Legal Food Hub Fellowship

Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) is now seeking applicants for a one-year Legal Food Hub fellowship beginning January 2022. 

The fellow will work with CAFS and our partners at the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) on the Legal Food Hub, a program that connects farmers, food entrepreneurs, and related organizations with free legal assistance and educational resources. CLF launched the first Legal Food Hub in Massachusetts in 2014 and now operates Hubs in Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. CAFS operates the Legal Food Hub in Vermont, which launched in January 2020.

The Fellow will be a key part of the Legal Food Hub team, advancing the goals of the Hub in Vermont and across the New England region. This will likely include developing legal resources for food and farm stakeholders on relevant legal topics; working with our network of volunteer attorneys to strengthen and expand legal capacity to work on farm-related legal issues around the region; conducting legal training for farmers and other key stakeholders. The Fellow may also have the opportunity to work on Legal Food Hub matters placed in our Food and Agriculture Clinic.

This fellowship is designed for a recent graduate or a practicing lawyer seeking to transition to a food/ag-oriented practice. The Fellow will be housed within CAFS and work primarily with the CAFS Legal Food Hub team but will have the opportunity to work directly with CLF’s Legal Food Hub team also. 

Salary: $50,000 plus benefits. 

Qualifications:

• JD from an ABA-accredited law school
• Strong legal research, writing, interpersonal, and communications skills
• Experience and/or strong interest in a transactional legal practice
• Demonstrated commitment to sustainable agriculture and local/regional food systems
• Active bar admission (Vermont preferred)

Other Requirements:

• Experience working in Microsoft Office and Windows environments; ability to learn student-specific databases quickly.
• Ability to perform work remotely for emergencies as needed.
• This position requires candidates to reside within commuting distance to the VLS Campus in South Royalton, Vermont
• All Vermont Law School employees must be fully vaccinated for Covid19 prior to their first day of employment, barring approved medical exemptions, which require weekly Covid19 testing to access campus.

Application Instructions:

• Please submit both a resume and cover letter here.
• Applicants must submit a writing sample, not to exceed 5 pages.
• Final candidates will be required to present educational transcripts and at least three (3) professional references as well as undergo a background check.

CAFS believes a diverse and inclusive workplace is essential to the success of our organization, and we strive to create a safe and supportive environment that encourages racial and social equity. We strongly encourage applicants from all walks of life, including but not limited to BIPOC/people of color, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ candidates, and members of other marginalized communities, because we know that our work has greater impact when we center diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Applications and information must be received by October 22, 2021. 

Apply Now →

Food and Agriculture LLM Fellowship

*This position is currently filled; check back in spring 2022 or subscribe to our e-newsletter to learn about our next fellowship opening.

CAFS is now inviting eligible candidates with a JD degree to apply for a two-year fellowship from August 2021 through July 2023. The fellowship combines the opportunity to pursue an LLM degree in Food and Agricultural Law from one of the leading environmental law programs in the nation with the opportunity to work on food and agricultural law projects alongside experienced environmental, agricultural, and food law practitioners and students. The fellow will receive a tuition waiver for our LLM in Food and Agriculture degree as well as a $35,000 annual stipend.

In addition to pursuing an LLM degree, the fellow will work part-time (at least 20 hours per week) in CAFS’ Food and Agriculture Clinic, one of a handful of law school clinics that focuses exclusively on the legal and policy needs of the food system. The fellow will work closely with CAFS faculty and staff, partners, clients, and students. The fellow’s responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Working on CAFS projects to develop law and policy tools. Areas of research may include food justice and equity; farmland access; farmworkers' rights; protecting communities from the harmful effects of CAFOs and industrial agriculture; food labeling and regulation of novel food products; legal resources for farmers markets; food safety regulations for produce farms; and biodiversity and agriculture.
• Providing transactional/business law services to Vermont farmers, food entrepreneurs, and related organizations.
• Developing and leading Food and Agriculture Clinic seminars and project rounds, under the guidance of the Clinic Director.
• Working with and supervising student clinicians.
• Engaging in outreach to the broader food system community, including representing CAFS’ work at trainings and events.

CAFS believes a diverse and inclusive workplace is essential to the success of our organization, and we strive to create a safe and supportive environment that encourages racial and social equity. We strongly encourage applicants from all walks of life, including but not limited to BIPOC/people of color, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ candidates, and members of other marginalized communities, because we know that our work has greater impact when we center diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

See here for more information and application instructions. 

Meet Former LLM Fellows

"The Food and Agriculture LLM fellowship is an exceptional dual opportunity to receive a graduate degree and practical work experience at the same time. The program also offers an array of courses, and the fellow is able to tailor their graduate experience to their career aspirations, of course with great guidance from the faculty at CAFS." - Esther Akwii LLM'20, clinical fellow, Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic. Read more »

"My experience at VLS allowed me to hit the ground running at FDA so that I could begin serving the public interest from day one on the job. My fellow students and colleagues were as committed and passionate as I was about the food system and environmental issues, which made for even richer learning." - Carrie Scrufari LLM'16, associate chief counsel, Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Read more »​​​​​​