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The Robert R. Merhige Jr. Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Richmond School of Law engages in research, instruction, and public outreach on energy and environmental issues in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. The center hosts conferences, symposia, and speakers on pressing environmental issues, generating dialogue for policy solutions.

Studying Environmental Law
About Judge Merhige
Events & Conferences
Negotiation Competition
Alumni & Careers
Toxic Substance Resource

Summer Public Interest Fellowships

Each Richmond Law student is guaranteed one summer of funding for a public service or government sector job. Here are just a few examples of recent student placements in the environmental law field. 

  • Appalachian Trail Conservancy
  • Chesapeake Bay Foundation
  • Environmental Council on the States
  • Southern Environmental Law Center
  • Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry
  • Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Prof. Joel Eisen
Prof. Noah Sachs

Recent Scholarship

Prof. Sachs, Regulation of Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste, Foundation Press (3d edition 2018) (w/Applegate, Laitos, Gabba).

Prof. Eisen, The New(Clear?) Electricity Federalism: Federal Preemption of States' "Zero Emissions Credit" Programs, Ecol. L. Q. Currents (2018).

Prof. Sachs, Environmental Law Practice, Carolina Academic Press (4th Ed., 2018) (w/Anderson, Hirsch, Tormey).

Prof. Eisen, Free Trade in Electric Power, 2018 Utah L. Rev. 49 (2018).

Prof. Eisen, The Electric Battery: Chargining Forward to a Low-Carbon Future, 34 Energy Res. & Soc. Sci. 141 (book review) (2017).

In the News

Prof. Eisen, Richmond Law Newsroom, Jan. 2019: Eisen named as distinguished energy law scholar

Prof. Eisen, Utility Dive, Jan. 2019: McNamee won't recuse himself from resilience debates unless they 'closely resemble' coal bailout

Prof. Sachs, Knowledge at Wharton via SiriusXM, Aug. 2018: California court tells Monsanto to pay out $289 million

Prof. Eisen, Bloomberg, March 2018: The battery will kill fossil fuels - it's only a matter of time

Prof. Eisen, Utility Dive, March 2018: The 'stealth NOPR?' PJM CEO says market reforms are no bailout for coal

Prof. Eisen, Financial Times, Oct. 2017: U.S. delivers electric shock with coal and nuclear subsidy plan

Presentations

Prof. Eisen, "Distributed Energy Resources in the West," Wholesale Markets, States, and Renewables: DG, DER & EVs in the West, Park City, UTAH (Nov. 2018).

Prof. Eisen, "Smart Grid Standards Development and Patent Protection in the United States: Striking The Balance Between Dramatic Overhaul of the Electric Grid and Encouragement of Innovation," Conference on Intellectual Property and Sustainability, Oslo, Norway (June 2018).

Prof. Eisen, "Electricity in the Information Age," 2018 Austin Electricity Conference (April 2018).

Prof. Sachs, "U.S. Climate Policy and Private Equity," Responsible Investment Forum (March 2018).

Prof. Sachs, "SJ295 and Regulatory Rollback," Virginia Conservation Network General Assembly Preview (Dec. 2017).

Contact: Prof. Noah Sachs, Director | nsachs@richmond.edu | 804-289-8555