What Earthrise Law Center does

Earthrise Law Center is a domestic environmental law clinic operated within Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, founded in 1996. The clinic provides free legal representation to municipalities, public interest organizations, and Native American tribes on environmental and natural resource matters, with no fees charged to clients. Its core products are four practice-area services — Climate and Air, Endangered Species, Public Lands, and Water — delivered through staff attorney supervision of law students who earn academic credit for their work. The clinic operates a Clinical Education Program alongside a Founders' Legacy Fellowship and a Summer Clerkship, building a pipeline of public interest environmental lawyers.

The clinic does not sell technology or operate a software platform; its core asset is institutional expertise and student labor coordinated under attorney supervision. Activities span litigation, administrative actions, and legal analysis, including notable cases such as challenges to logging in the Shawnee National Forest. Its go-to-market is community-led: clients are sourced through relationships with municipalities, NGOs, and tribes rather than through paid marketing or sales channels. Outreach is conducted through the Lewis & Clark Law School website, a newsletter archive, Facebook, and earned media coverage.

Earthrise is an organizational unit of Lewis & Clark Law School rather than a separately incorporated entity, and it is funded through the law school's educational mission and donations rather than client fees. The venture profile is therefore non-commercial: no equity, no funding rounds, no revenue line, and no M&A activity. There is no current leadership change, no acquisition history, and no public stock listing. The clinic director is Daniel Rohlf, supported by a small team of approximately 8 employees.

Name

Earthrise Law Center

Legal name

Earthrise Law Center

Website

https://earthriselaw.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Earthrise Law Center is a non-profit environmental law clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School that provides free legal representation to municipalities, public interest organizations, and tribes across climate, endangered species, public lands, and water practice areas, while training law students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (54111), Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Energy Law (BPAHAAAO)

Keywords

• Environmental legal services
• Public interest law
• Law school clinic
• Pro bono representation
• Natural resource litigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services (Pro Bono): Earthrise Law Center provides free legal representation to municipalities, public interest organizations, and tribes. The clinic is funded by Lewis & Clark Law School as part of its educational mission. Law students provide services under attorney supervision in exchange for school credit rather than monetary compensation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Earthrise Law Center is the domestic environmental law clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School. It provides free legal representation to municipalities, public interest organizations, and tribes across four practice areas—Climate and Air, Endangered Species, Public Lands, and Water—through litigation, administrative actions, and legal analysis. A Clinical Education Program, Founders' Legacy Fellowships, and Summer Clerkships embed law students in this work for school credit under attorney supervision.

Product overview

Earthrise Law Center is a domestic environmental law clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School that provides a unified suite of legal services focused on environmental protection. The center operates through five interconnected practice areas: Climate and Air, Endangered Species, Public Lands, and Water legal services, all supported by a Clinical Education Program that trains law students. Additional offerings include Founders' Legacy Fellowships and Summer Clerkships. The organization represents municipalities, public interest organizations, and tribes in complex environmental litigation, administrative actions, and legal analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Climate and Air Legal Services Free legal representation and advocacy addressing climate change causes and impacts, using available legal tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect air quality. Provided to municipalities, public interest organizations, and tribes.
• Endangered Species Legal Services Free legal advocacy to conserve and restore endangered species and their habitat in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, using federal and state biodiversity protection laws. Provided to municipalities, public interest organizations, and tribes.
• Public Lands Legal Services Free legal assistance to monitor and influence how government agencies manage and protect public lands, including habitat preservation, watershed protection, and recreational access. Provided to municipalities, public interest organizations, and tribes.
• Water Legal Services Free legal advocacy to clean up and cool waterways on regional and national scales, strengthening enforcement of the Clean Water Act and addressing vessel pollution. Provided to municipalities, public interest organizations, and tribes.
• Clinical Education Program Law student training program in which students earn school credit through direct involvement in environmental and natural resource lawsuits, administrative actions, and legal analysis, developing litigation, negotiation, and advocacy skills under attorney supervision.
• Founders' Legacy Fellowships Fellowship program for outstanding law students to engage in public interest environmental law work at the Earthrise clinic.
• Summer Clerkships Summer positions for law students to gain practical experience in public interest environmental law and advocacy through the Earthrise clinic.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Forest Advocates in Southern IllinoisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarthrise works with forest advocates in southern Illinois to halt excessive logging in the Shawnee National Forest. This represents a collaborative partnership with local environmental advocates pursuing shared goals of protecting endangered species and ensuring proper environmental analysis in federal land management decisions.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Earthjustice: Largest nonprofit environmental law organization in the U.S., litigating cases across climate, wildlife, oceans, and public health. Operates in the same category as Earthrise but at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Natural Resources Defense Council: Major environmental advocacy organization with substantial in-house legal capacity pursuing climate, wildlife, water, and public health litigation. Overlaps with Earthrise's mission and practice areas.

Direct peers

• Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic: Law school environmental litigation clinic that represents public interest clients in court and administrative proceedings. Directly comparable academic-clinic peer for student training and pro bono environmental representation.
• Western Environmental Law Center: Nonprofit environmental law firm representing public interest clients in the Western U.S. Directly comparable to Earthrise in mission, pro bono model, and regional environmental advocacy.
• Southern Environmental Law Center: Regional nonprofit environmental law organization that uses litigation and advocacy across air, water, land, and climate issues. Closely mirrors Earthrise's multi-pillar environmental legal practice and nonprofit structure.
• Environmental Defense Center: Santa Barbara-based nonprofit environmental law clinic that provides free legal services to conservation groups. Comparable pro bono model, though smaller and more regional than Earthrise.

Emerging players

• Center for Biological Diversity: Nonprofit that frequently uses litigation to protect endangered species and wild places. Comparable to Earthrise on endangered species and public lands matters, with a more advocacy-driven model.
• Vermont Law School Environmental Law Center: Academic center focused on environmental and energy law research, training, and advocacy. Comparable as a law school-affiliated environmental legal hub, though broader in academic programming than a single clinic.
• Environmental Law Institute: Nonprofit that researches and educates on environmental law and policy. Comparable in the education-and-research dimension of Earthrise's mission, though ELI does not run a litigation docket.

Others

• Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP: Private environmental law firm specializing in public interest litigation on behalf of conservation groups. Comparable in subject-matter focus and case type, but operates on a fee/contingency basis rather than as a nonprofit clinic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EarthriseLawCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earthrise-law-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Earthrise Law Center