FIELD's Internship Programme

FIELD's internship programme hosts volunteer lawyers and students from all over the world. Interns work under the supervision of a FIELD lawyer on one of the three programme areas - Biodiversity and Marine Resources; Climate Change and Energy; or Trade, Investment and Sustainable Development. Geographical and cultural diversity is a crucial element of the programme, and working with lawyers from different legal systems and socio-economic backgrounds provides a rich experience for the participants and FIELD Staff alike.

Our work could be said to combine aspects of a campaigning organisation, a research institute, and a conventional law firm; however FIELD does not engage directly in litigation. We are a small organisation of committed public international environmental lawyers working on academic research and publishing, and offer legal advice and assistance to governmental agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations in the area of sustainable development.

The quality and commitment of past interns has been much appreciated and has made an invaluable contribution to FIELD's work. Perhaps the best recommendation for the programme is that many of the former interns and volunteers come back to work with FIELD, sometimes many years later, as staff members or associates.

Who should apply?

Due to the nature of the work at FIELD and the high number of applicants each season, candidates can only be considered if they are legal graduates or students in their final year of a legal degree. Applicants with a postgraduate degree and/or relevant experience will be preferred. If you are interested in applying, please complete the application form and email to donata.gnisci@iied.org

Click here for an application form for the Internship Programme.

Interns will need to be fluent in English and be familiar with computers. Much of the work will involve research, drafting position papers, or editing academic papers, all of which will be word-processed. Familiarity with MS Office, and MS Word in particular, is essential, and experience of the Internet and library research is very useful. Please let us know if you are unfamiliar with any of these systems, and we can train you in the basics on your arrival at FIELD.

What does a FIELD internship involve?

There are three intakes per year for FIELD internships -

Spring (Jan/Feb - April/May)

Closing date for applications 30 October 2007

Summer (May-Aug/Sep)

Closing date for applications 30 January 2008

Autumn (Sep/Oct - Dec)

Closing date for applications 30 May 2008

Internships are typically 3 months in duration, and candidates usually commit to a minimum of 21 office hours per week. When interns arrive, they are assigned to a lawyer whose usual workload includes teaching commitments, research projects under one or more programme areas, and consultancy / advisory work - usually for non-governmental organisations like WWF International, or inter-governmental organisations like the UN Environment Programme. This 'allocation' to a lawyer is flexible - to whom you are assigned depends on the workload of each lawyer.

You may not know until you arrive who you will be working with, although we do try and match your interests to a particular programme area if it is possible. While you are at FIELD, if there is work elsewhere in the organisation that needs to be done you may be asked to take on projects in other areas. Intern placements are based on practical work experience, and there is no formal training element. Our interns usually work independently on tasks and projects.

It is important to be aware that FIELD internships are unpaid, and your time in London is expected to be entirely self-funded. London is an extremely expensive city in which to live, and you must be certain that you have sufficient funds to pay for your flights if necessary, and all your living expenses whilst at FIELD. As a small, non-profit organisation, we can only offer essential travel expenses within London (for Zones 1-4), pro rata, for those in financial need.

Whilst there is flexibility in interns' hours, we prefer them to commit to regular, agreed hours as far as possible, or at least specific days they will be in the office. This makes it easier for the lawyers to plan work schedules and projects and to supervise interns' work. Part-time work is always a possibility, and this enables some interns to continue with their studies or part-time paid employment (visa-dependent for foreign candidates) whilst undertaking an internship.

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