Sarah Salvini

Sarah Salvini attended UCI Law as the first Environmental Law Scholar from 2017 to 2020 after graduating cum laude from UC Berkeley with a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies and a concentration in Ecofeminism. She was drawn to environmental law because of her personal love of the outdoors and her desire for a career at the intersection of social and environmental issues.

Sarah chose UCI law because of its reputation for practical training and focus on public interest law. She viewed a legal education as the opportunity to gain technical skills to put her passion for the environment to use. Sarah gained the practical training she sought at UCI through her classes, the Environmental Law Clinic, and her internship experiences. Additionally, she appreciated the public interest focus of the UCI community and enjoyed her experiences in on-campus clubs and pro-bono work.

Sarah’s favorite classes, and the ones she thinks help most in her current work, include Property Law, Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Negotiation, and Legal Writing. Sarah spent both semesters of 3L working for the UCI Environmental Law Clinic, in which she had the opportunity to research and write an amicus brief focusing on the impacts of climate change on river and bay systems in the Gulf Coast. Additionally, with the Clinic, she advocated before the California Coastal Commission for equal access to coastal resources.

Sarah feels fortunate to have had several internship experiences focused on Coastal and Water Law during her time at UCI. For her 1L Summer, she interned at Orange County Coastkeeper and worked on Clean Water Act litigation. Additionally, during her 1L summer, Sarah worked as a research assistant at UCI focused on negotiation and dispute resolution. In the Fall of 2L, Sarah externed for the Surfrider Foundation, where she enjoyed learning about working in-house for a non-profit. And for her 2L Summer, Sarah interned for California Coastkeeper Alliance in the state capital, where she worked on developing and lobbying for clean water policy.

In addition to the practical training she received, Sarah enjoyed the public interest focus of the UCI community. Sarah appreciated that UCI facilitated many opportunities to perform pro-bono work. She especially enjoyed working for Community Legal Aid Socal and the Transgender Name and Gender Change Clinic. Sarah also appreciates the opportunities she experienced to meet new people within the environmental law community at UCI and beyond. She was co-chair of the Environmental Law Society and remains inspired by the students she met through that role. Additionally, Sarah enjoyed attending the Public Interest Law Conference in Eugene, Oregon and the California Lawyers Association – Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite, which she attended as a Remy Scholarship recipient. Additionally, Sarah appreciated the learning opportunities provided by CLEANR, such as workshop roundtables and film screenings.

Currently, Sarah works for the California Coastal Commission as a Statewide Enforcement Analyst. She loves her job because it exists at the nexus of law, ecology, and negotiation and every day she has the opportunity to learn more about coastal resources.