Environmental Law
Are you interested in:
- climate change and clean energy?
- surface and groundwater issues in the Great Lakes region?
- brownfield development?
- litigation over environmental crimes?
If so, environmental law may be the field for you. Environmental law continues to evolve as environmental concerns rise and greater importance is placed on green technology. Environmental lawyers represent individual clients, nonprofit organizations and corporations on issues related to climate change, clean energy, water protection, environmental justice and more. They often work to affect environmental policy in state and federal government.
Wayne Law offers students a comprehensive and innovative curriculum in environmental law. Courses include Environmental Law, Water Law, Energy Law, Land Use and Administrative Law. Advanced courses, such as International Climate Change Law, address cutting-edge issues in the field.
Click on the above video to hear from Wayne Law Professor Noah Hall, author of a leading casebook on environmental law, expert on Great Lakes policy and water issues, and former attorney in private practice and for nonprofits.
Through the Environmental Law Clinic, operated in partnership with the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, students gain hands-on experience by preparing policy papers and formal legislative testimony, commenting on rulemaking and permit decisions, and engaging in judicial review and enforcement litigation. Students in this clinic have provided legal assistance to help fight proposed coal plants in Michigan, developed a new clean energy funding mechanism for local governments, assisted local environment organizations with preliminary research on the expected air pollution permit renewal for the Detroit incinerator, and have worked with Friends of Tienken Road in opposing a major expansion of a road that threatens historic protections and would cause air pollution in the metro area. Students have also worked on a number of cases and proposals in the areas of water conservation, water diversions and water quality, as well as wetlands, shorelines and natural resources.
Wayne Law has met the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge. This effort was initiated by student leaders from the Law School’s Environmental Law Society and has already produced impressive results in terms of reduced paper use and energy conservation at the Law School. Wayne Law students have also been regular competitors in the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, active in the National Association of Environmental Law Societies and involved in numerous pro bono matters.
Wayne Law offers opportunities to study many other areas of the law as well. Check out a full list of course offerings, visit the Program for International Legal Studies or visit the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.
Contact the Admissions Office at lawinquire@wayne.edu or (313) 577-3937 with any questions.