In the past, environmental lawyers had a reputation as being extremely overworked and underpaid, but now things are looking up for attorneys working on green issues.

The Inflation Reduction Act included numerous complicated tax breaks and other incentives for clean energy, all of which need to be parsed by skilled attorneys. Additionally, with the demise of Chevron deference, nearly every environmental rule and regulation is now under a more intense judicial microscope.

All of this means environmental lawyers are in higher demand, even within Big Law, and today we hear from an aspiring lawyer on our podcast, On The Merits. Emily Dwight, a second-year student at Vermont Law and Graduate School, talks with Bloomberg Law reporter Jennifer Hijazi about how the career path for environmental law has changed and why she's setting her sights not on nonprofit advocacy groups but on Big Law.

Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.