Summer 2026 Legal Intern (1L)

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C.

NRDC is seeking to hire a cohort of Summer Legal Interns to work on cases and projects with attorneys on our Litigation Team and within core issue areas (Human Health, Equity & Justice, Climate & Energy, and Nature). Our Summer Legal Interns can receive assignments from attorneys in any of our issue and practice areas through an assignment pool model. Intern positions for 1Ls are available in our San Francisco, Santa Monica, and Washington, D.C. offices.

This posting is specifically for: full-time law students in their 1L year.

NRDC’s Summer Legal Interns gain exposure to and support the broad range of our legal and policy advocacy that we use to protect the environment and public health. Our interns play an active role on the frontlines to protect our planet and the communities that depend upon it. In past summers, intern projects have included:

This internship is designed for current law school students. Prior experience in environmental law or with environmental issues is not required. When assessing candidates for the summer internship, we look for:

A successful candidate need not satisfy all of these criteria. Because a key purpose of our summer legal intern program is to help our interns learn and develop new legal skills, we welcome applicants who have room to grow as legal writers, researchers, and communicators.

The incumbent will not qualify as an employee, fellow, volunteer, or independent contractor of NRDC, nor will the incumbent be guaranteed employment at the end of the internship term.

NRDC operates under a hybrid work model. Employees are required to come into the office 8 days per month.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination. Those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions. NRDC treats all vaccination-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

Applications for 2026 Summer Legal Internships can be submitted online at www.nrdc.org/careers. You will need to electronically submit a cover letter, transcript, resume, contact information for two references, and a legal writing sample (samples from a legal research & writing class are fine).

In your cover letter, please:

You may address your cover letter to "Hiring Manager.”

If you have questions about the application process or requirements, email us at legalinterns@nrdc.org. Please specify that you are applying for the Summer Legal Internship (SLI) program.

The deadline to apply as a 1L student is February 27th, 2026. Offers will be made on a rolling basis; we strongly encourage you to apply early in our review period.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.