Defending Democracy, Protecting the Environment, Training the Next Generation of Public Interest
The 2025-2026 academic year demanded clarity, courage, and persistence from our Clinic, our students, and our clients. In this moment defined by instability, with the erosion of the administrative state, growing public distrust in government institutions, and the outsized influence of corporations and concentrated wealth over our democracy our students and clients showed extraordinary determination.
We experienced painful setbacks, including the devastating legal loss in the Eleventh Circuit on Alligator Alcatraz, but we also secured meaningful victories. We reached a
settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to strengthen protections for eleven imperiled South Florida species. We secured a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency requiring action on a petition addressing radioactive waste. We pushed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to confront toxic air pollution threatening a neighboring community. We helped a Tribe obtain critical public records and supported Waterkeepers fighting to defend aquatic ecosystems across the state.
This work reminds us that democracy is not selfexecuting. Our common
belief in the law remains one of the most powerful tools available to communities demanding accountability, transparency, and environmental justice. Our students leave this year understanding both the scale of the challenge ahead and the responsibility to meet it.
Professor Jaclyn Lopez Director, Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment
2025-2026 Highlights:
• Filed an amicus brief in the Eleventh Circuit on the 10th Amendment and manatees
The Jacobs Public Interest Law Fellowship: Preparing Attorneys for Practice
As the inaugural Jacobs Public Interest Law Fellow, I support the Clinic in rep-
resenting clients advancing public interest environmental goals, working most closely with Healthy Gulf, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the Gulf and the communities in the Gulf South. I have grown as an attorney and learned about public interest environmental litigation and how to develop and manage a nonprofit’s
legal program. This position has provided me with mentorship, guidance, and opportunity to engage in meaningful cases that I would not have received elsewhere.
Alyssa Huffman, Esq. Law Fellow, Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment
• Supported litigation in administrative and state court to protect Florida’s springs
• Settled a lawsuit to compel protections for 11 south Florida species
• Submitted public comments on an air permit impacting a St. Pete Community
• Sent notice of intent to sue over Endangered Species Act violations
• Filed notice of appeal in the D.C. Circuit over a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision
Real Responsibility, Real Advocacy, Real Impact in the South
Over the three semesters I spent with the Jacobs Law Clinic, I was exposed to an incredible range of professional opportunities and deeply meaningful legal work. Through the mentorship and support of the Clinic’s attorneys and professors, I helped Stetson earn a $52,000 sustainability infrastructure grant through the Tampa Bay Estuary Program Estuary Recovery Fund; I traveled to Tallahassee to meet with legislators and representatives; and I had the opportunity to speak on panels across the country about environmental justice, advocacy, and public interest law. More importantly, I was trusted with
“The clinic showed me that meaningful advocacy is needed here, and that I have a role to play in that fight.”
real responsibility. I worked directly with clients and communities, and the research and writing I contributed had tangible impacts beyond the classroom. I was able to help with mooting oral arguments and then go and observe them, truly making me feel like I was part of the process. Beyond direct legal work and professional development, the Clinic taught me invaluable life lessons. In class, we learned not only from attorneys, but also from investigative journalists, and community organizers on the front lines of the fight for the environment and an equitable society. We had honest conversations about cultural humility, movement lawyering, and what it truly means to serve the public interest. The Clinic gave me the tools, confidence, and network to pursue a career in public interest law, but more than that, it led me to answer the call to stay and practice in the South. The South is ground zero for so many of the defining issues of our time: environmental degradation, climate disaster,
Applying Law to Challenges in the Everglades
This semester, I worked on a matter for a south Florida client with concerns about what a recent Supreme Court case would do to water quality standards in the Everglades. Researching this issue for the client has been a very fruitful experience. Not only did I learn in-depth about the litigation history regarding water quality issues, but I
was also able to further understand the cooperative federalism between the Clean Water Act’s requirements and state laws that govern water quality issues. Although I cannot provide legal advice in the Clinic, it was an exciting opportunity when my client and their colleagues with various science and advocacy backgrounds would ask for explanations on legal concepts. From this experience, I feel more comfortable speaking with clients.
Clinic is unique in that it creates between learning the law in classroom setting and seeing how that applied and challenged in our community. I am very grateful to have worked on an issue that involves crucial water quality concerns for the state, and feel proud to have contribut-
attacks on civil liberties, and systemic inequality. The Clinic showed me that meaningful advocacy is needed here, and that I have a role to play in that fight.
