Pace I Haub Environmental Law

Congratulations to members of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University’s Class of 2026 who were recognized by the White Plains Bar Association at its Annual Meeting. Professor Jon Brown, Director of the Food and Farm Business Law Clinic, presented the awards honoring three graduating students: Ugo N., recipient of the Isaac Rubin Clinical Lawyering Award; Hope Newkirk, J.D., recipient of the Ethics and Professionalism Award; and Carington Lowe, recipient of the Bohn Vergari Public Service Award for Best Environmental Law Student.

The awards, which included a monetary gift from the White Plains Bar Association, were also recognized as part of the Law School’s 2026 Commencement honors. We are grateful to the White Plains Bar Association for its continued support of Haub Law students and for recognizing excellence in clinical education, professionalism, public service, and environmental law.

Congratulations to Ugo, Hope, and Carington on this well-deserved recognition, and best wishes as they begin the next chapter of their legal careers.

Lauren Roth, Associate Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Health Law and Policy Certificate at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, and Ethan Ickovics Thorpe, Climate Governance Fellow at the Vanderbilt Private Climate Governance (PCG) Lab, have posted their article, Private Health Governance, to SSRN.

Forthcoming in The Environmental Law Reporter (2026), the article explores how private governance mechanisms within the healthcare sector could help advance environmental sustainability and reduce public health harms amid broader regulatory retrenchment.

The paper examines how healthcare accreditation and quality-control regimes may provide pathways for improving environmental performance where public governance is limited.

Read the abstract ➡️ https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6754804

Last week, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University welcomed the 2026 Pace I Haub Environmental Law Summer D.C. Externship cohort for an intensive multi-day bootcamp designed to prepare students for practice in the environmental law and policy space in Washington, D.C.

Through sessions led by faculty, alumni, practitioners, current students, and program partners, participants engaged with topics including federal environmental regulatory practice, environmental litigation, administrative law, professionalism, networking, and career pathways in D.C.

Thank you to the many faculty members, alumni, practitioners, staff, and students who contributed their time and expertise throughout the week in preparing students for their summer placements across Washington, D.C. Special thanks to Professor Achinthi Vithanage for leading this year’s bootcamp, and to Adjunct Professors Kristen S. DeWire and Steve Solow, who will continue mentoring and supporting students throughout their externship experience this summer.

Wishing our 2026 externs, Carlee Unger, Elena Fasullo, Dayana Henderson, Maia Carney, and Stephen Badea, the best of luck this summer in Washington, D.C.

Join us in Washington, D.C. for the Annual Pace I Haub Environmental Law Program DC Alumni & Friends Event hosted at Hogan Lovells. Connect with alumni, meet this summer’s DC externs, and hear updates from the Pace | Haub Environmental Law Program.

We look forward to gathering with members of our environmental law community in the nation’s capital. Registration is required. Please join us!

📍Hogan Lovells | July 16, 2026 | 6:00 PM EST
Register to attend ➡️ https://bit.ly/4nvbivF

Attention rising 2L and 3L students: Applications are now open for the next cohort of Sustainable Business Law Hub Scholars at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.

The Sustainable Business Law Hub Scholars Program is a curricular, scholarship, and mentorship program designed for students interested in pursuing careers at the intersection of environmental law and business law.

Hub Scholars receive practical training and professional mentorship while gaining experience through internships and externships with law firms, corporate counsel, NGOs, and government entities working in the ESG and sustainable business space. Students also benefit from curricular guidance, networking opportunities, and access to the Hub’s growing alumni and advisory board network.

To apply, please submit a Statement of Interest, current transcript (unofficial accepted), and CV to [email protected] and [email protected] by Friday, May 29.

Learn more ➡️ https://www.pace.edu/law/centers-and-institutes/sustainable-business-law-hub/student-scholars

Residential battery energy storage is increasingly being recognized as essential infrastructure for a more resilient, affordable, and renewable energy future in New York City.

