[Hiring] Legal Intern, Clean Affordable Power @Environmental Defense Fund

Role Description

EDF internships provide high-quality experiences (including relevant projects and opportunities for networking) that form the foundation for any individual who is serious about pursuing an environmental career.

Location: U.S. Remote with the option to work in a hybrid arrangement from EDF offices in Boulder, CO, or Washington, D.C.

Term: Fall 2026

Hours: Part-time (10-15 hr/week)

Application Materials: Interested applicants should attach their cover letter and resume to the EDF application, together with a writing sample and unofficial law school transcript. In your cover letter, please describe your interest in environmental law, policy, justice and relevant completed coursework.

The U.S. Legal & Regulatory team envisions a world in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected to the environmental challenges we face and are engaged in creating durable, equitable solutions. We are dedicated to achieving that vision in our work, helping achieve clean air and a stable climate for all.

Legal interns on the U.S. Legal & Regulatory team contribute meaningfully to the team’s work securing clean air and climate protections. We aim to make our interns’ experience relevant, challenging, and rewarding. Our interns have directly contributed towards landmark cases over the years and have supported activities including:

• U.S. Supreme Court litigation
• D.C. Circuit litigation over greenhouse gas regulation under the Clean Air Act
• Major international agreements and guidelines regarding trans-boundary pollution control programs in the U.S./Mexico border region
• Projects ensuring protections for low-income and vulnerable communities from air pollution
• Energy regulatory advocacy seeking to prevent wasteful expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure and facilitate the clean energy transition

Overall Function: The intern will support EDF's Clean Affordable Power legal team in regulatory proceedings before state public utility commissions across the Midwest and Northeast. Working closely with attorneys, the intern will:

• Conduct legal and policy research
• Analyze utility filings and testimony
• Help develop comments, briefs, and other advocacy materials on issues including utility rate design, demand response, heat pump deployment, distributed energy resources, and utility planning
• Support EDF's Community Voices in Energy initiative by developing educational resources, researching best practices for meaningful public participation, and contributing to projects that strengthen community engagement and advance equitable utility decision-making

Qualifications

• Current student at ABA-approved law school
• Interest in energy utility litigation, with previous working experience or energy law coursework
• Demonstrated interest or experience related to diversity, equity, and inclusion as it intersects with environmental law
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Must be well organized, motivated, and detail oriented
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and meet deadlines
• Ability to work in a team setting and independently when projects are due
• Demonstrated initiative and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrate self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across all cultures and backgrounds

Requirements

• Demonstrated initiative and problem-solving skills

Benefits

• This internship would involve compensation for work paid at a rate competitive with leading non-profits at an hourly rate of $28.57

Company Description

Learn more about internships at EDF - http://www.edf.org/environmental-careers/internships