By Chris Caesar
law briefs
With climate change-induced hurricanes, heat waves, and wildfire smog becoming an ever-growing presence in Americans’ news feeds, Suffolk Law has launched a new Environmental Law & Policy Clinic to provide students with the real-world experience needed to enter the increasingly important field.
Students complete casework on a wide range of topics, such as the management of contaminated soil at urban sites, regulation of wastewater, resiliency of agriculture, and renewable energy sources. They also work with Beacon Hill legislators on environmental and energy policy.
3L Annabella Nguyen, for example, is assisting the Office of Massachusetts State Senator Mike Barrett (D), chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, with researching the legal landscape for renewable energy projects across the Commonwealth. Other students are interacting with engineers, scientists, and experts in contamination clean-up, policymaking, regulatory compliance, environmental justice, and citizen enforcement suits.
The clinic is led by Robert Cox, JD ’85, an environmental lawyer who served as managing partner at Bowditch & Dewey, and Cara Libman, JD ’19, a former legislative director for members of the Massachusetts Senate.
“Professor Cox has done a lot of work with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Environmental Protection Agency, and municipalities, so his insights are firsthand—and invaluable,” Nguyen says.
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Photograph courtesy Creative Commons
winter 2024
