Richard Lazarus – Page 15 – Environmental and Energy Law Program

Bio

Professor Lazarus teaches environmental law, natural resources law, Supreme Court advocacy, and torts at Harvard Law School. He has represented the United States, state and local governments, and environmental groups in the United States Supreme Court in 40 cases and has presented oral arguments in 14 of those cases. He served as the Executive Director of the National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill as well as on the Biden Transition Team for the U.S. Justice Department.

Faculty Profile

Latest

In the Media
LA Times

Chief Justice Roberts presided impartially, yet left questions whether Trump’s trial was a fair one

Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus, a Democrat and a friend of Roberts’ since law school, who sometimes teaches a class with him during the court’s summer break, said, “Perhaps not surprisingly, I think he did an excellent job under perilous conditions.”

February 12, 2020

In the Media
Washington Post

With stakes beyond task at hand, John Roberts takes central role in Trump’s impeachment trial

“And now he crosses First Street, where it’s all about partisan politics,” said Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus, referring to the roadway in Washington that separates the Supreme Court from Congress.

January 21, 2020

In the Media
Law360

Kids’ Climate Suit Misses The Mark But Fallout Will Be Limited

“I think this was the best possible loss the plaintiffs could have had,” Richard Lazarus, a professor at Harvard Law School, said. “I was quite worried about the case becoming a train wreck.”

January 21, 2020

In the Media
CBS News

Senate impeachment trial is opportunity for Chief Justice Roberts to show “nonpartisan nature” of judges

That’s one reason why Harvard Law School’s Richard Lazarus, Roberts’ longtime friend, said the chief may see the trial as an opportunity “to show the American people the nonpartisan nature of the way the judges and justices work.”

January 21, 2020

In the Media
Yahoo! News

Impeachment Maelstrom Pulls Chief Justice Into Politics He Shuns

“He’s obviously someone who does not embrace partisan politics and does not want to see the court become part of partisan politics,” said Richard Lazarus, a Harvard Law School professor who was Roberts’s law school roommate. “But he’s going to find himself in the middle of it, by constitutional design.”

January 6, 2020

In the Media
Bloomberg Law

Supreme Court’s Questions Could Scramble Strategy in Water Case

Harvard Law School professor Richard J. Lazarus said “it’s no longer a sure thing” the court will side with the county, a dynamic that might pressure Maui’s mayor to revisit a settlement plan he previously rejected.

November 13, 2019

In the Media
New York Times

E.P.A. Bypassed Its West Coast Team as a Feud With California Escalated

“There’s no question here that the administration is targeting California, because, ironically, California has played an outsize role as an aggressive regulator of environmental pollution,” said Richard Lazarus, a professor of environmental law at Harvard University.

October 23, 2019

In the Media
USA Today

Impeachment: Chief Justice John Roberts would be the ‘umpire’ in Senate trial of President Trump

Restraint might be difficult in the current political environment, however. Richard Lazarus, a Harvard Law School professor and Roberts’ roommate when both were students there in the 1970s, says Senate Democrats and Republicans worked together to set rules for the Clinton trial. That may be harder this time around.

October 15, 2019

In the Media
Harvard Law Today

Potentially troubling times for environmental law in the Supreme Court, say HLS professors

These are potentially troubling times for environmental law in the Supreme Court, according to Harvard Law School Professors Jody Freeman LL.M. ’91 S.J.D. ’95, director of HLS’ Environmental and Energy Law Program, and Richard Lazarus ’79, a leading expert in environmental law and the Supreme Court. Though the news isn’t all bad, both warned of brewing issues ahead.

October 7, 2019