Richard Lazarus
Richard J. Lazarus is the Howard J. and Katherine W. Aibel Professor at Harvard Law School, where he teaches environmental and natural resources law. Professor Lazarus 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 argument 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
Media Articles
Selected Publications and Appearances
University of Chicago Law Review: Richard wrote an essay reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA, describing the opinion and discussing how the majority opinion lacks competent, principled legal analysis that the public can fairly demand of its Supreme Court Justices.
CleanLaw Podcast: Richard speaks with Professor Jody Freeman, EELP Executive Director Carrie Jenks, and University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor of Law Steph Tai about the US Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA. June, 2023
CleanLaw Podcast: Richard speaks with Carrie Jenks about the long-awaited update to his book, The Making of Environmental Law. April, 2023
Washington Post: Richard wrote an op-ed about the Supreme Court’s decision on West Virginia v. EPA. June, 2022
Globus Podcast: SDSN Youth USA network coordinators Elizabeth Kostina and Nikita Angarski spoke with Richard about his expertise in environmental law and his work on the Commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. June, 2022
Living on Earth: Steve Curwood interviews Richard about his book The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court. May, 2020
SCOTUS preview: Richard and Jody Freeman offered an overview of major takeaways from the Court’s last term, including significant decisions for environmental lawyers, before transitioning to discuss both upcoming term cases and continuing cases. October, 2019
Accepts the Sacks-Freund Award for Teaching Excellence at HLS graduation. May, 2019
Delivered oral arguments defending Wisconsin before the Supreme Court in Murr v. Wisconsin, Spring 2017