+ OBJECTIVES

JTLI participants will...

• Gain foundational knowledge to navigate more effectively in just transition social movement spaces and provide legal counsel and services to client organizers, individuals, and communities that are navigating the most severe climate and economic impacts of the extractive economy
• Build essential skills to participate more effectively in and contribute to community-driven and systems change processes
• Increase values-based connection, skills sharing, and shared analysis with fellow lawyers, community organizers, and legal scholars
• Help to shape and communicate a proactive narrative that begins to articulate the rapidly emerging field of just transition lawyering
• Advance and become part of the growing communities and networks of Just Transition lawyers
• Support building scholarship and knowledge sharing on just transition lawyering aimed at transforming legal education, practice, and approaches to lawyering

+ ELIGIBILITY

Licensed attorneys in the United States or US Territories are eligible to apply to participate in the Just Transition Lawyering Institute.

+ SELECTION CRITERIA

The licensed attorneys who will gain the most from the JTL Institute are those working to:

• Provide legal support to low-income, Black, Indigenous, and communities of color that are navigating the most severe climate and economic impacts of the extractive economy
• Organize with and alongside community members to end extraction and to develop new systems, structures, and cultures needed for just transition
• Shift or strengthen their legal careers towards just transition
• Educate the broader legal community about the law of just transition
• Forge connections with fellow community lawyers We will review candidates with this success criteria in mind. At the same time, we believe that there is a role for everyone. If you are not selected to participate in the cohort program, you may opt-in to receive information on additional or future opportunities and resources.

+ ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, applicants should demonstrate

• Commitment to participate fully and consistently in JTLI programming. During the JTLI, participants will need access to a reliable internet connection and a personal computer or device with video capabilities.

+ COST

The JTLI is offered free of charge to participants. For in-person sessions, participants may be asked to share in the cost of travel.

+ KEY DATES

The next JTLI cohort will be in Spring 2025 by invitation only. Please sign up on our mailing list or check back for future opportunities.

+ JTLI HISTORY

The Just Transition Lawyering Institute (JTLI) was originally conceived of by a national team of just transition lawyers, community organizers, academics, and advocacy allies.

The first year of the JTLI took place through Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, and was offered in partnership with Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy (now Taproot Earth), Journal of Law and Political Economy, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, Center on Law, Equality, and Race—UCI Law, and UCI Community Resilience Projects, and project managed by Gilmore Khandhar, LLC.

The first year of the JTLI trained more than 50 lawyers, with participating lawyers from 14 different US states and Puerto Rico. Participants completed 14 weeks of coursework on “Blocking the Bad” and “Building the New,” covering themes including water rights, climate litigation, solidarity economies, and community land stewardship. Participants built relationships, shared learnings, and reflected on their experiences through weekly small group discussions, and four community forum events. Participants were eligible to receive more than 15 CLE credits through their completion of JTLI programs.

Year 2 of the JTLI was offered in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 for another group of over 50 lawyers, using an updated format, taking into account feedback from Year 1. Year 2, anchored by Gilmore Khandhar LLC and The Chisholm Legacy Project, continued to offer the robust curriculum on an extended, self-paced timeline, and included live online community events to foster connection among participants without the requirement of weekly meetings.

Year 3 of the JTLI, being planned for Spring 2025, will engage a more intimate cohort in a hybrid program that will include online coursework and meetings as well as an in-person convening over 3.5 days in Houston, TX focusing on a case study of a frontline community fighting for access to water infrastructure and basic City services.

The JTLI serves to both train licensed attorneys, and support the work of building a robust community of just transition lawyers to meet the needs of frontline communities and to generate a field of just transition lawyering scholarship and practice.