Newswise — The American Bar Association (ABA) will bestow its 2012 Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy on the Environmental Law Clinic at University of Maryland Carey Law. Professor Jane Barrett, who directs the clinic, will accept the award in August at the ABA’s annual meeting in Chicago.
The Distinguished Achievement Award is given annually by the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources to an individual or organization for “contributing significant leadership in improving the substance, process or understanding of environmental protection and sustainable development.”
“We are delighted that the ABA has recognized the superlative work of our students, Jane Barrett and the faculty of our Environmental Law Program,” UM Carey Law Dean Phoebe Haddon said. “The Clinic has chosen difficult, ambitious cases with the potential to set national precedents. Everyone involved has worked tirelessly to make their case, often in the face of intense opposition.” Since 2010 the nationally ranked Environmental Law Clinic has represented Waterkeepers Alliance, a nonprofit environmental citizens group, in a suit against Perdue Farms and a local Maryland poultry producer. Waterkeepers Alliance alleges that Perdue and the local producer polluted the Chesapeake Bay in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. The case is scheduled to go to trial in October, 2012.
“It is always a pleasure to have your students’ work recognized by colleagues,” said Professor Barrett. “But it is particularly gratifying to receive a unanimous vote of approval from a group as distinguished as the ABA. I am thrilled that our students and faculty have received this well-earned recognition.”
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