Environmental and Land Use Law Section

The Environmental and Land Use Section helps members keep up with this rapidly developing area of law.  The Section provides various forums through which members can meet, exchange ideas with, and learn from others who practice in the field.  The Section also sponsors law student internships and pursues a number of other community-service projects.

The Benefits of Membership

• The ELUL Newsletter.  Published three times a year, the Newsletter is a free resource that provides updates and in-depth articles on cases, draft rules, new statutes, and other topics relevant to environmental and land use law practitioners.  Member surveys and comments demonstrate that the newsletter is a valuable tool for many practitioners.  A host of talented and dedicated lawyers donate their time to make this publication the great success it is.  We are building an online Newsletter archive to bring you access to older newsletters. Your dues make this possible.

• Midyear Meeting.  Every year in May, the Section hosts a meeting that features a three-day CLE in a resort area in the state.  The CLE program is carefully vetted through the Executive Committee to ensure that top-quality presentations focus on timely topics of current utility and interest to environmental and land use law practitioners.  As most of us have practices that delve into the realms of both land use and environmental law, the CLE allows us to get up to date on both areas of the law.  Again, opportunities abound to network in a relaxed atmosphere ideal for forging new friendships and working relationships.  We work hard to keep the cost as low as possible for our members and provide scholarships to qualified individuals.  Your dues make this possible.

• Free Mini-CLEs.  The Section provides its members, free of charge, an hour-long CLE presentation in the fall, winter, and spring.  Following each CLE, we have a no-host reception to allow you to meet other members of the Section to network and sample some tasty hors d'oeuvres.  Your dues make this possible. 

Here are examples of topics presented in prior one-hour CLEs:

• What Initiative 933 Could Mean for Practitioners (presented in Spokane, Vancouver, and Seattle).

• An Update on Growth Management Board and Court Decisions.

• Hot Button Issues in Pesticide Regulation.

• What Does Cooper v. Aviall Mean for Brownfields Redevelopment?

• Skagit River Basin Litigation: Instream flows, water rights, and growth management.

• An Environmental Impact Review of the Most Recent U.S. Supreme Court Team.

• Regulation of Isolated Wetlands After Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. United States Army Corps of Engineers.

• Full-Day CLEs.  Each year, the Section puts on a one-day CLE to explore a subject area in greater depth.  Your dues make this possible.  

Here are examples of topics presented in prior full-day CLEs:

• Administrative Practice Before Environmental Boards.

• The Future of Land Use and Environmental Regulation:  Can a Healthy Environment and Healthy Economy Coexist?

• Sponsoring Law School Students in Internships.  The Section helps sponsor internships in the fields of land use and environmental law to deserving law students at the three law schools in Washington.  The Executive Committee believes it is important for the Section to help students find their way into practice areas that are highly specialized and in which it is sometimes difficult to find relevant experience.  We hope that by helping law students in internships, we will help grow the highly skilled lawyers of the future.  Your dues make this possible.

• Special Projects.  Giving back to the community is important.  The Executive Committee in the past several years has developed a high school curriculum for Law Day specifically geared toward environmental and land use law, undertaken a project on sustainability of law office practices, and hosted numerous free brown bags on topics of interest such as I-297 and the Endangered Species Act.  We have also sponsored Earth Day and Habitat for Humanity Work Days.  Your dues make this possible.

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