Whitney Angell Leonard ’15

I chose to attend Yale in part because of the feeling of community I got when I visited. It seemed like people were really happy and passionate and supportive of each other. I also was really excited about being part of a community that focused really strongly on public-interest law. And that has proven to be true and has been a really important part of my experience here at YLS.

During my time at YLS, I’ve been involved in environmental law in a number of ways. I joined the board of the environmental law association during my first year and continued with that organization and co-led it as co-president during my 2L year. I’ve also taken a number of classes in environmental law and sort of related fields, including the environmental protection clinic, which was a really great experience to get involved in hands-on work starting the spring of my first year. I’ve also been able to take a few classes at the Forestry School, which is a great resource to have right up the hill. This year I’ve also had the opportunity to participate in the environmental law moot court competition on Yale’s team, which was a really great learning experience for myself and my two teammates. And we actually ended up winning a prize for the brief we wrote which was a fantastic outcome for us.

Working with the faculty has also been a really valuable part of my experience here. The environmental law faculty in particular has been great to work with in part because they come from a range of different backgrounds and experiences from academia to litigation to government and policy. There’s really something for everyone, and I’ve valued talking with professors and learning about their experiences as I think about where I want my career to fit in within the field of environmental law.