Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources

    Distinguished Achievement Award in Environmental Law and Policy

    To submit a nomination, use this form. The official rules for this award are posted here.

    This award recognizes individuals or organizations who have distinguished themselves in environmental law and policy, contributing significant leadership in improving the substance, process or understanding of environmental protection and sustainable development. 

    How do I submit a nomination for this award?

    Nominations can be submitted using the form linked above. Nominations will be accepted until May 31, 2021.

    Who is eligible for this award?

    Eligible individuals must be attorneys who formerly practiced law and who have demonstrated a lifetime of achievement or leadership in developing environmental, energy or resources law and policy in the United States.

    Eligible individuals may be former practitioners in the private, public or corporate sectors, judges, public officials, or law professors. The nominee should not be actively engaged in practice, but must be living at the time of nomination.

    Individuals who have been Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Council (Council) members, officers, or ABA staff within two years of the year of nomination are not eligible for the award and their immediate families and household members, are not eligible to receive the Award. Self-nominations are not accepted. Individuals must be at least 18 years old at the time of nomination.

    What is the award process?

    Nominations will be made through an online survey system. You will provide brief information about your nominee. The Section's awards committee will review your nomination and let you know if they need additinal information. Once the nomination period closes, the Awards Committee will review all nominations and make a recommendation to the Section's Council for its final approval. You will be notified either way if your nominee was selected.

    When are the awards bestowed?

    This award is bestowed during the Section's annual Fall Conference.

    Past recipients of this award

    2020:
    Organization: The Environmental Law Institute’s “ELI at 50” Program

    2019:
    Individual: Robert Percival, Director, Environmental Law Program, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

    2018:
    Individual: John Leshy, Emeritus Harry D. Sunderland and Distinguished Professor of Real Property Law, University of California Hastings College Of The Law
    Individual: Nicholas A. Robinson, University Professor on the Environment and Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law Emeritus; Co-Director, Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

    2017:
    Organization:  Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
    Individual:  Richard L. Ottinger

    2016:
    Organization: Stetson University College of Law's Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy

    2015:
    Individual:  Edward L. Strohbehn, Jr.
    Organization:  DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice

    2014:
    Individual: William M. Tam
    Organization: The George Washington University Law School – The George Washington University Law School Environment and Energy Law Program

    2013:
    Individual: Leslie Carothers
    Organization Award Recipient: National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

    2012:
    Individual: Professor Svitlana Kravchenko, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
    Organization: University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic

    2011:
    Individual: Richard Lazarus
    Organization: IUCN Academy of Environmental Law

    2010:
    Individual: Nicholas C. Yost, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, San Francisco, CA
    Organization: Environmental Law Section – Los Angeles County Bar Association

    2009:
    Individual: Dinah Bear, Washington, DC
    Organization: Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

    2008:
    Individual: Daniel Barstow Magraw, Jr., President, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Washington, DC
    Organization: Alliance for the Great Lakes

    2007:
    Individual: Ken Alex, Environment Section, California Office of the Attorney General, Sacramento, CA; and James R. Milkey, Environmental Protection Division Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Boston, MA
    Organization: University of Denver Sturm College of Law - Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program

    2006:
    Individual: Professor Oliver A. Houck, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, LA
    Organization: University of Hawai’i William S. Richardson School of Law – Environmental Law Program

    2005:
    Individual: John R. Quarles, Morgan Lewis, Washington, DC
    Organization: Pace University School of Law

    2004:
    Individual: J. William Futrell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Development Law Associates, Arlington, VA
    Organization: New Mexico Environmental Law Center

    2003:
    Individual: Professor Edith Brown Weiss, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC
    Organization: Environmental Circuit Prosecutor Project of the California District Attorneys Association

    2002:
    Individual: Daniel C. Esty, Director, Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, New Haven, CT
    Organization: Vermont Law School Environmental Law Center

    2001:
    Individual: Barry E. Hill, Director, U.S. EPA Office of Environmental Justice, Washington, DC
    Organization: Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College

    2000:
    Individual: Professor Louis B. Sohn, George Washington University National Law Center, Washington, DC
    Organization: Tulane Environmental Law Clinic