Research Student Assistant, College of Law

Classification: Student Assistant

About the role

The Program on Law and Government (PLG) is seeking several part-time research assistants to support new research on the governance and regulation of emerging frontiers, with a focus on ocean and space law. RAs will work with Professor Brett and other faculty affiliated with PLG.

• Two RAs will focus primarily on ocean governance, including deep sea mining regulation, offshore energy, and related federal agency activity.
• The others will focus on space law, including domestic licensing and permitting frameworks, state-level regulatory developments and courts, and the gap between academic space law scholarship and commercial practice.

Both positions will involve legal and policy research, landscape mapping of relevant academic institutions, think tanks, and nonprofit organizations, and supporting the development of scholarly and policy publications.

Requirements

• Current UF Law student
• Completed first year of law school (strong candidates)
• Interest in environmental, space, international, or regulatory law
• Demonstrated research skills and intellectual curiosity about novel governance problems

Responsibilities

• Conduct legal and policy research on ocean governance or space law
• Map relevant academic institutions, think tanks, and nonprofit organizations
• Support the development of scholarly and policy publications

Benefits

• Opportunity for sustained engagement with an emerging area of law and policy (positions can continue into the 2026-2027 academic year for strong fits)
• Flexible summer hours that may be balanced with other employment

Pay

$14/hour