By Allison Torres Burtka
Michigan Law
The Institute for Policy Integrity, at New York University School of Law, has selected David Weaver, a third-year student at Michigan Law, for a two-year fellowship. The institute is a nonpartisan think tank focused on US energy and environmental policy.
Weaver’s path to law school included spending time in the Amazon rainforest, serving in the US Marine Corps, and working on a master’s project on parking regulations. These experiences sharpened his interest in the environment and the law.
Weaver went to college on a Marine Corps scholarship, which required him to serve in the Marines after graduation. But his first set of orders was delayed, so he took the opportunity to spend five months in South America first.
The experience laid the groundwork for his future career path. “I got to see firsthand the splendor and the majesty of nature, monkeys climbing over my hammock at night, and river dolphins swimming in the wake of my canoe…and extremely hospitable Indigenous folks,” Weaver said. But he also visited illegal gold mines that were dumping mercury into the water, talked with people working in them, and saw illegal slash-and-burn agriculture “that was just destroying the Amazon.”
He also met people in the Munduruku tribe, who were planning to go to war to defend their ancestral homelands against industry encroachment in the form of dams that would flood their lands.
“Seeing all of that helped me understand my own use of energy, my own demand for gold,” such as the gold in his laptop, Weaver said. “I wanted to create a change.”
After his time in the Amazon, Weaver witnessed environmental impacts elsewhere around the world and much closer to home.
With the Marines, Weaver’s work involved supporting combat operations in Iraq and Syria. One night when he was deployed in Kuwait, he said, “Russian mercenaries attacked the Syrian Democratic Forces, which had embedded Marines with them, over an oil field. Hundreds of people died that night for that oil.”
Then, back in the United States, “My niece developed asthma, because there’s a coal power plant in her community,” Weaver said. He felt like he was being “hit over the head with the destruction of our planet and its impacts on my community and other communities.”
Weaver decided to pursue a master of science in resilient and sustainable communities. His thesis was on minimum parking regulations, “a really wonky city ordinance that most cities in America have that requires every single building to have a certain number of parking spaces,” he said. These ordinances contribute to automobile dependence and make it difficult to create affordable housing, Weaver said. “I realized that the law can act like the DNA of a city and shape how a city grows and develops and how everyone experiences the city and lives within it.
“And that’s what kind of led me to law school—recognizing that this law that shapes our daily lives and our built environment, that nobody even knows about, has such a huge impact.”
—————
Time in environmental law at Michigan
Weaver chose to attend Michigan Law because of its reputation for supporting public interest students, its wide variety of environmental and energy law courses, and the opportunity to make an impact as a student through the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic.
Once Weaver was on campus, Professor Rachel Rothschild’s environmental law and policy class solidified his decision to pursue environmental law.
Later on, she nudged him toward fellowship opportunities in the field. “I wouldn’t have even applied for this position if she hadn’t encouraged me to do so,” Weaver said.
Weaver, who majored in secondary education, history, and philosophy as an undergrad, said, “I feel like energy law and environmental law can be a little intimidating because it can be very science focused.” But his professors have been supportive and approachable, he added.
Professor Alexandra Klass took Weaver on as a research assistant after he completed her Energy Law course and has been instrumental in developing his research and writing abilities, which will be critical in his new role, he said.
In addition, through the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic, he was immersed in this area of the law and able to work with experts and clients. Weaver credits the feedback and mentorship of the clinic’s director, Professor Oday Salim, for not only improving his legal research and writing but also building his client-focused advocacy and communication skills.
After taking two of Professor Andrew Buchsbaum’s classes, Weaver is working with him on an amicus brief through the clinic on behalf of the Great Lakes Business Network, supporting the Michigan Attorney General’s appeal at the Sixth Circuit on the state’s right to terminate the Line 5 pipeline’s easement through the Straits of Mackinac. Being exposed to this work and “realizing that I can provide value to it, even as a law student, is enormously empowering and encouraging,” Weaver said.
Beyond his clinical work, Weaver has served as energy chair of the Environmental Law Society and as a junior editor for the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law. “Michigan Law really does have an incredible energy and environmental law program,” he said.
Weaver appreciates the support he’s received from the Office of Career Planning, in particular the Law School’s public interest director, Emily Bretz, ’11, who “has reviewed my cover letters and resumes dozens of times—often last minute—has always found time to mock interview me before interviews with employers, and has consistently provided direct and encouraging feedback as I navigated entering a new career field,” he said.
—————
Opportunities through the fellowship
At the Institute for Policy Integrity, Weaver may draft amicus briefs, regulatory comments, and petitions to federal and state agencies, advise advocacy organizations, and write academic articles.
He also will supervise NYU Law School students—not something that many young lawyers get to do, he said. “I think that’s incredibly special and unique.”
Work in environmental solutions considers effects on the planet, native species, and environmental justice, for example—all of which are crucial, Weaver said.
“But unfortunately, it’s not always a winning argument if we don’t look at it from the economic perspective as well. So this organization is uniquely postured to do both, with economists on staff, with scientists on staff, with lawyers on staff. I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to take on this really difficult problem and try to make things better.”
Both Weaver and Madeline Turk, ’25, will start fellowships with the institute in fall 2026. They will join Katherine Welty, ’23, who is currently finishing up the first year of her two-year fellowship.
