Bulletin of Developments in Environmental and Administrative Law
Contacto de Prensa
Robert Valencia
Estratega de Comunicaciones y Asuntos Públicos Hispanos/Latinos
rvalencia@earthjustice.org
What We Do
Earthjustice’s Strategic Legal Advocacy team identifies and addresses cross-cutting changes in judicial doctrines that affect our clients’ ability to vindicate their rights. These include legal doctrines affecting justiciability, jurisdiction, the scope of federal power, and judicial review of agency actions.
The Strategic Legal Advocacy team consists of appellate and administrative law experts who focus their practice on those areas of law. The team’s members have clerked for jurists with a diverse set of judicial philosophies, including two U.S. Supreme Court justices, six U.S. court of appeals judges across four circuits, and two district court judges. Combined, they have over 30 years of appellate experience, which includes arguing and briefing Supreme Court merits cases, keeping cases out of the Supreme Court, and appellate arguments and briefs in federal and state courts. They also have extensive experience contributing to cases at the trial court level and in high-stakes filings in emergency litigation.
If you are an administrative or environmental law practitioner interested in receiving the Bulletin:
The team serves as a resource within Earthjustice by providing assistance on novel or difficult legal issues that arise in our litigation, with a focus on cases that could have far-reaching effects, including those that may reach the Supreme Court. The team engages with the broader environmental and progressive legal communities, including assisting with strategic coordination between organizations, coordinating and hosting continuing legal education programming and webinars, and serving as a consultant or co-counsel. The team also prepares a biweekly bulletin summarizing significant legal developments across state and federal courts.
If you are an administrative or environmental law practitioner interested in receiving the Bulletin:
Attestations of Our Work
The Strategic Legal Advocacy team prides itself on working collaboratively. Our motivation is, first and foremost, to be helpful. Here are a few reflections from our partner organization on how that works in practice:
“When a somewhat run-of-the-mill NEPA case in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals suddenly turned into a major battle over the validity of the CEQ NEPA regulations (entirely unexpectedly because it was not an issue that was briefed or argued by the parties), our organization recognized that we needed the sophisticated appellate experience Earthjustice offers. We were very happy to work with the Strategic Legal Advocacy team because they were extremely professional and adept in their handling of the intricate tactical issues involved. Their pro bono work was top-notch and was recognized as such by the DOJ attorneys on the other side of the case, with whom the Earthjustice team was able to establish a good relationship. It is a rare luxury for environmental attorneys to have Earthjustice’s appellate team as a backup if and when their case gets tricky.”
— Senior Counsel, National Environmental Nonprofit
“Earthjustice has been an invaluable resource in our appellate work, reaching out to potential amici and moot court judges and taking on the nitty gritty logistical efforts needed to organize successful moots. Earthjustice attorneys are knowledgeable, practical, and a pleasure to work with.”
— Managing Attorney, National Environmental Nonprofit
“Our public interest environmental law practice rarely reaches the U.S. Supreme Court — but last year it did, when we faced a cert petition from a vocal mining-rights activist seeking review of a Clean Water Act decision we had won against him.
“When you are in the Supreme Court, you need a Supreme Court specialist. We were connected by a colleague with Kirti Datla at Earthjustice, who worked closely with us to understand our strategy options. Earthjustice did an outstanding job of drafting our response opposing the cert petition, and vetting it with other Supreme Court specialists. And we won — the Supreme Court denied the cert petition, cementing our precedent-setting legal victories in the district and appeals courts.
“Anytime we may need Supreme Court assistance in the future, Earthjustice will be my first contact.”
— Executive Director, Western/Regional Environmental Nonprofit
“The Strategic Legal Advocacy team’s expertise was invaluable in navigating Supreme Court procedure and crafting arguments with a sensitivity to current trends and caselaw. Kirti worked closely with our litigation team to understand the context of the case and ensure we remained consistent with ongoing case strategy. Her extensive network of Supreme Court practitioners helped us stress test our arguments and anticipate challenges. I deeply appreciated the opportunity to collaborate and learn from experts in Supreme Court practice who respected our specific subject matter expertise. Through this collaboration we were ultimately successful in defeating a petition for certiorari and defending our Ninth Circuit win. Many thanks to the team!”
— Former Staff Attorney, State Environmental Nonprofit
