Do you have an upcoming interview with a firm and want to ask about their climate commitments? To get some clarity on the firm’s work, consider asking:

• Do you work with fossil fuel clients? How extensively?

• If yes: Do you plan to continue representing fossil fuel companies? If so, to what extent? Do you plan to build out/expand your fossil fuel client base?

• How does firm think about fossil fuels work as a long term strategy while the world shifts towards clean energy?

• Does the firm work with any renewables or clean energy clients? Is the firm looking to expand in this area?

• What kind of work do you do in your renewables space? Is it pro bono or is it billed?

• I want my career to be climate positive. Are there billable hours at your firm for doing renewables or clean energy work?

• If I get a case I feel is unconscionable for some reason, to what degree can I ask to be swapped to a different assignment?

• Has the firm accepted contract clauses allowing applicants to opt out of particular types of work or work for particular clients?

• How would the firm support me in building a climate-positive practice?

If they’re a Vault 100 firm, you could also ask about their score on our Scorecard! We hope these are helpful in your interview.

Qualifying solicitors must always be mindful of whether they’re doing work that supports fossil fuel interests. In the UK, qualifying as a solicitor requires you to complete two years of Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) as part of the Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE) process, making it even more likely that early-career solicitors come into contact with fossil fuel work.

• Under the QWE requirements, you need to complete two years of full-time legal experience, but can do it before, during, or after completing the SQE1 and SQE2 exams. The two years can be completed in up to four positions at a variety of types of legal organization. These positions can be:

  • on placement during a law degree

  • working or volunteering in a law clinic

  • at a voluntary or charitable organization or a law centre

  • working as a paralegal

  • on a training contract

  Your QWE must be confirmed by a solicitor or a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP). They have to either be working in the organization where the QWE is obtained or have direct knowledge of the candidate’s work.

For more information, check out the SRA’s page on QWE

Want to use your skills as a lawyer to help safeguard a stable climate, a healthy environment, and the public interest? There are many avenues new lawyers and law students can take to pursue to become climate public interest lawyers. Below is a non-exhaustive list of opportunities that law students and new lawyers may consider exploring as they embark on their career path. 

Examples Jobs for Climate Lawyers: 

• Private public interest law firms 

• Government Agencies (city, state and federal level)

• Environmental non-government organizations (NGOs)

• State Attorney General (AG) Offices 

• International Organizations 

• Public Finance Institutions 

For more information, read Harvard Law School’s Trail Guide to Careers in Environmental Law, here. 

For current environmental law jobs and fellowship openings, see here. 

You can also subscribe to the planetary lawyers project for a bi-weekly newsletter for job openings. 

For more information on state-level climate work in the US, see here.

Lawyers Are Responsible has worked alongside UK lawyers to provide information about refusing fossil fuel work. The Opinion covers three areas of activity that individual lawyers can engage in at work:

a. Refusing work connected with fossil fuel extraction in certain circumstances (‘conscientious objection activities’);

b. Blowing the whistle in respect of their employers, clients or third parties in certain circumstances (‘whistleblowing activities’);

c. Exercising their democratic right to peaceful protest outside of their workplace, including where this leads to criminal sanctions (‘protest activities’).

You can find the opinion here.