Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyers

God willing, soon we’ll return to global warming as the paramount crisis of our time.

Last year was the hottest on the planet. Up to 200 species vanish forever each day. Texans froze to death while Antarctica experienced its first heat wave.

And that’s just the tip of the vanishing iceberg. More than 95 percent of the oldest and thickest Arctic sea ice has already disappeared, and more than a third of the world’s remaining glaciers are projected to disappear before 2100, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Our decision to offer our first guide to the leading U.S. lawyers shaping the future of the environment and energy comes as no surprise. We’ve researched the guide for the past two years, studying the leaders across the spectrum – representing spotted owls as well as oil producers, forests alongside miners.

The 500 lawyers recognized here represent the evolution of environmental law, from the early days of preserving the earth to today’s environmental justice leaders, leading the opposition to continued siting of environmentally toxic and otherwise heavy projects in minority and poor communities.

We’re very proud to recognize vast numbers of lawyers working for environmental organizations from Earthjustice to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Many of those selected are among the youngest attorneys ever chosen for a Lawdragon guide, a sign that the future requires us all – the wisdom of the elders with those who will have to carry forward the future based on the choices we make today. Recognized as well are hundreds of lawyers from private law firms who increasingly help their corporate clients focus on translating good thoughts into sustainable deeds.

In addition to journalistic research, this guide is based on submissions from firms and others, as well as vetting with environmental and energy law experts.

We’re also delighted that one of our sponsors of the newly launched Lawdragon 500 Environmental and Energy Lawyers is History Associates Incorporated (HAI).  HAI is a nationally recognized research and analysis consultancy with more than 35 years of experience reconstructing the historical fact record in support of complex environmental litigation.

We hope you enjoy our guide and that it spurs you to learn about environmental justice, pay attention to progress some corporations are making and hug a polar bear.