Maryland Sea Grant (MDSG) and the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) are seeking a Legal Fellow to provide legal research, writing, and educational assistance for these two institutions. MDSG supports research, education, extension, and outreach on critical environmental issues in the Chesapeake and coastal bays and their watersheds. ALEI is comprised of legal specialists and other extension specialists who help agricultural producers understand and comply with state, federal, and local laws and regulations. The Maryland Sea Grant Legal Fellow will help work toward these goals through projects involving training and programming for government agencies, coastal industries, and coastal communities addressing coastal law and policy in Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay. Project topics are likely to cover legal questions in environmental areas such as aquaculture, sea level rise impact and resilience, and stormwater management in Maryland.
This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience with a variety of legal, policy, and regulatory matters concerning aquaculture, environmental compliance, and land use policy, including the impacts of sea-level rise on coastal communities and governmental responses to the changing landscape. The fellowship serves to increase the capacity of local, state, and federal government agencies as well as non-governmental partners and coastal industries in Maryland, and to promote integration of a range of perspectives into problem-solving for Maryland to provide more inclusive solutions and facilitate training around and development of coastal laws and policies. Delivering presentations to stakeholder groups, including commercial, public, and private property owners and regulatory officials, will be required. Professional development activities include networking with different environmental legal groups, presentations, and travel to learn about other marine-focused legal education work in the region. The Legal Fellow will also investigate funding sources for structuring a long-standing legal resource within MDSG.
The Legal Fellow will be hired by Maryland Sea Grant (MDSG), administered by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and work under the direction of ALEI Environmental and Agricultural Legal Faculty Specialist Nicole Cook. The Fellow’s projects will be selected in collaboration with a legal advisory team established specifically for this fellowship. The Legal Fellow will do the majority of the work at an office located at the University of Maryland’s Wye Research Center in Queenstown, Maryland; however, in-state travel to meetings and presentations as well as travel within the Delmarva area may be required.
Candidates will ideally begin during the week of September 1st, 2020. This position is full-time Contractual Contingent 2 position and will be completed one year later on August 31, 2021, or one year after the start date.
For more information - https://umces.peopleadmin.com/postings/1397