Jan Hasselman

Senior Attorney Northwest Office

hassleman_jan_15-800

Media Inquiries

Elizabeth Manning
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
emanning@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

WA

Jan Hasselman is a senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Northwest office in Seattle, WA, which he joined in 1998.

Since that time, he has successfully litigated a number of regional and national issues including listings of salmon under the Endangered Species Act, stormwater pollution, coal fired power plants, and coal and crude oil terminals. He served as lead counsel to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their litigation against the Army Corps of Engineers regarding approval of the Dakota Access pipeline.

Jan has a history degree from Wesleyan University, and graduated magna cum laude from Boston College Law School, where he was executive editor of the Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, he served as a judicial law clerk in the federal district court in Boston. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Washington and Seattle University law schools, and in 2013 was a visiting professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) under a Fulbright grant.

The Latest from Jan Hasselman

Large towers with electrical transmission lines in front of a large mountain at sunset.
May 16, 2024

Greening the Gas System

How utility commission “ratemaking” cases have advanced clean buildings and climate justice in Washington state.
An illustration about how a heat pump works
February 26, 2024

Washington’s Future is Bright as it Leads the Charge to Electrify Buildings

Washington demonstrates legal pathways for states and local governments seeking to transition buildings off fossil fuels to clean, safe electricity.
January 24, 2024

In the News: Seattle Times

Puget Sound Energy cancels liquid natural gas plant expansion in Tacoma

“Washington State is committed to phasing out the use of fossil fuels; that is state law, that is who we are and what we have decided to do. PSE has been going in the opposite direction, seeking to market LNG to new customers and for new uses. The idea that we would have barges filled with LNG going back and forth in a busy port and Commencement Bay and throughout Puget Sound was never a good idea.”
A family prepares a meal on an induction stove.
April 19, 2023

One Court Ruling Will Not Stop the Growing Building Electrification Movement

Plenty of legal options remain for communities to protect health and safety – and achieve crucial zero emissions goals – by transitioning buildings away from fossil fuels
An offshore production oil rig.
May 3, 2022

Inside the ‘Climate Test’

Challenging the suspect math that lets fossil-fuel companies off the hook for locking in greenhouse gas emissions
April 23, 2021

In the News: Yahoo News

U.S. appeals court denies Dakota Access rehearing request, environmental review to continue

"This is a pretty definitive statement that the legal issues in this case do not warrant attention from the Supreme Court. Here, not only didn't we see dissents, not a single judge called for a vote."
April 13, 2021

In the News: The News Tribune

The fight over Tacoma’s liquified-natural gas plant continues. Will permits be upheld?

“We are challenging the bottom line in the [Environmental Impact Statement] that this project would mean a net improvement in greenhouse gas emissions ... When we’re dealing with methane, the stakes are higher because this is a very dangerous pollutant.”
March 15, 2021

In the News: E&E News

'Iconic movement': Lawyer for tribes on fate of Dakota Access

February 9, 2021

In the News: Associated Press

Corps wants delay on hearing to shut down Dakota Access line

“The administration has to make a choice. Will it honor the treaties and the law, or will it allow the continued operation of an illegal and risky pipeline. President Biden must reverse Trump’s illegal actions authorizing DAPL.”
January 21, 2021

In the News: The Guardian

'No more broken treaties': Indigenous leaders urge Biden to shut down Dakota Access pipeline

“It is a more complex legal scenario, but they could do it tomorrow as it’s operating without a permit and has been declared illegal by federal courts.”
January 21, 2021

In the News: S&P Global

After Trump no-show, Supreme Court fight over Wash. coal exports left to Biden

"We would certainly hope that [President Joe Biden] would be weighing in to stand up for the rights of states to have some control over the health and welfare of their citizens."
Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman
August 21, 2018

Fighting Fossil Fuels in the Era of Trump

Four ways to make progress on clean energy now.
Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman tours the Atchafalaya Basin with clients, seeing the impacts of oil pipelines to the area.
April 6, 2018

The Next Battle in the Fight to Stop Dirty Pipelines

Earthjustice and its clients won a huge victory when a federal judge shut down the Bayou Bridge pipeline in Louisiana; a federal appeals court will decide what comes next.
Lummi members hold a symbolic check burning protest to demonstrate that no amount of money can buy their support.
July 14, 2015

A New Front in the Battle Against Coal Exports: Treaties

Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest are invoking an unusual source of legal authority—treaties—to block massive coal, crude oil and tar sands development.
Morning fog lingering on a Puget Sound beach.
July 1, 2015

Legal Action Armors Puget Sound Against Habitat Loss

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is shirking its duty to make sure changes to coastal habitats—including Puget Sound—won’t destroy valuable public resources.