Legal Projects
For more information on ELS Legal Projects for 2009-2010 please contact the Legal Projects Chairs:
Isaly Judd, isj208@nyu.edu
Joshua Gange, jjg361@nyu.edu
2009-10
ELS is looking forward to continuing the tradition of legal projects for the 2009-2010 school year. We again have two committed legal projects chairs who will spearhead the projects and provide students the opportunity to work on a variety of issues, either through institutes within the NYU community, or with outside organizations on a local, regional, national or international level. Plans for legal projects this year will be discussed at the first ELS meeting in September.
2008-09
ELS' legal project for 2008-2009 was a collaboration with NYU Law's Institute for Policy Integrity to update decade-old research on state-level regulatory review programs. Throughout the year, more that 18 ELS members researched various aspects of state-level regulatory review programs and state approaches to cost-benefit analysis. This research prepared ELS members for the fifty-state survey that was launched this spring, offering project participants the chance to supplement their initial findings through interaction with state executive and legislative officials. These efforts will culminate in the release of a fall report by the Institute for the Policy Integrity, examining best practices for state regulatory review programs and exploring opportunities for shared learning and improvement of both state and federal administrative decision-making.
ELS was also involved in a legal project with WEACT, an environmental justice organization in New York City. Students were asked to research the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and it’s potential to unduly impact environmental justice communities.
Project Leaders: Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, Melissa Krenzel Lang, Stephanie Tatham
2007-08
Environmental Defense Fund: Docket Discovery
ELS is working with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to recover their historical legal docket. Although Environmental Defense Fund has fought legal battles to benefit the environment and human health for more than forty years, they have no readily accessible record of their early litigation. ELS members have assembled a searchable database of over 250 EDF cases dating back to 1967, more than doubling the size of EDF's current electronic docket. ELS provided EDF with a succinct summary and record of decision for each case. ELS is now working with EDF General Counsel, James T.B. Tripp , to identify the 40 most significant decisions in EDF's docket. Over the summer, ELS members will further investigate chosen cases, utilizing their legal research skills and through interviews of former and present EDF attorneys. This project will ultimately result in a written report that Environmental Defense Fund will be able to use in fundraising and education efforts.
Project Leader: Stephanie J. Tatham
Team Members: Holly Beck, Amy J. Dona, Jonathon Kalmuss-Katz, Melissa Krenzel Lang, Aaron Love
The Nature Conservancy: From Paper to Practice
The project was undertaken at the request of the China Program of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which is working with the Yunnan Provincial Government and the South West Forestry University to create a new protected areas system in the northwest Yunnan region of China. Specifically, TNC seeks to establish national park sites to protect the Laojun Mountain andMeili Snow Mountain regions of northwest Yunnan. At TNC's behest, ELS members evaluated over 80 countries to determine which protected areas and parks systems were most similar to northwest Yunnan with respect to biogeography, cultural significance, socio-economic situation, and the threats to existence they face. ELS' efforts culminated in the publication of From Paper to Practice: Lessons from Selected Protected Areas Around the Globe a report that offers an in-depth examination of protected area programs in twelve different countries across five continents. The full report is available for download and a translated version will soon be available in Chinese. TNC's China Office reports that this is the first Chinese language study of national park systems around the world. They have already presented ELS' report to the Yunnan Provincial Government, with whom they are working to draft protected area regulations to protect the northwest Yunnan region of China.
Project Leader: Stephanie Tatham; Team Leaders: Maron Greenleaf & Ira J. Klein
Team members: Stephanie M. Aronzon, Lisa A. Bennett, Rebecca A. Crawford, April Gu, Shawn S. Ledingham, Jr., Kristina L. Miles, Julie R. Ota, Jennifer S. Rosen, Danielle H. Spiegel, Joy Sun