Jurist Summer 2007.qxd - Howard University School of Law

The three attorneys, who have been joinedin the program by lawyers Leslie Fields of theNatural Resources Defense Council and SteveWolfson of the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA), have a commitment to achieveenvironmental justice and to seeing that theenvironmental bar achieves greater diversity.Although they sometimes represent differentand potentially adverseparties, the adjunct professorsare friends andshare a commitment tothe environmental bar,to social justice, andto Howard UniversitySchool of Law.“The environmental bardoesn’t look like America,and that’s a problemfor communities, government,and corporateBenjamin Wilsonclients,” says Targ, who is also senior counselwith Holland & Knight. “It’s a problem thatwe can do something about, and Howard hasa special role to play.”Wilson, a senior partner and environmentallitigator with Beveridge & Diamond, concurs:“Diversity and cultural understandingcan be essential to understanding and winningyour case, and to making sure that allvoices are heard. It's that fundamental,” hesaid.A FISHY TALERelating an example that blends the need fordiversity and the achievement of environmentaljustice, Pair, a trial attorney with theDepartment of Justice's EnvironmentalEnforcement Section, describes a case that wasbrought by his colleagues. The case involvedthe release of hazardous waste into a bay estuary.Thus, it was essential for liability anddamages purposes to identify whether peoplewere fishing for and eating a particular type offish that had been contaminated by environmentalpollution.Most of the people who catch and eat thattype of fish are low-income immigrants fromMexico and other developingcountries. Andmany of them may be inthe United States withoutrequired documentation,making themlegally and politicallyvulnerable.The attorneys representingthe environmentaldefendant, however,failed to recognize the Quentin Pairsensitivities involvedwith developing the facts of the case. Theiractions included sending out a boat with menholding binoculars to investigate whether thelocal fishermen were catching the contaminatedspecies of fish.“Perhaps understandably,” says Pair, “theMexican anglers did not cooperate with theboatload of consultants and attorneys. Indeed,as soon as the consultants and attorneys goton the water and started investigating, theanglers immediately stopped what they weredoing, packed their bags, and left.”“Because they were unable to secure accuratedata, opposing counsel missed one of thecritical issues of the case—the fishermen were,in fact, catching, selling, and eating the contaminatedfish.”Pair added: “The Department of Justiceattorneys did their homework, had the appropriatecultural diversity on the team, andworked with a nonprofit organization thathad the trust of the community. Informationthat the government secured was accurate andsupportable. It helped to win the case. Andmost important, it helped the communitymaintain its health. That’s what I call goodlawyering, and that's environmental justice."PREPARATION IN THE CLASSROOMDiversity in the bar starts with preparation inthe classroom. But only three of the eight historicallyblack colleges and universities withlaw schools teach environmental law. “If lawstudents do not have exposure to land use andenvironmental law in school, they are less like-THE JURIST 13