2026 Fall (September-November)
Join law students from across Canada in CELL’s public-interest environmental litigation program. Immerse yourself in active litigation with experienced legal teams. Learn how to develop and run complex litigation files and think like a litigator. Our program benefits any law student keen on gaining hands-on litigation experience before graduation and in doing work for public-interest clients.
About CELL
With a mission to train and inspire Canada’s next generation of public-interest environmental litigators, the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation (CELL) is Canada’s only national charity dedicated to advancing legal education in the public-interest environmental setting. This fall marks the 10th anniversary of CELL’s unique litigation skills-focused program, with more than 200 students – hailing from virtually every Canadian law school – having completed our program since 2016.
Program Description
Led by a team that includes many of Canada’s leading public-interest environmental litigators and scholars, CELL’s program provides law students with opportunities to reflect upon and develop the legal toolkit necessary to be advocates in complex litigation. Students will join a team of law students from law schools across Canada to work with our instructors and lawyers from partner law firms on a variety of public interest environmental cases.
Through weekly seminars, a small group of carefully selected students will learn about litigation through a variety of active cases. In previous terms, CELL students were closely involved in the defence of the first environmental SLAPP suit to be litigated since the enactment of B.C.’s anti-SLAPP legislation. In summer 2022, in collaboration with CELL, Tollefson Law and Gratl & Company successfully secured dismissal of the lawsuit which targeted a B.C. conservationist and an ENGO with 144 counts of defamation.
Most recently, CELL students assisted Tollefson Law with an application that would confirm the continued existence of common law riparian rights to water quality in the context of a water pollution claim against a B.C. municipality. CELL students helped review and revise draft submissions in advance of a hearing before the BC Supreme Court (BCSC) in April 2025. An appeal from the BCSC decision is scheduled to be heard before the BC Court of Appeal in September 2026, when CELL students will have an opportunity to observe real-time oral submissions and debrief with counsel.
In Fall 2026, this and other active litigation will serve as learning vehicles to highlight evidentiary, procedural, and ethical issues in public-interest litigation. Through weekly seminar workshops, you will learn how to think critically about how to bring and carry a piece of complex litigation. We will explore such questions as: How do I develop a legal strategy for a case? What kind of evidence would be needed to support the legal strategy? How do I obtain such evidence? How do I manage and work with clients? How do lawyers collaborate in practice? What ethical and professional conduct issues should I be aware of when running a complex litigation file?
Here’s what recent alumni have said about the program:
“CELL was a formative experience during my time at law school. I developed invaluable legal skills through my exposure to ongoing cases and engagement with novel and complex legal questions. CELL also shaped my long-term career goals. I can’t recommend CELL enough.”
— Michaela Aeberhardt, CELL 2022 spring and 2020 fall cohorts
“Through CELL, I was able to expand my substantive knowledge on several areas of law not covered in the first-year curriculum. More importantly, I was able to connect with like-minded peers across Canada and have knowledgeable instructors and student mentors that encouraged sharing ideas and facilitated group discussion. CELL made my semester a much more memorable and worthwhile experience.”
— Eric Shapiro, CELL 2022 spring cohort
“It has been a fantastic opportunity and I can truly say that it has been a highlight of my legal education.”
— Aimee Huntington, CELL 2021 fall cohort
Application Process
Law students interested in applying for CELL’s 2026 Fall (Sept-Nov) cohort should email their completed application form, and the supplemental documents identified in the form, to Sean Vriesen, Program Director, at svriesen@pacificcell.ca no later than Monday, September 14, 2026 by 11:59 PM Pacific. There may be a short interview for shortlisted candidates. Completion of upper-year courses in environmental law and law of evidence is an asset but not required. Applicants must be available to attend weekly seminars held on Monday afternoons between 3:30-5pm Pacific Time on Zoom between September 21, 2026 and November 23, 2026.
If you have any questions or want more information about CELL and its program, please contact Sean Vriesen, Program Director, at svriesen@pacificcell.ca.