In a recent feature by The Footprint, Michael Hamersky, Executive Director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center, discussed how battery storage technology has advanced significantly in recent years and why modern residential systems should be viewed differently from the battery fire concerns often associated with e-bikes and scooters. “As long as those buildings are not able to install battery energy storage they are going to be beholden to Con Edison and the volatility of fossil fuels,” Hamersky said.

Read more ➡️https://bit.ly/4nsjjRY

The Pace I Haub Environmental Law Program was proud to have a strong presence at the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (ABA SEER) Spring Conference in Minneapolis.

Professor Achinthi Vithanage moderated the panel “Law and Borders: Environmental Edition,” featuring international environmental law leaders Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Director of the Law Division at the UN Environment Programme(UNEP), and Nina Pindham, Chair of the UKELA - UK Environmental Law Association. The discussion explored how environmental lawyers and institutions are navigating rapidly shifting global environmental policy landscapes ahead of COP30 and beyond.

Students Harrison Gifford Bench, Cassidy Yelincic, Daphne Sroka, Joseph Mayson, and Julia Jann also attended the conference, engaging with practitioners and leaders across the field. Harrison, Cassidy, and Daphne currently serve in leadership roles within SEER’s Environmental Law Student Network, and Joe serves as a Vice Chair of SEER’s International Law Committee.

Members of the Pace | Haub community also participated in SEER’s Public Service Project along the Mississippi River corridor, helping prevent plastic pollution from entering the river while learning about the bdóte, a sacred Dakota landscape where two rivers meet.

The Pace I Haub Environmental Law Program was thrilled to welcome Douglas Kysar, the Joseph M. Field ’55 Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Law, Environment and Animals Program at Yale Law School, and a Haub Visiting Scholar, to campus for the 2026 Lloyd K. Garrison Lecture on Environmental Law as part of our Earth Week programming.

In “Systems So Perfect: Alternative Proteins and the Dream of Abundance,” Professor Kysar traced how modern industrial animal agriculture has evolved into a highly intensive global system, imposing wide-ranging environmental, social, and ethical costs. He examined how these harms often fall outside traditional regulatory frameworks and explored the growing turn toward alternative proteins as a potential response, while also grappling with the legal, ethical, and societal questions these technologies raise.

Beyond the lecture, Professor Kysar spent time with our Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University students and joined the Pace–Maryland Colloquium.

Watch the full lecture ➡️ https://bit.ly/4dmbhqa

Join us for the 13th Annual Future Environmental Law Professors Workshop at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.

This program is designed for law students and graduates considering or planning careers in environmental law academia. The in-person workshop, taking place on Friday, September 18 at Pace | Haub Law, will include mock interviews, practice job talks, and opportunities to engage with faculty on the academic hiring process.

As part of this year’s program, we will begin with a virtual panel, Navigating the Environmental Law Professor Job Market: Panel Discussion and Q&A, on Wednesday, May 6. This session will offer practical guidance on fellowship pathways, the entry-level market, and developing a scholarly agenda.

*Registration is required for both the virtual panel and the in-person workshop.

Visit our website for details ➡️https://www.pace.edu/law/academics/environmental-law-program/programs-and-partnerships/future-environmental-law

The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law recently convened the Spring 2026 Pace–Maryland Environmental Law Alliance Colloquium, bringing together students from both institutions to present original research on pressing environmental law and policy challenges.

The program reflected the strength of the Environmental Law Alliance, a longstanding collaboration connecting two leading environmental law programs in a shared commitment to experiential learning, scholarly exchange, and the development of future environmental leaders.

We extend our sincere thanks to the student presenters for their thoughtful and engaging contributions, including University of Maryland Carey School of Law students Dan Milovic, Nicole Zehner, and Jonah Pereyra, and Pace Haub Environmental Law Program students Samirah Aziz, Joseph Mayson, Carington Lowe, and Haoting Guo. We are also grateful to Professors William Piermattei and Achinthi Vithanage for their guidance and mentorship in supporting students throughout the colloquium.

Student presentations explored a range of timely issues, including climate accountability, PFAS regulation, environmental justice, sustainable energy transitions, and biodiversity protection.

Learn more about the Pace x Maryland Alliance ➡️ https://bit.ly/4cKU1tf