08/26/2026
As a legal intern with Oregon Wild, third-year Law Duck Jay Everett spent his summer supporting public interest environmental litigation to protect public lands. From tracking agency rulemakings and actions to participating in public engagement processes and assisting with litigation efforts, Everett gained a firsthand look at the work that takes place long before a case reaches the courtroom.
Along the way, Everett developed practical legal skills, including drafting comments on agency actions, preparing FOIA requests, and writing litigation memos and briefs. More importantly, he saw how critical administrative law is to effective environmental advocacy and how deeply environmental litigation is shaped by the administrative process.
“One of my biggest takeaways from this experience was realizing the depth and complexity of public interest environmental law,” Everett said. “It helped me see just how much work goes into these cases before they ever reach the courtroom. It also helped me better understand the importance of administrative law and how those principles affect the success of litigation.”
For law students interested in public interest environmental law, Everett’s advice is simple: attend the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC). Held annually at Oregon Law, PIELC is the world’s oldest and largest gathering of environmental lawyers, activists, scientists, and concerned citizens.
“I learned about Oregon Wild through PIELC, and it’s what led me to reach out and ultimately have this opportunity,” he said. “Also, take administrative law. It helped me in this role far more than my substantive environmental law classes because so many issues turn on administrative law principles rather than substantive environmental law.”
