Danica Anderson Glaser graduated from Harvard Law School in May 2010. She is currently a trial attorney with the Environmental Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, in Washington, DC. While at HLS, she was actively involved in the law school’s environmental community, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Environmental Law Review and Secretary and Treasurer of the Environmental Law Society. She also worked as a research assistant for the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic and completed internships with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Strike Force, Earthjustice, and the Conservation Law Foundation.
After graduating from HLS, Danica spent a year clerking at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in downtown Boston. The following year, she completed a law fellowship with Oceana in Washington, DC, where she worked with the organization’s assistant general counsel to provide a full spectrum of legal assistance for Oceana’s marine conservation campaigns. This included conducting research, pursuing litigation, and providing legal advice. Currently, working for the DOJ ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section, Danica represents the United States in civil cases brought by EPA and other federal agencies for violations of the nation’s environmental laws, particularly the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA and RCRA, and for natural resource damages.
Danica has a few recommendations for current HLS students interested in environmental law. First, she advises students to take advantage of the opportunities HLS has to offer – becoming involved with the Environmental Law Society and the Environmental Law Review provides students with the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals with whom they will likely continue to work throughout their careers. Participation in the Environmental Law Clinic allows students to gain practical work experience and explore different practice options during the school year.
Second, she recommends that, because environmental law is a fairly small field, students looking for environmental law jobs be as flexible as possible, in geographic location, practice setting, and issue area. Full-time environmental litigation is not the only option for an attorney interested in environmental law—for example, new attorneys can gain both litigation and policy experience through in-house counsel positions with nonprofits, such as the Oceana fellowship Danica completed.
Finally, Danica notes that although environmental law jobs can be difficult to find, the effort is worth it. Working in environmental law is an opportunity that allows you to make the world a better place while exploring incredibly diverse subject matter and tackling challenging and novel issues. If you’re passionate about the environment, this is an incredibly exciting and fulfilling career.