Merhige Center for Environmental Studies

Merhige Center for Environmental Studies

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
Conferences & Events

Award Winning Scholarship

Professor Danielle Stokes' 2022 article Renewable Energy Federalism, 106 MINNESOTA LAW REVIEW, 1757 (2022), was listed among the top 20 articles by the Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review. This is one of the highest honors in the field of environmental law.
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Negotiation Competition
Environmental Law Curriculum
Alumni & Careers

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. 

500-Year Forest Foundation Southern Environmental Law Center 
Appalachian Trail Conservancy Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation 
Chesapeake Bay Foundation U.S. Department of Energy  
City of Richmond Office of Sustainability U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
Environmental Council on the States U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry 
Environmental Integrity Project Virginia Conservation Network 
Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, Environmental Section Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
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Prof. Joel Eisen
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Prof. Noah Sachs
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Prof. Danielle Stokes

Chiara Giorgetti
Giorgetti Presents "Role of Regional Organisations in the Pursuit of international Criminal Justice"

Giorgetti, Chiara, Seminar on the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, "Role of Regional Organisations in the Pursuit of international Criminal Justice" Strasbourg, France (April 10, 2024).

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Riley Keenan
Keenan Publishes Minimal Justiciability

Keenan, R. (April, 5 2024). Minimal Justiciability. Minnesota Law Review, Vol. 109.

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Kurt T. Lash
Lash Publishes The Meaning and Ambiguity of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment

Lash, K. (2024). The Meaning and Ambiguity of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 47, 2024.

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Kurt T. Lash
Lash Publishes Roe and the Original Meaning of the Thirteenth Amendment

Lash, K. T. (2023). Roe and the Original Meaning of the Thirteenth Amendment. Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, 21(1), 131.

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Kurt T. Lash
Lash Publishes The Federalist and the Fourteenth Amendment-- Publius in Antebellum Public Debate, 1788-1860

Lash, K. T. (2023). The Federalist and the Fourteenth Amendment-- Publius in Antebellum Public Debate,  1788-1860. BYU Law Review, 48, 1831.

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Carl W. Tobias
Tobias Publishes Confirm Rachel Bloomekatz to the Sixth Circuit

Tobias, C. W. (2023). Confirm Rachel Bloomekatz to the Sixth Circuit. University of Richmond Law Review OnlineRich, 58.

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Recent Scholarship

Prof. Stokes, Renewable Energy Federalism, 106 Minnesota L. Rev. (July 2022)

Prof. Eisen, Advanced Introduction to Law and Renewable Energy, Edward Elgar Publishing (July 2021).

Prof. Stokes, On Greenlining: Renewing the Charge, Sabin Colloquium on Innovative Environmental Law Scholarship (May 2021).

Prof. Sachs, Argument analysis: The trail, the pipeline and a journey to the center of the earth, SCOTUSblog (2020).

Prof. Sachs, The Paris Agreement in the 2020s: Breakdown or Breakup, Ecology Law Quarterly (2019).

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, Utah L. Rev. 49 (2018).

In the News

Prof. Sachs, The Regulatory Review, Nov. 2021: Toxic Floods Create Pressing Regulatory Needs

Prof. Sachs, Morning Wave, Nov. 2019: Paris Climate Agreement and US withdrawal

Prof. Sachs, Energywire, Oct. 2019: What to watch in the Appalachian Trail pipeline fight

Prof. Sachs, Bay Journal, Aug. 2019: Shoreline industry poses hazards as sea level, floods increase

Prof. Eisen, Law360, Feb. 2019: Pa. Nuke Bailout Bill Fuels Political Fight With Gas Sector

Prof. Sachs, Bay Journal, Mar. 2019: New Report on Climate-Driven 'Toxic Flood' Threats in Virginia

Prof. Eisen, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Feb. 2019: UR professor is energy law scholar

Presentations

Prof. Eisen, "Climate Change in the Courts," Hot Topics Summer Lecture Series, Vermont Law School, South Royalton, Vermont (July 2019)

Prof. Eisen, "Community Solar Across the Nation: Preliminary Lessons from Ongoing Projects," Energy Law Clinic, Vermont Law School, South Royalton, Vermont (July 2019).

Prof. Eisen, "Clean Energy Justice: Charting An Emerging Agenda," Hot Topics Summer Lecture Series, Vermont Law School, South Royalton, Vermont (July 2019).

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).

Courses Taught

Prof. Eisen

  • Energy Law
  • Law of Clean & Renewable Energy
  • Environmental Law
  • Law of Climate Change
  • Administrative Law

Prof. Sachs

  • Torts
  • Environmental Law
  • International Environmental Law
  • Regulatory Law Practicum
  • Legislation & Regulation

Prof. Stokes

  • Property
  • Environmental Law
  • Environmental Justice

Contact Merhige Center Director Professor Noah Sachs
Email Prof. Sachs