Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution Legal Internships at MassDEP

About

The Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution (“OADR”) is a quasi-judicial office within the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“the Department” or “MassDEP”).  OADR is responsible for advising the Department’s Commissioner in resolving all administrative appeals of Department permit decisions and enforcement actions in a neutral, fair, timely, and sound manner based on the governing law and the facts of the case. OADR accepts interns year-round.  

As part of MassDEP’s diversity effort and equal opportunity policies, we encourage applications from individuals of different racial, cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status.

MassDEP is the primary state environmental regulatory agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It enforces state laws regulating wetlands, waterways, public and private drinking water supplies, septic systems, air quality, asbestos, recycling, disposal of solid and hazardous waste and cleanup of contaminated hazardous waste sites, and the agency is recognized as a national leader on critical issues such as climate change and emerging contaminants. 

OADR staff who advise the Department’s Commissioner in resolving administrative appeals are Presiding Officers who are senior environmental attorneys at the Department appointed by the Department’s Commissioner to serve as neutral hearing officers. Presiding Officers are responsible for fostering settlement discussions between the parties in administrative appeals, and to resolve appeals by conducting pre-hearing conferences with the parties and evidentiary Adjudicatory Hearings and issuing Recommended Final Decisions on appeals to the Commissioner. OADR interns participate in an immersive program which includes working on diverse legal issues on the cutting-edge of environmental law. The intern supervisor is also happy to provide feedback to law schools on interns’ performance, when requested.

OADR typically accepts one intern per semester. Applicants must be a current law student and may apply for a position starting their 1L summer. OADR does not offer internships to first-year law students during the fall and spring semesters. 

Generally, OADR internship positions are unpaid, although paid positions may be available through the MassDEP Michelle Waters-Ekanem Internship Program. When available, these paid OADR internship roles will be posted on MassCareers.gov.Students may also secure outside funding and/or receive school credit during their internship. The internship may also be used to complete a law school’s pro-bono requirements. Please inquire with the internship supervisor if you have questions about funding and/or school credit.

Minimum hours 

37.5 hours per week in the summer. Approximately 12 to 15 hours per week during the academic year, or full-time (37.5 hours per week) if on a co-op. 

Locations

OADR is located within MassDEP’s main office at 100 Cambridge Street in Boston but MassDEP can accommodate telework and hybrid work schedules.

Intern projects

In consultation with the Senior Presiding Officer, the intern supervisor assigns each intern somewhere between one and five projects at a time. Many projects involve research and writing, participation in site views, conferences and hearings. Others may involve making oral presentations to OADR Presiding Officers or other program staff. 

OADR encourages students to discuss their interests when applying for the program.

Conferences, hearings & other meetings

OADR encourages interns to attend as many OADR events as possible, including conferences, hearings, and internal staff meetings.