Biographical Information
Richard Lazarus is the Charles Stebbins Fairchild Professor of Law at Harvard University, where he teaches Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Supreme Court Advocacy, and Torts. He also recently served as the Executive Director of the President’s Commission responsible for investigating the root causes of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1979 and he has a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in economics from the University of Illinois, where he focused on environmental issues.
Law Review Articles
- Justice Gorsuch and the Future of Environmental Law, 43 Stan. Envtl. L. J. 1 (2024)
- Reflections on Farber’s Inequality and Regulation, 3 Am. J. L. & Equality 414 (September 15, 2023)
- Sackett v. EPA: The Judicial Destruction of the Clean Water Act, U. Chi. L. Rev. Online 1 (August 11, 2023)
- The Scalia Court: Environmental Law's Wrecking Crew Within the Supreme Court, 47 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 407 (2023)
- Justice Breyer's Friendly Legacy for Environmental Law, 95 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1395 (2023)
- Stewart's Paradoxes of Liberty, Integrity, and Fraternity: Sobering Lessons from COVID-19 for Environmental Law, 29 N.Y.U. Envtl. L.J. 543 (2021)
- Advocacy History in the Supreme Court, 2020 Sup. Ct. Rev. 423.
- The Super Wicked Problem of Donald Trump, 74 Vand. L. Rev. 1811 (2020)
- Rights for Lake Erie?, Harvard Law Review Blog (Apr. 1, 2019)
Supreme Court Advocacy
- Counsel of Record for Respondent St. Croix County, Joseph P. Murr, et al., v. State of Wisconsin and St. Croix County, 137 S. Ct 1993 (2017)
- Co-Counsel, Los Angeles County Flood Control Dist. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 568 U.S. 78 (2013)
- Co-Counsel for Respondents, Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U.S. 139 (2010)
- Counsel of Record for Environmental Respondent Riverkeeper, Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, 556 U.S. 208 (2010)
- Co-Counsel for Petitioners, Massachusetts v. U.S. Envt'l Prot. Agency, 549 U.S. 497 (2007) (jurisdictional stage only)
- Counsel of Record for Respondents American River and Friends of the Presumpscot River, S.D. Warren v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection, 547 U.S. 370 (2006)
Recent Presentations
- Richard Lazarus on the Shifting Politics of Environmental Law, Free Range Podcast, University of Virginia School of Law (July 13, 2023)
- Sackett v. EPA Decision: What the Justices Said and What this Means for Water with Jody Freeman, Richard Lazarus, and Steph Tai, CleanLaw Podcast, Harvard Law School (June 21, 2023)
- HLS Library Book Talk: The Making of Environmental Law, Harvard Law School (April 12, 2023)
- The Making of Environmental Law with Richard Lazarus and Carrie Jenks, CleanLaw Podcast, Harvard Law School (April 10, 2023)
- The Making of Environmental Law, Ralph F. Fuchs Lecture, Indiana University Maurer School of Law (March 23, 2023)
- Justice Breyer’s Friendly Legacy for Environmental Law, USC School of Law (April 1, 2022)
- Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court, New York State Library, Webinar (March 24, 2022)
- A Critical Year at the Supreme Court, University High School Alumni Association Century Celibration, Webinar (March 24, 2022)
- Climate Change Returns to the U.S. Supreme Court, West Virginia v. EPA, Harvard Law School, Webinar (March 22, 2022) (panelist)
- Climate Litigation, National Academy of Science, Pasadena CA (March 22, 2022)
In the News
- Inside the E.P.A. Decision to Narrow Two Big Climate Rules, New York Times, March 1, 2024
- Interview: Professor Richard Lazarus, American Bar Association, February 22, 2024
- Supreme Court will hear challenge to EPA's 'good neighbor' rule that limits pollution, National Public Radio, February 21, 2024
- Like a Good Neighbor, the Supreme Court is there, Harvard Law Today, February 13, 2024
- Clerks for hire: The Supreme Court recruiting race, Washington Post, January 25, 2024
- Big (Sky) climate win, Harvard Law Today, August 22, 2023
- New Top Cop at the E.P.A. Aims to Get Enforcement Back on Track, New York Times, August 17, 2023
- Gen Z activists just won a first-of-its-kind trial against the state of Montana for violating their right to a clean environment, Fortune, August 15, 2023
- Supreme Court delivered big conservative wins, and a mixed message, Washington Post, July 1, 2023
- Along With Conservative Triumphs, Signs of New Caution at Supreme Court, New York Times, July 1, 2023
- A Changing Climate for Environmental Lawyers, Harvard Law Bulletin, June 27, 2023
- Illinois environmentalists push for state action to protect wetlands after Supreme Court ruling rolls back federal rules, Chicago Tribune, June 5, 2023