Legal Internship

2026 Summer Legal Internship

Location: Portland, OR (with option for some remote work)

Status: Intern / Externship

Position Description: Columbia Riverkeeper is accepting applications for one summer law clerk for a period of 10 weeks during summer 2026. Columbia Riverkeeper focuses on giving law students meaningful and varied experiences working with the organization’s staff attorneys and outside counsel to improve legal writing, research, and advocacy skills while learning about laws and advocacy strategies to protect habitat and water quality in the Columbia River.

Desired Qualifications and Skills:

• Must be currently enrolled in law school (rising 3L students preferred)  
• Demonstrated commitment to public interest environmental law required 
• Attention to detail and strong legal research skills
• Experience with administrative law, American Indian law, or environmental law strongly preferred

Salary: $30 per hour, for a period of 10 weeks. Riverkeeper encourages applicants to seek outside funding, such as through the Public Interest Law Project, if possible. For those applicants seeking academic credit for their work, Riverkeeper will work with applicants to ensure all requirements of their school’s externship program are met. 

To Apply: Email a cover letter, resume, current transcript, three references, and a short writing sample that is entirely your own work to info@columbiariverkeeper.org with the subject line “2026 Legal Internship.” Please combine the cover letter, resume, transcript, references, and writing sample into a single PDF attachment titled “Last Name, First Name Legal Internship.”

If there is an area of Riverkeeper’s work that you are specifically interested in working on, please indicate that in your cover letter. 

Application Deadline: January 16, 2026. Riverkeeper will review applications submitted before the deadline on a rolling basis. 

Start date: Negotiable - May / June 2026. 

• Potential to extend position into the school year as a part- or full-time externship for academic credit.

Columbia Riverkeeper is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation.