and organizational skills necessary for setting, monitoring, and adjusting priorities in order to accomplish work tasks on time
• Interest in environmental and administrative law strongly preferred but not required
Application Process: Please provide a resume, a writing sample of not more than 5 pages, and a cover letter specifying the number credits in which you are interested. Clearly outline the knowledge, skills, and abilities you would bring to the externship and what you hope to achieve or learn through participating in the externship. The vacancy is open until filled. Work hours and start/end dates for the semester are flexible, but will generally average 10 – 12 hours a week, typically scheduled over one full day and one half day per week. Please confirm in your cover letter that upon acceptance, you will enroll in the applicable externship course through your law school.
Application deadline is 4:00 p.m. November 1, 2020. Submit your materials by e-mail to legalservicesexterns.pca@state.mn.us.
MPCA Contact: Jean Coleman, Attorney, MPCA, 651-757-2631, jean.coleman@state.mn.us.