Environmental Law Section

Welcome to the Environmental Law Section’s eNews, your source for information, updates, and opportunities related to the Section’s events and programs. Fall marks a time of change and renewal. It is also a significant period for the Environmental Law Section as we held our flagship event – the 34th Annual Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite®– from October 16 to 19. The conference attracted approximately 800 participants and was filled with enthusiasm, innovative thinking, and hope as everyone looked forward to tackling significant, upcoming environmental challenges. Thank you to everyone – attendees, speakers, Tribal participants, award recipients, sponsors, hike leaders, performers, conference organizers and staff – for creating an atmosphere that allowed these important dialogues to occur. You can read more conference takeaways from our Yosemite Planning Co-Chairs Leuwam Tesfai, Gwynne Hunter and Julia Forgie below. You can also debrief with us directly by joining me and Immediate Past Chair Miles Hogan on November 21 for Chairs’ Corner where we will be discussing the Yosemite Conference planning process, including ways to get involved, and asking for your feedback for Read more

The 34th Annual Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite®, held October 16–19, 2025, at the Tenaya Lodge near Yosemite, brought together almost 800 attorneys, policy-makers, agency representatives and environmental professionals for four days of legal education, networking, and outdoor experiences, with the added excitement of a light blanketing of snow. Read more

The Environmental Law Section invites Section members and friends to a volunteer event restoring native habitat at Ballona Wetlands in Playa del Rey.  Read more

“Chair’s Corner” returns in November as “Chairs’ Corner” in a slightly different format. It will remain a member-focused networking session and a great way to receive updates or give feedback on the Section’s activities. Read more

The Executive Committee for the Environmental Law Section (ELS) is comprised of 17 members who serve staggered three-year terms. We also have a Liaison who sits on the Executive Committee for the New Lawyers Section (NLS) and serves a two-year term. Read more

I'm honored to begin my one-year term as Chair of the Environmental Law Section (“ELS”), joined by Officers Darcy Brown (Vice Chair), Leuwam Tesfai (Treasurer), and Julia Forgie (Secretary). Read more

I am excited to announce the Environmental Law Section Officers for the 2025-26 term. Read more

Participants will receive a “101” level introduction to California’s complex set of laws that regulate air quality and climate change-inducing greenhouse gasses. Read more

Every year, the Section grants a number of fellowships to bright and motivated law students to help finance their summer jobs practicing environmental, energy, land use, and/or natural resources law at a participating government agency or public interest organization. The Section also matches the Fellows with mentors who practice in the field, and provides webinars, career panels, get-togethers and more, so the Fellows can meet other section members and attorneys. And to cap it all off, the section invites Fellows to attend the Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite® in October, with free conference registration. You can learn more about the fellowship and its sponsors on the Section website.   Read more

Learn the key legal considerations, reporting duties, and risk management that arise when contamination is discovered during due diligence, from Buyer’s and Seller’s POV. Read more