On April 2, Temple Environmental Law Society, Plaintiff’s Law Society, and the EECJ fellows hosted a panel on building careers in environmental law. The panelists included Jacob Elkin (Earthjustice), Paul Lyons (Motley Rice), and Liz Schultz (Clean Air Council).
All three panelists took winding paths to their roles today, and they emphasized the importance of approaching environmental justice from a variety of perspectives and legal backgrounds.
Liz Schultz discussed her experience building coalition on environmental issues in a purple state. She encouraged students to not let political orthodoxy prevent them from finding new allies when tackling pressing environmental issues. Lyons echoed that sentiment by discussing the importance of working with pragmatic thinkers.
When asked by a student on how to keep morale up while facing a dire moment for the climate, Jacob Elkin reflected on how every win, even if not halting the ecological catastrophe, still helps a community today and mitigates harm.
Unraveling our fossil fuel dependency and restoring our ecosystems will require a broad coalition. These panelists exemplified the need for any environmental lawyer to have an expansive set of skills and relationships.
