Highlighting our legal interns of 2022!
December 29, 2022
LA Waterkeeper tackled some major legal challenges this year, and we could not have done it without our legal interns and their incredible work behind the scenes. From deep diving into the LA River Master Plan, to helping enforce Clean Water Act requirements on its 50th anniversary year, to researching sewage spills throughout Los Angeles County, these law students contributed to the litigation work that makes our impact possible. For their hard work and dedication, we want to thank four legal interns who joined our team: Noah Bennett, Devon Tice, Annika Krafcik, and Grace LeBlanc. Read on to hear from them about their experiences at LA Waterkeeper.
“The internship solidified my desire to work in the environmental public interest space. I don't think I realized the extent to which LA County needs an organization like LA Waterkeeper to advocate for the health of water resources. ”
- Noah Bennet, legal intern
Meet Noah Bennet, UCLA School of Law (third year)
Tell us about some projects you worked on during your internship.
I worked on a variety of work with sewage spills including some GIS and graph-making projects that used skills from my environmental science past. I also wrote a memorandum on different tools we can use in settlement negotiations for past and future sewage spills.
Another project I worked on was to sift through the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements established by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and determine whether cities in LA County were in compliance.
What was your favorite part of this internship?
At one point during the semester, I drafted part of a reply brief for litigation regarding Clean Water Act compliance. Applying the research and writing skills I was developing in law school to a real-world scenario with talented attorneys was an excellent experience. Seeing a document I had drafted before a judge was really cool too!
How has this internship shaped your career goals?
The internship solidified my desire to work in the environmental public interest space. I don't think I realized the extent to which LA County needs an organization like LA Waterkeeper to advocate for the health of water resources.
“Water is a natural resource that people connect very deeply with and it has such integral ties to human rights concerns. LA Waterkeeper has the perfect balance of legal advocacy and community connection.”
-Devon Tice, legal intern
Meet Devon Tice, UC Irvine School of Law (second year)
What attracted you to LA Waterkeeper for a legal internship?
Since starting law school, I have been particularly interested in water law. Water is a natural resource that people connect very deeply with and it has such integral ties to human rights concerns. LA Waterkeeper had the perfect balance of legal advocacy and community connection, and I found so many of LA Waterkeeper’s projects incredibly inspiring, like their advocacy for Charcoal Alley and challenge to the Ocean Water Desalination Project.
Tell us about a project you worked on during your internship.
This summer, I worked on a research project to determine whether dam owners and other water diverters are required to provide sufficient water downstream for fish. This could potentially support advocacy efforts to remove dams that impair fish passage, or to force dams and other water diverters to provide a more sustainable habitat downstream for fish species.
How has this internship shaped your career goals?
I was attracted to water law for its centrality to human rights concerns and this internship absolutely confirmed for me that I would love to make this a focus of my legal career. I hope to pursue a career featuring environmental justice law, thanks in large part to many of the lessons that I learned from LA Waterkeeper. Next semester, I’m looking forward to taking an environmental law clinic where I am hoping to gain hands-on experience implementing what I’ve learned, both this summer and in my current semester.
“My summer at LA Waterkeeper helped to show me the power of water and the importance of respecting it and protecting it for today’s community and future generations.”
-Annika Krafcik, legal intern
Meet Annika Krafcik, UCLA School of Law (second year)
Tell us about a project you worked on during your internship.
The major project that I worked on at LA Waterkeeper was an internal memorandum explaining the state-of-the-art and best practices regarding how to establish standing against industrial stormwater polluters in California jurisdictions.
What was your favorite part of this internship?
My favorite part of the internship was getting to meet the team in person after weeks of remote work. We first met at a demonstration, protesting the City Council’s hasty approval of the LA River Master Plan. It was inspiring to see LA Waterkeeper working in coalition with other LA-based environmental justice organizations, like East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, and Friends of the LA River.
How has this internship shaped your career goals?
Even before working at LA Waterkeeper, my goal has been to work in Alaska on environmental justice issues. My summer at LA Waterkeeper helped to show me the power of water and the importance of respecting it and protecting it for today’s community and future generations. So, I’m planning to focus on water-related issues in my career in Alaska. This summer I will be interning at Earthjustice’s office in Juneau, Alaska. I am so grateful to LA Waterkeeper for their support in helping make this dream come true!
"This internship has given me a new perspective on how I can use my new legal skills in a way that serves the local community and environment.”
-Grace Leblanc, legal intern
Meet Grace Leblanc, Fowler School of Law at Chapman University (second year)
What attracted you to LA Waterkeeper for a legal internship?
After working on the business side of the environmental industry for several years, I wanted to explore the nonprofit environmental space. I was impressed by the many legal victories that LA Waterkeeper had taken on and accomplished as a relatively small organization. As a first-year law student interested in environmental law, I thought that LA Waterkeeper would be the perfect introduction to the nonprofit legal environmental field because of its active, front-facing role in challenging local environmental injustices.
Tell us about a project you worked on during your internship. What was your goal?
I was tasked with organizing an emergency planning guide that included step-by-step instructions to follow in the event of large-scale sewage, hazardous waste, and oil spills. Because the guide was meant to be comprehensive and required coordinating different departments within LA Waterkeeper, my goal was to jumpstart this project and lay out critical first steps and agency contacts specific to different emergency situations. The overall purpose of the project was to keep agencies accountable for their responses and protect the public from the impacts of environmental emergencies.
How has this internship shaped your career goals?
This internship has given me a new perspective on how I can use my new legal skills in a way that serves the local community and environment. Learning how the law can be such a powerful tool in fighting environmental injustice has reassured my interest in environmental law and will continue to inspire my future career choices.
There is a reason our acronym is LAW; legal work is the backbone to all we do here at LA Waterkeeper! Thanks to our interns, we can continue to fight for the health of the region’s waterways, and for sustainable, equitable, and climate-friendly water supplies.
Interested in getting involved? Check out our employment and volunteer pages, or donate to support this incredible work.