Region 1: EPA New England
Honors Attorney Fellowship
Past Honors Attorney Fellowship Participants
"The EPA Honors Fellowship gave me the foundation that I needed to pursue a career in the environmental legal field. …I was able to work on projects with both local and national implications. EPA gave me a broader understanding of the environmental legal structure that I use in a more focused manner everyday in my current position."
Wendoly
Ortiz Langlois, Assistant Attorney General,
Massachusetts
Attorney General's Office,
Environmental Crimes Strike Force
Boston, Massachusetts
"EPA is an agency whose legal practice spans across so many different sectors and disciplines – from dry cleaners to power plants, from public health to economics. From the start, I was thrilled to be in a place that challenged my imagination. And within months, I knew I wanted to stay."
Jeanhee Hong
Office of Regional Counsel EPA Region
IX
San Francisco, California
"I found that the Honors Attorney Fellowship provided a terrific opportunity to develop as an attorney. I gained a great deal of substantive knowledge while working on matters ranging from Superfund enforcement actions to Clean Water Act regulatory matters. …I felt that as a Fellow, I was given much more responsibility than many of my peers in private firms, yet I could always rely on my supervisors and colleagues when I needed help."
Andrea Treece
Center for Biological Diversity
San Francisco, California
"My cases - permit appeals, enforcement actions, contaminated military base cleanups, environmental justice issues, and more - are my own. My colleagues, whose experience in environmental and administrative law is deep and broad, provide as much help and support as I need. My clients are biologists and engineers dedicated to protecting the environment and public health from pollution, and my opposing counsel are usually senior partners at major law firms. This is a good way to start a legal career! "
Ronald Fein
Assistant Regional Counsel, EPA – Region I, Boston,
Massachusetts
Applicant Qualifications
The United States Environmental Protection Agency's New England office (Region 1) seeks applications for its Honors Attorney Fellowship from U.S. citizens who have graduated from an accredited law school within the past three years.
The Fellowship begins on September 21, 2015. The Fellow is expected to commit to a two-year term. Applications are submitted by email to Region1.Fellowship@epa.gov and must be received no later than July 22, 2015.
Fellowship Description
The Region 1 Honors Attorney Fellowship is designed for applicants who are recent law-school graduates, have a strong interest in a career in environmental law or in the public sector, and have academic credentials, experience, and other attributes that demonstrate a significant potential for success.
- The Fellowship offers a unique opportunity for recently graduated attorneys to join an office dedicated to protecting public health and the environment in New England. The Region offers attorneys significant responsibility, the opportunity to handle a complex caseload that includes counseling and enforcement work, and extensive training and mentoring from colleagues with regionally and nationally recognized expertise.
- The Region has innovative initiatives addressing environmental justice, brownfields redevelopment, and urban environmental issues, as well as programs to protect our air, water, and land.
- The Region's legal offices offer a diverse, supportive, and family-friendly work environment. The salary and comprehensive benefits will be at the GS-11 level (minimum salary currently $64,020), with promotion potential to the GS-12 level (minimum salary currently $76,735).
The U.S. EPA New England Offices of Regional Counsel and Environmental Stewardship
Attorneys in the Offices of Regional Counsel and Environmental Stewardship provide legal advice to the approximately 600 employees of Region 1, which is the regional office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Region 1 works with state, tribal, and local governments to implement national environmental law. The Honors Attorney Fellow will work primarily in the Office of Environmental Stewardship, but will also have assignments from the Office of Regional Counsel.
Attorneys in the Office of Environmental Stewardship handle civil and criminal enforcement cases against individuals, corporations, and governmental entities. Cases may proceed administratively or be referred to the Department of Justice and be heard in United States District Court. Enforcement attorneys work closely with EPA inspectors, scientists, and engineers. The Office of Environmental Stewardship includes approximately forty attorneys, as well as inspectors and support staff.
Attorneys in the Office of Regional Counsel provide counseling to EPA staff on implementing programs under the major federal environmental statutes, provide advice to states on the adequacy of state environmental laws to support program authorization by EPA, and provide counseling on matters involving ethics, civil rights, personnel, and appropriations. The work requires the interpretation of statutes and regulations in the context of environmental policy development. The Office of Regional Counsel employs about twelve lawyers as well as support staff.
Application Process
Application materials should be sent by email to Region1.Fellowship@epa.gov and must be received by EPA no later than July 22, 2015. Application materials may be in Word or PDF formats. Email submissions should include "2015 Fellowship Application" in the subject line of the message. If for any reason you cannot email your application, please contact Jorge Burgos at the phone number or email address below to arrange for mail delivery. Applications submitted through any other process or web site (such as by hand-delivery, fax, job fair, Symplicity or USA-Jobs web site) will not be accepted.
Applicants must submit the following materials (incomplete applications will not be considered):
- A resume describing your significant accomplishments, work experience, class rank (or other indicator of academic performance), day and evening telephone numbers, email address, and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of three references. Among your references please include a current or former employer and a law school professor or advisor.
- A copy of your law school transcript.
- A cover letter describing your interest in the Fellowship and your pertinent skills and background. You may also wish to use your cover letter to highlight relevant experiences or circumstances which might not be evident from the balance of your submission.
You should receive an automated response when EPA receives an application by email. If you do not, please contact Jorge Burgos at the email address below:
Jorge Burgos, Administrative Assistant
Office of Environmental Stewardship
US EPA Region 1
5 Post Office Square, Suite 100
Mail Code: OES04-1
Boston, MA 02109-3912
email: Burgos.Jorge@epa.gov; phone: 617-918-1790
Region 1 will invite selected applicants for interviews in Boston in August 2015, at the applicants’ expense. Applicants may request videoconference interviews. Each applicant invited for an interview must submit a writing sample and an official law school transcript copy prior to the interview.
EPA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please call Jorge Burgos prior to July 22, 2015. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be made on a case by case basis.
EPA is an equal opportunity employer. Selection for this position will be based solely on merit without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status or other differences. EPA encourages people of color to apply. If you qualify for veterans preference and you want the Agency to consider that preference as a positive factor in reviewing your application, you must include in your application appropriate documentation such as DD214(copy 4), your VA letter, or Standard Form-15 (disabled veteran).