Noah Peretz
J.D., Stetson University College of Law, Class of 2026; Hearne Award for Environmental Law Recipient; Stetson Law National Lawyers Guild, President
J.D. Candidate ‘27, Stetson University College of Law; Florida Association of Women Lawyers Pro Bono Chair; Dispute Resolution Board, Member; Environmental Law Society, President
Beyond the Classroom and Into Federal Court
The Jacobs Law Clinic has been, by far, the most valuable experience I’ve had during my time in law school. At its
core, the Clinic brings together some of Stetson’s most passionate students and attorneys in a supportive, welcoming community dedicated to protecting Florida’s environment. From the Endangered Species Act to the Clean Water Act, student clerks have access to a wide range of environmental issues. Even for those not focused on environmental law, the mentorship and feedback provided are invaluable in building strong legal writing and advocacy skills. My work with the Clinic involved pursuing litigation against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to list a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. I found pride and meaning in my work, knowing that the outcome of the matter would extend well beyond my time here at Stetson. It
Following the Money: Politics & the Environment
During my time in the Jacobs Law Clinic, I assisted with candidate research related to water policy and environmental advocacy in State House and Senate races. I focused heavily on researching current political candidates on their water policy positions, including analyzing campaign finance records, identifying funding sources, reading news and social media sources, and evaluating potential connections to waterrelated interests. I compiled this information to support the client’s efforts to
promote transparency and inform the public about the influences shaping water governance. One of the most valuable aspects of this clinical program is its flexibility. The Clinic allows students to pick, and take ownership of their projects, tailoring their experience to their interests, while still providing guidance and structure. That flexibility made it easier to balance clinic responsibilities with other academic and professional commitments, without sacrificing the quality or depth of the work.
Working on Issues Close to Home in Tampa Bay
Clerking for the Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and
the Environment was a chance opportunity that became one of my most meaningful and valuable experiences at Stetson Law. I worked on a matter close to home – a proposed cruise port on ecologically important land in Tampa Bay. Through the Clinic we were able to meet with the clients opposing the cruise port, talk with journalists investigating the matter, and be some of the first to produce legal research on the issue. Working on this matter sharpened my legal research and writing skills
gave me the opportunity to be an advocate for an otherwise voiceless victim. In my future, I will look back on this experience with pride knowing that I participated in the protection of a species from extinction.
Hoang “Andy” Tran
J.D. Candidate ‘27, Stetson University College of Law, 2L Class of 2027, Environmental Law Concentration
William “Austin” Dodson
J.D, Stetson University College of Law, Class of 2026; Student Bar Association President
– receiving feedback and guidance from both my peers and supervising attorneys.
Piper Wilson
J.D. Candidate ‘27, Stetson University College of Law; Business Law Review Associate; Disability Allied Law Student Association Treasurer
Stetson University College of Law Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment
Recognizing that the health of our environment and of our communities are inextricably linked and entirely dependent on a functioning and just democracy, the Jacobs Law Clinic pursues and defends justice through advocacy addressing pressing environmental issues.
It provides a much-needed public service of pro bono legal aid while affording Stetson’s law students opportunities to represent clients with hands-on case management and the development of the advocacy skills necessary to be successful attorneys.
1401 61st St. S., Gulfport, Florida 33707 727-490-9190 jacobslawclinic@law.stetson.edu
www.stetson.edu/law/ environmental/Jacobs-law-clinic/
A Meaningful and Impactful Legal Career
Public interest environmental law is not simply volunteer work completed on the margins of a legal career it is a rigorous, full-time profession requiring deep expertise, strategic thinking, and long-term commitment. Yet for many law students, the path forward to this career can feel unclear. The Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic helps bridge that gap by showing students what a career in public interest advocacy actually looks like through direct engagement with real clients, real litigation, and real communities facing urgent environmental challenges.
As the Clinic’s staff attorney, I represent a diverse array of clients including Center for Biological Diversity, Childs Park Neighborhood Association, Florida Springs Council, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, Sierra Club, VoteWater, Florida Waterkeepers, among many other nonprofit organizations, scientists, and other profes-
sionals in complex litigation and advocacy matters chosen for their impact. Through repeated drafting, feedback, and revision, students refine their legal analysis, writing, and strategic thinking that contribute to the legal services I provide to these clients.
This year, supervised Clinic students contributed to litigation and advocacy involving Florida springs protection, Endangered Species Act enforcement, radioactive waste regulation, environmental justice concerns in St. Petersburg, and climate-related challenges involving a South Florida nuclear facility. They drafted pleadings, briefs, comment letters, litigation memoranda, and legal notices, and participated in legal strategy sessions, prepared attorneys for oral argument, attended hearings, and presented at state and national law conferences.
If we are looking to the next generation to build meaningful and impactful legal careers, students must experience firsthand how lawyers navigate clients through the gauntlet that is our current legal system to protect vulnerable communities and hold decisionmakers accountable. The Clinic affords students this opportunity while providing a valuable pro bono service to underserved clients.
Rachael Curran, Esq.
Staff Attorney, Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment