Tulane Environmental Law Clinic
Encyclopedia
The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (TELC) is a legal clinic
that Tulane Law School
has operated since 1989 to offer law students the practical experience of representing real clients in actual legal proceedings under state and federal environmental laws.
TELC is part of Tulane University
School of Law's environmental law program and has become one of Louisiana’s premier public interest legal services organizations, known especially for its work on environmental justice
issues. On behalf of their clients, TELC students and supervising attorneys litigate environmental citizen suit
s to abate industrial pollution, appeal permits for environmental pollution or destruction of wetlands, challenge agency regulations that fall short of legislative mandates, and prod agencies to perform statutory duties. Louisiana state courts, and most federal courts in Louisiana, have adopted "student practice" rules that allow TELC students to appear and argue in court.
The American Bar Association
honored TELC as co-recipient of its first "Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy" in 2000. In 2010, the New Orleans chapter of the Federal Bar Association honored TELC with its Camille F. Gravel Jr. Pro Bono Award In addition, TELC was a runner up for the National Law Journal's Lawyer of the Year award in 1998.
, TELC relies on donations by individuals, families and corporations, foundation grants, and attorney-fee recoveries.
, the law school's dean at the time of TELC's inception, publicly defended TELC's work when it frustrated Louisiana chemical and oil companies during his tenure through 1996.
Largely as a result of these events, the Times-Picayune has described TELC as the bane of former Governor Mike Foster and business groups. Even after EPA’s objection to the polyvinyl chloride plant, however, Governor Foster met cordially with a TELC student attorney on Clean Water Act issues in January 2003.
Today, TELC tries to defuse and manage controversy by stressing the duty of all lawyers to expand access to the legal system and to see that justice is not denied to “people who are unable to afford legal services or whose cause is controversial or the subject of popular disapproval.” Under the Rules of Professional Conduct that govern Louisiana's legal profession, representing a client “does not constitute an endorsement of the client’s political, economic, social or moral views or activities.” TELC’s role is not to advance an independent environmentalist agenda, but to provide its clients with the first-rate, professional representation to which they are entitled. Former Tulane Law School
Dean Lawrence Ponoroff
explained, “The clinic is neither anti-business nor pro-business .... It is in the business of representing clients with legitimate claims under the law.”
Legal clinic
The phrase legal clinic may refer to any private, nonprofit law practice serving the public interest. In the academic context, these law school clinics provide hands-on experience to law school students and services to various clients. Academic Clinics are usually directed by clinical professors...
that Tulane Law School
Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
has operated since 1989 to offer law students the practical experience of representing real clients in actual legal proceedings under state and federal environmental laws.
Mission
TELC's mission is to 1) train effective and ethical lawyers by guiding law students through actual client representation; 2) expand access to the legal system, especially for those who could not otherwise afford competent legal help on environmental issues; and 3) bolster community members’ capacity to participate effectively in environmental decisions.TELC is part of Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
School of Law's environmental law program and has become one of Louisiana’s premier public interest legal services organizations, known especially for its work on environmental justice
Environmental justice
Environmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...
issues. On behalf of their clients, TELC students and supervising attorneys litigate environmental citizen suit
Citizen suit
In the U.S., a citizen suit is a lawsuit by a private citizen to enforce a statute. Citizen suits are particularly common in the field of environmental law....
s to abate industrial pollution, appeal permits for environmental pollution or destruction of wetlands, challenge agency regulations that fall short of legislative mandates, and prod agencies to perform statutory duties. Louisiana state courts, and most federal courts in Louisiana, have adopted "student practice" rules that allow TELC students to appear and argue in court.
The American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
honored TELC as co-recipient of its first "Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy" in 2000. In 2010, the New Orleans chapter of the Federal Bar Association honored TELC with its Camille F. Gravel Jr. Pro Bono Award In addition, TELC was a runner up for the National Law Journal's Lawyer of the Year award in 1998.
Cases
Attorney Suzanne S. Dickey has explained that TELC student attorneys have "handled cases involving all aspects of environmental law, including air pollution, conservation of natural resources, urban land use and siting of waste facilities." Some examples appear below.- Air pollutionAir pollutionAir pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
: TELC student-attorneys filed a Clean Air Act citizen suit in which the court ruled that a St. Bernard Parish oil refinery violated the Clean Air Act more than 2600 times. A court in another TELC-handled case vacated a Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) permit which purported to waive Clean Air Act requirements for prevention of deterioration of air quality. On behalf of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), TELC has prosecuted a series of cases to promote cleaner air in Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
. As part of this effort, TELC obtained court orders that 1) vacated an EPA attempt to extend Louisiana’s deadline for achieving health protection standards for ozone air pollution in the Baton Rouge Area, and 2) vacated EPA’s approval of an inter-pollutant trading plan that would have allowed Louisiana to increase emissions of volatile organic compounds in return for reductions in oxides of nitrogen (NOxNOxNOx is a generic term for the mono-nitrogen oxides NO and NO2 . They are produced from the reaction of nitrogen and oxygen gases in the air during combustion, especially at high temperatures...
). TELC and LEAN also obtained a court order that required EPA to make a determination that increased the stringency of emission controls in the Baton Rouge area, and obtained statements from EPA and LDEQ admitting that Louisiana was operating a “bank” for emissions tradingEmissions tradingEmissions trading is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants....
that failed to meet minimum Clean Air Act requirements.
- Water pollutionWater pollutionWater pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
: TELC student attorneys engage in administrative actions to convince LDEQ to implement the Clean Water Act’s anti-degradation provisions, including rules to protect streams designated as “outstanding natural resource waters.” TELC settled a case on behalf of coalition of environmental organizations to require cleanup of mercury leaked from meters used to monitor gas wells near Monroe, LouisianaMonroe, LouisianaMonroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, where many streams are under mercury advisories. In addition, TELC is prosecuting a case to enjoin discharges of waste that allegedly passes through and interferes with a municipal sewage treatment plant in the Town of Independence, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, causing violations of Clean Water Act standards for discharges into the Tangipahoa RiverTangipahoa RiverThe Tangipahoa River originates northwest of McComb in southwest Mississippi, and runs south through Lake Tangipahoa in Percy Quin State Park before passing into southeast Louisiana. Its mouth opens into the northwest region of Lake Pontchartrain....
. On October 9, 2001, TELC filed a petition on behalf of a coalition of community groups that asked EPA to withdraw Louisiana’s authority to administer the Clean Water Act’s discharge permitting program because of inadequate enforcement and LDEQ's failure to comply with requirements for issuance of permits. EPA responded with a February 14, 2003, letter to Louisiana Governor Mike Foster raising “serious concerns” about the state program and setting forth a list of “performance measures” and schedule for the state to restore “program integrity.” On May 13, 2004, EPA “notified [Louisiana] Governor Kathleen BlancoKathleen BlancoKathleen Babineaux Blanco was the 54th Governor of Louisiana, having served from January 2004 until January 2008. She was the first woman to be elected to the office of governor of Louisiana....
of the completion of the performance measures.”
- StormwaterStormwaterStormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...
: On April 12, 2001, TELC provided notice to the owner of a local dairy of the Felicity Street Redevelopment Project, Inc.’s intent to take action about pollutant discharges into storm water drains. The dairy owner responded by detailing steps it had taken to achieve compliance and invited TELC’s client to inspect the improved facility.
- Wetlands: TELC's work on behalf of the Gulf Restoration Network includes a case seeking to enjoin destruction of wetlands near Bay St. Louis, MississippiBay St. Louis, MississippiBay Saint Louis is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,209. It is the county seat of Hancock County...
. TELC student attorneys also mounted a successful challenge to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a permit to destroy wetlands bordering Timber Creek, in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, without considering cumulative impacts. Additionally, on behalf of a coalition of environmental groups, TELC appeared as amicus in a case that rejected a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ exemption for a cypress harvesting operation in wetlands from the Clean Water Act’s permitting system because the Corps failed to show that the tree harvesting operation falls within the Act’s “on-going silviculture” exception.
- Landfills: In a case that TELC handled on behalf of the Oakville Community Action Group, the court revoked a permit for expansion of the Industrial Pipe landfill, which looms over the predominately African-American community of Oakville in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. In another TELC-handled case, the court set aside a contract for St. Helena Parish to host a new landfill for 50 years because of violations of Louisiana's open meetings law. After Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and Hurricane RitaHurricane RitaHurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
, LDEQ issued emergency orders to waive rules that normally prohibit disposal of most household wastes in landfills that lack systems to prevent contamination of groundwaterGroundwaterGroundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
, such as systems for monitoring groundwater and collecting leachateLeachateLeachate is any liquid that, in passing through matter, extracts solutes, suspended solids or any other component of the material through which it has passed....
. On behalf of LEAN and Sierra Club, TELC brought a lawsuit in federal court, alleging that federal law barred LDEQ’s waivers under the doctrine of preemptionFederal preemptionFederal preemption refers to the invalidation of US state law when it conflicts with Federal law.-Constitutional basis:According to the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution,...
. While the lawsuit was pending, TELC and the LDEQ engaged in negotiations that resulted in several improvements to the emergency orders. For example, on January 19, 2007, LDEQ removed “household hazardous waste . . . where segregation is not practicable” from the list of materials that the Secretary authorized the landfills to accept. Also on January 19, 2007, LDEQ added language to the orders to require compliance with Clean Air Act standards for disposal of asbestosAsbestosAsbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
. On March 19, 2007, LDEQ again amended the orders to narrow their application to seven landfills effective April 20, 2007. On September 5, 2007, however, the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked standingStanding (law)In law, standing or locus standi is the term for the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case...
to sue.
- WildlifeWildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
: TELC represented Sierra Club as amicus in an Endangered Species ActEndangered Species ActThe Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
case in which the court ordered the U.S. Department of Interior to designate critical habitat for protection of the Louisiana Black Bear. In addition, on July 25, 2002, TELC negotiated a settlement on behalf of Coalition for Louisiana Animal Advocates which required the U.S. Army to refrain from roundup and removal of wild horses from Fort PolkFort PolkFort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, approximately 7 miles east of Leesville, Louisiana and 20 miles north of DeRidder, Louisiana....
in the Kisatchie National ForestKisatchie National ForestKisatchie National Forest, the only National forest in Louisiana, USA, is located in the state's old growth piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern parishes. It totals more than of public lands....
until completing an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment.
- Global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
: On behalf of Sierra ClubSierra ClubThe Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, the Alliance for Affordable Energy and others, TELC engaged in litigation to oppose construction of new coal-fired power plants which, if built, would release pollutants associated with climate change. As part of this effort, TELC submitted a April 1, 2008, notice of intent to sue EntergyEntergyEntergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It is headquartered in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
about an effort to convert its Little Gypsy power plant to burn coalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and petroleum cokePetroleum cokePetroleum coke is a carbonaceous solid derived from oil refinery coker units or other cracking processes. Other coke has traditionally been derived from coal....
. Entergy responded by announcing on April 23, 2008, that it would delay construction until it received government-approved limits for hazardous air pollutants. Entergy received these limits in a permit modification on about February 26, 2009. Meanwhile, however, on February 18, 2009, the Louisiana Public Service CommissionLouisiana Public Service CommissionLouisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
(LPSC) administrative law judge heard oral argument from a TELC student attorney and others about whether Entergy must reveal data to show whether the project is economically viable. On March 13, 2008, LPSC ordered Entergy to suspend the project pending a review of economic viability. On April 1, 2009, Entergy submitted its review and asked LPSC for “a longer-term delay (three years or more)” of the project.
- Environmental justiceEnvironmental justiceEnvironmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...
: After TELC submitted a November 23, 2004 “notice of intent to sue” on behalf of St. James Citizens for Jobs and the Environment and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, FTM and Associates, Inc. and LDEQ announced that FTM would stop its practice of spraying sewage sludge from Kenner, LouisianaKenner, LouisianaKenner is a city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a suburb of New Orleans. The population was 66,702 at the 2010 census....
, on sugar cane fields near the homes of residents of Convent, St. James Parish, Louisiana. Also, TELC intervened on behalf of Citizens for a Strong New Orleans East and others in a lawsuit to support a cease and desist order that shut down the Chef Menteur landfill, located between a lower-income Vietnamese-American community in East New Orleans and Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife RefugeBayou Sauvage National Wildlife RefugeBayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge is a region of fresh and brackish marshes located within the city limits of New Orleans. It is the largest urban wildlife refuge in the United States.-Location:...
.
- Rule of lawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
: TELC's litigation on behalf of its clients includes cases to enforce the duty of Louisiana agencies, as public trustees under the Louisiana ConstitutionLouisiana ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
, to evaluate impacts, costs and benefits, alternatives, and mitigating measures before approving action affecting the environment. Also, on behalf of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association and others, TELC prosecuted a case in which a federal court enjoined a $750 million U.S. Army Corps’ project to expand the Industrial CanalIndustrial CanalThe Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation Canal...
in New Orleans’ lower ninth wardLower Ninth WardLower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. As the name implies, it is part of the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Industrial Canal; however, the City Planning Commission divides this...
after the Corps failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy ActNational Environmental Policy ActThe National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....
. On behalf of Concerned Citizens Around Murphy, TELC worked with Public Justice to stop EPA from conducting an experimental burn of asbestosAsbestosAsbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
contaminated waste in St. Bernard Parish that would have violated EPA’s own hazardous air pollutant regulations. TELC and Public Justice submitted a Notice of Intent to Sue the agency, alleging that EPA’s plans to experiment by departing from health and safety standards would treat “a storm-devastated Louisiana parish as a laboratory for illegal experiments.” In response, EPA dropped its plans to burn regulated asbestos containing material during the experiment.
Funding
In addition to funding from Tulane Law SchoolTulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
, TELC relies on donations by individuals, families and corporations, foundation grants, and attorney-fee recoveries.
Controversy
Many of TELC’s cases involve large corporations or issues of community, statewide, or national concern. For this reason, TELC’s work on behalf of its clients can be controversial. John R. KramerJohn R. Kramer
John R. Kramer served as the 19th dean of the Tulane University Law School from 1986 to 1996, and previous to that was an associate dean at Georgetown University...
, the law school's dean at the time of TELC's inception, publicly defended TELC's work when it frustrated Louisiana chemical and oil companies during his tenure through 1996.
- Shintech & Rule XX Revisions: Tensions became especially pronounced in the late 1990s when TELC represented St. James Citizens for Jobs and the Environment, Louisiana Environmental Action Network, and others in opposing Shintech, Inc.'s proposal for a polyvinyl chloridePolyvinyl chloridePolyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...
plant in a predominately African-American and lower income community in St. James Parish, Louisiana. In response to a petition that TELC and GreenpeaceGreenpeaceGreenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
filed on May 22, 1997, EPA formally objected to a state-issued Clean Air Act permit for that plant on September 10, 1997. As a result, Shintech abandoned its plans for a facility in St. James Parish and built a smaller plant elsewhere in Louisiana. A cable-television movie called “Taking Back Our Town” tells the story of the St. James Citizens' victory in this case. The case sparked a backlash from some Louisiana politicians and members of the business community who asked the Louisiana Supreme CourtLouisiana Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
to rein in TELC. The Court ultimately revised the student practice rule, although in a way that does not prevent TELC from representing clients in high impact or controversial cases.
Largely as a result of these events, the Times-Picayune has described TELC as the bane of former Governor Mike Foster and business groups. Even after EPA’s objection to the polyvinyl chloride plant, however, Governor Foster met cordially with a TELC student attorney on Clean Water Act issues in January 2003.
- Senate Bill 549: On May 19, 2010, the Louisiana Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs Committee killed proposed legislation intended to cripple TELC. Senator Robert AdleyRobert Adley (Louisiana politician)Robert Roy Adley , is a businessman and politician from Benton, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate...
, RRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-BentonBenton, LouisianaThe town of Benton is the parish seat of Bossier Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. The population was 2,035 at the 2000 census. The larger Bossier City is located south of Benton...
, introduced Senate Bill 549 at the Louisiana Chemical Association’s (LCA’s) request to try to force Tulane University to shut down TELC in return for continued state funding. Tulane and Loyola Universities, students, clients, and clinical faculty from across the state worked—with help from the Clinical Legal Education Association, the Society of American Law Teachers, the Association of American Law SchoolsAssociation of American Law SchoolsThe Association of American Law Schools is a non-profit organization of 170 law schools in the United States. Another 25 schools are "non-member fee paid" schools, which are not members but choose to pay AALS dues. Its purpose is to improve the legal profession through the improvement of legal...
, the Louisiana State Bar Association, the ABA, and many others—to educate lawmakers and others about clinics’ role in legal education and expanding access to the legal system. At the May 19 hearing, Tulane University President Scott Cowen testified that if Tulane were to shut its clinics down to preserve state funding under Bill 549, “we throw under the bus every indigent person in this state … and say ‘we will not represent you because the money is more important.’ That does not happen in America." On May 24, 2010, New Orleans CityBusiness editorialized: “By attempting to snuff [TELC’s] existence, Adley and the LCA were, in effect, thumbing their noses at the law, judicial process and regulation …. Lawmakers deserve commendation for helping the bill meet its demise.” The Deepwater Horizon oil spillDeepwater Horizon oil spillThe Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
disaster became part of the atmosphere surrounding Adley's bill and its backing by the Louisiana Chemical Association and the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association and Cowen's remarks in opposition.
Today, TELC tries to defuse and manage controversy by stressing the duty of all lawyers to expand access to the legal system and to see that justice is not denied to “people who are unable to afford legal services or whose cause is controversial or the subject of popular disapproval.” Under the Rules of Professional Conduct that govern Louisiana's legal profession, representing a client “does not constitute an endorsement of the client’s political, economic, social or moral views or activities.” TELC’s role is not to advance an independent environmentalist agenda, but to provide its clients with the first-rate, professional representation to which they are entitled. Former Tulane Law School
Tulane University Law School
Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
Dean Lawrence Ponoroff
Lawrence Ponoroff
Lawrence Ponoroff is the current dean of the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. He was previously the 21st dean of Tulane Law School from 2001–2009, taking the reins from Edward F. Sherman after having taught at Tulane Law for six years...
explained, “The clinic is neither anti-business nor pro-business .... It is in the business of representing clients with legitimate claims under the law.”
Movies & TV
- The 2009 documentary “Abode” features footage of TELC student attorney Mary Nagle’s November 8, 2007 oral argument before the Louisiana Public Service CommissionLouisiana Public Service CommissionLouisiana Public Service Commission is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year terms...
in opposition to EntergyEntergyEntergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It is headquartered in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
Louisiana, LLC’s plan to increase emissions of global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
gasses at its Little Gypsy power plant in St. Charles Parish, LouisianaSt. Charles Parish, LouisianaSt. Charles Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Hahnville. In 2010, its population was 52,780. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, this was part of the German Coast, an area along the Mississippi River settled by numerous German pioneers in the...
. - NOW on PBS featured TELC’s work in its July 15, 2005 episode, “Formula for Disaster."
- In Taking Back Our Town (Lifetime Television broadcast, Dec. 10, 2001), Myndy Crist plays TELC supervising attorney Lisa LaVie [Jordan] in a drama about a TELC case.
- Film producer and director Laura Dunn featured TELC’s work in her 2000 documentary “Green.”
- CBS’s series 60 Minutes II60 Minutes II60 Minutes II was a weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the original 60 Minutes series.It aired on CBS on Wednesdays, then later moved to Fridays at 8 p.m...
featured TELC’s work in its March 24, 2000 episode “Justice for Sale?” - PBS’s series Frontline featured TELC’s work in its November 23, 1999 episode, "Justice for Sale"