Careers
Join our team.
We are nonprofit, nonpartisan, and the South’s largest and most effective environmental advocate. We know solutions start in the South. Watch how we make a difference.
Be part of the solution
When you join the Southern Environmental Law Center, you take on a mission: to use the power of the law to protect the natural resources and places of the Southeast. You become part of a multi-faceted team that is fiercely determined to get the job done, recognizing that the stakes are huge for our region and its people. At the same time, you become part of a community that enjoys each other’s company and draws strength from the respect, friendships, and common purpose shared among our staff and board.
The work I have the opportunity to do here and the people I have the opportunity to work with make me feel incredibly fortunate.
Megan Hinkle Huynh, Senior Attorney, Atlanta Office
We proudly serve six southern states
We know the communities we serve, and we represent them in court.
SELC Headquarters
Charlottesville, VA
Virginia State Office
Charlottesville, VA
North Carolina State Office
Chapel Hill, NC
Georgia State Office
Atlanta, GA
Alabama State Office
Birmingham, AL
Western North Carolina State Office
Asheville, NC
South Carolina State Office
Charleston, SC
Tennessee State Office
Nashville, TN
Richmond Office
Richmond, VA
Capitol Hill Office
Washington, DC
We welcome your diverse ideas and experiences
We believe that a broad range of ideas, life experiences, and backgrounds enriches our workplace, drives innovative thinking, and attracts highly talented people who seek a work environment that values the unique contributions of individual team members. Our goal is to create and maintain a staff and a board that, at every level, reflects the rich racial and cultural diversity of the communities where we work and the clients that we serve.
We offer competitive benefits
SELC is proud to offer our staff a generous and competitive benefits package. We offer medical, dental, and vision plans, 403(b) retirement plans, vacation and sick leave, fully-covered life insurance, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and 6 weeks of paid family leave.
Learn how one SELC staffer went from intern to attorney.
We mentor the next generation
Associate attorney program
SELC’s Associate Attorney positions are open to third-year law students, recent law graduates, attorneys completing clerkships and practicing attorneys. Our Associate Attorneys work with more senior attorneys on litigation and legal advocacy in state and federal courts and before regulatory agencies. They are exposed to multiple practice areas, and responsibilities include not just complex legal research and writing, but also taking part in the legal proceedings and advocacy activities in which SELC is involved, and participating in strategy formulation with partners and clients.
SELC typically hires summer law interns in our Charlottesville, VA; Chapel Hill, NC; Asheville, NC; Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC; Birmingham, AL; and Nashville, TN offices.
Summer internships
Interns can expect to do a variety of legal research and writing on issues for litigation purposes or for other environmental advocacy efforts. Depending on the project area, research may involve federal and state environmental statutes and regulations, including procedural and evidentiary issues. In addition to doing research, interns are immersed in case and project management, and encouraged to partake in educational out-of-office opportunities
Glynn D. Key fellowship program
SELC has created a special fellowship program for law students and practicing attorneys who have a strong interest in or a demonstrated commitment to working to advance environmental justice. Our Glynn D. Key Fellowship program includes an associate attorney fellowship and a summer intern fellowship.