MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Written by Kimberly Bick Chair

The Environmental Law Section (ELS) is a great source of community and collaboration for environmental lawyers in California. I am particularly excited to focus on outreach to reach as many people as possible who practice or are interested (even if they don’t know it yet) in practicing environmental law. Our outreach goals include collaborating with our own ELS members, other California Lawyers Association (CLA) sections, affinity bars in California, regional bars in California, and California law schools. We hope these efforts result in many of you feeling welcome to join in our activities and volunteer in the coming year.

Here are just a few ways you can get involved:

• Participate in our new ELS Mentorship Program
• Participate in a virtual Book Club meeting (recommend a book!) or our ELM (Environmental Law Miscellany) get-togethers
• Participate in planning for-or attend-one of our many educational programs: webinars, the Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite (October 19-22, 2023 @ Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite), or a substantive conference like our recent climate change conference (we welcome topic and speaker suggestions for all of our programs)
• Participate in the Environmental Law Section’s Legislative Committee
• Volunteer as a judge for the Law Student Negotiations Competition (each spring) or the Law Student Writing Competition (each fall)
• Attend one of our social/networking events (virtual and regional opportunities)
• Join one of our standing committees such as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), Sustainability, Energy, Law School Outreach, or Membership Outreach
• Write an article for a future edition of Environmental Law News, or volunteer on the editorial committee