ABA honors distinguished achievement
The American Bar Association honored Lewis & Clark Law School with its 2001 Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy at a ceremony in the ABA Museum of Law on Aug. 6.
"Lewis & Clark Law School reflects the highest standards of dedication, creativity and professionalism," says Robert L. Rhodes, chair of the ABA Committee on Environmental Law.
"Lewis & Clark Law School has been at the forefront of environmental legal education for more than 30 years, consistently committing faculty and resources to educating environmental and natural resources lawyers," the ABA stated.
The ABA also noted that the law school developed the first environmental law and animal rights journals in the country and established one of the earliest nonprofit environmental advocacy organizations to train future public interest environmental lawyers.
The law school’s contributions to legal scholarship have included hundreds of cutting-edge articles, some cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to the juris doctorate, the law school offers a master of laws degree and a certificate program in environmental and natural resources law; the latter having more than 500 graduates to date. The curriculum includes more than 40 academic courses. The law school also offers numerous internships, externships, clinics and moot courts. An innovative summer program features field classes that are team-taught by ecologists.
The law school’s Natural Resources Law Institute supports an annual research fellow, distinguished faculty, visiting scholars from around the world and faculty research. Its publication, NRLI News, has a worldwide circulation and is used in many law school classrooms. The Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center, an on-campus legal clinic, provides public interest legal services to local, regional and international clients. And the Northwest Water Law and Policy Project provides critical research by leading scholars on water rights issues in the Columbia River Basin.
"We are extremely pleased to receive this highly coveted award and are grateful to the American Bar Association for its recognition of our program," says James Huffman, dean of the law school and Erskine Wood, Sr., Professor of Law. "We do not plan to rest on our laurels, however. Our law school intends to continue its mission of striving to provide the best possible legal education to our students while encouraging our faculty, scholars and journals to continue their innovative and thoughtful exposition and development of natural resources and environmental law."
"We are greatly honored by this award," says Janice Weis, assistant dean and director of the law school’s environmental and natural resources law program. "It recognizes everyone at Lewis & Clark who had a hand in developing the environmental program."
Weis points out that the program began with the 1970 launch of the country’s first environmental law review. Today, the program includes 10 faculty members and more than 40 classes, including several that provide practical training for future environmental lawyers.
"The ABA award is a wonderful testament to the expertise and dedication of our natural resources faculty, each of whom has contributed to the program in important ways during the last 31 years. It also recognizes our juris doctorate and master of laws alumni, who are working in a variety of environmental careers throughout the world," Weis says. | 
