On May 18, 2020, Emmett Institute supervising attorney and project director Julia Stein and co-executive director Sean Hecht filed a comment letter to EPA on behalf of 100 U.S. law professors urging the agency to withdraw its revamped “Transparency in Science” rule. As written, the rule would foreclose EPA’s ability to rely on important peer-reviewed scientific studies that inform key environmental protections, like safe drinking water standards and pesticide regulations, where the underlying data supporting those studies are not publicly available.

On July 1, 2020, Sean Hecht and Ted Lamm of Berkeley Law filed a brief on behalf of the National Parks Conservation Association and the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks in Union of Concerned Scientists, et al. v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The authors show that climate change- and air pollution-related harms occurring in California's National Parks provide direct evidence of the compelling and extraordinary conditions that justify California’s vehicle emissions program.

On October 1, 2020, 40 legal scholars submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to express their serious concerns with the Trump Administration EPA's proposed revision to air quality standards for ozone, the primary component of smog. The letter, authored by the UCLA Law Emmett Institute's Sean Hecht and Siyi Shen, argues that the composition and role of EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee render the proposed action legally deficient, and will result in National Ambient Air Quality Standards that contravenes Congress’s will.

This guide is for anyone interested in learning more about environmental law offerings at UCLA Law and about careers in environmental law. The goals of this guide are to highlight the breadth of opportunities that exist for environmental lawyers and to provide resources and advice to assist students and graduates with job applications and career development.

Download the guide (Updated September 2024)