Michigan Law
The Institute for Policy Integrity, at New York University School of Law, has selected David Weaver, a third-year student at Michigan Law, for a two-year fellowship. The institute is a nonpartisan think tank focused on US energy and environmental policy.
Weaver’s path to law school included spending time in the Amazon rainforest, serving in the US Marine Corps, and working on a master’s project on parking regulations. These experiences sharpened his interest in the environment and the law.
Weaver went to college on a Marine Corps scholarship, which required him to serve in the Marines after graduation. But his first set of orders was delayed, so he took the opportunity to spend five months in South America first.
The experience laid the groundwork for his future career path. “I got to see firsthand the splendor and the majesty of nature, monkeys climbing over my hammock at night, and river dolphins swimming in the wake of my canoe…and extremely hospitable Indigenous folks,” Weaver said. But he also visited illegal gold mines that were dumping mercury into the water, talked with people working in them, and saw illegal slash-and-burn agriculture “that was just destroying the Amazon.”
He also met people in the Munduruku tribe, who were planning to go to war to defend their ancestral homelands against industry encroachment in the form of dams that would flood their lands.
“Seeing all of that helped me understand my own use of energy, my own demand for gold,” such as the gold in his laptop, Weaver said. “I wanted to create a change.”
After his time in the Amazon, Weaver witnessed environmental impacts elsewhere around the world and much closer to home.
With the Marines, Weaver’s work involved supporting combat operations in Iraq and Syria. One night when he was deployed in Kuwait, he said, “Russian mercenaries attacked the Syrian Democratic Forces, which had embedded Marines with them, over an oil field. Hundreds of people died that night for that oil.”
Then, back in the United States, “My niece developed asthma, because there’s a coal power plant in her community,” Weaver said. He felt like he was being “hit over the head with the destruction of our planet and its impacts on my community and other communities.”
Weaver decided to pursue a master of science in resilient and sustainable communities. His thesis was on minimum parking regulations, “a really wonky city ordinance that most cities in America have that requires every single building to have a certain number of parking spaces,” he said. These ordinances contribute to automobile dependence and make it difficult to create affordable housing, Weaver said. “I realized that the law can act like the DNA of a city and shape how a city grows and develops and how everyone experiences the city and lives within it.
“And that’s what kind of led me to law school—recognizing that this law that shapes our daily lives and our built environment, that nobody even knows about, has such a huge impact.”
—————
Time in environmental law at Michigan
Weaver chose to attend Michigan Law because of its reputation for supporting public interest students, its wide variety of environmental and energy law courses, and the opportunity to make an impact as a student through the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic.
Once Weaver was on campus, Professor Rachel Rothschild’s environmental law and policy class solidified his decision to pursue environmental law.
Later on, she nudged him toward fellowship opportunities in the field. “I wouldn’t have even applied for this position if she hadn’t encouraged me to do so,” Weaver said.
Weaver, who majored in secondary education, history, and philosophy as an undergrad, said, “I feel like energy law and environmental law can be a little intimidating because it can be very science focused.” But his professors have been supportive and approachable, he added.
Professor Alexandra Klass took Weaver on as a research assistant after he completed her Energy Law course and has been instrumental in developing his research and writing abilities, which will be critical in his new role, he said.
In addition, through the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic, he was immersed in this area of the law and able to work with experts and clients. Weaver credits the feedback and mentorship of the clinic’s director, Professor Oday Salim, for not only improving his legal research and writing but also building his client-focused advocacy and communication skills.
After taking two of Professor Andrew Buchsbaum’s classes, Weaver is working with him on an amicus brief through the clinic on behalf of the Great Lakes Business Network, supporting the Michigan Attorney General’s appeal at the Sixth Circuit on the state’s right to terminate the Line 5 pipeline’s easement through the Straits of Mackinac. Being exposed to this work and “realizing that I can provide value to it, even as a law student, is enormously empowering and encouraging,” Weaver said.
Beyond his clinical work, Weaver has served as energy chair of the Environmental Law Society and as a junior editor for the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law. “Michigan Law really does have an incredible energy and environmental law program,” he said.
Weaver appreciates the support he’s received from the Office of Career Planning, in particular the Law School’s public interest director, Emily Bretz, ’11, who “has reviewed my cover letters and resumes dozens of times—often last minute—has always found time to mock interview me before interviews with employers, and has consistently provided direct and encouraging feedback as I navigated entering a new career field,” he said.
—————
Opportunities through the fellowship
At the Institute for Policy Integrity, Weaver may draft amicus briefs, regulatory comments, and petitions to federal and state agencies, advise advocacy organizations, and write academic articles.
He also will supervise NYU Law School students—not something that many young lawyers get to do, he said. “I think that’s incredibly special and unique.”
Work in environmental solutions considers effects on the planet, native species, and environmental justice, for example—all of which are crucial, Weaver said.
“But unfortunately, it’s not always a winning argument if we don’t look at it from the economic perspective as well. So this organization is uniquely postured to do both, with economists on staff, with scientists on staff, with lawyers on staff. I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to take on this really difficult problem and try to make things better.”
Both Weaver and Madeline Turk, ’25, will start fellowships with the institute in fall 2026. They will join Katherine Welty, ’23, who is currently finishing up the first year of her two-year fellowship.
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