What We Do
ELAW provides legal, scientific, and organizational expertise to build the capacity of public interest lawyers and their organizations to be more effective.
ELAW brings together a global community of 400+ advocates in more than 80 countries who offer each other solidarity, mutual assistance, and inspiration. ELAW provides support, connects partners to each other and to other experts, and collaborates with them to share learning, catalyze strategies, and replicate victories to advance environmental justice worldwide.
Programs
Law
The Law Team collaborates with lawyers protecting communities and the environment. ELAW attorneys provide high-quality legal support to help partners bring enforcement actions, critique proposed statutes, advance policies, and replicate model laws. The Team uses its global vantage point to identify emerging legal issues, advance needed research, share resources, and create spaces for collaboration among partners.
Science
The Science Team provides high-quality, in-depth scientific assistance to ELAW partners. Support includes critiquing environmental impact assessments, submitting expert testimony to courts, helping partners educate clients and communities about technical matters, developing systems to monitor environmental conditions, recommending cleaner alternatives to proposed projects, and facilitating engagement between local scientists and local lawyers.
Economics
ELAW provides information about the true, comprehensive economic impacts of proposed projects to our lawyer partners so communities can make informed decisions about proposed developments. ELAW helps lawyers identify subsidies and rebut superficial economic arguments that developers and governments put forth to rationalize destructive projects.
Nurturing the Network
ELAW provides Fellowships and other opportunities to its partners, to help them build skills and connect with allies.
ELAW is a catalyst and relationship builder. We coordinate a global network of advocates who share expertise and inspiration.
Defending the Defenders
ELAW supports public interest environmental lawyers to work without fear of reprisal. ELAW takes action when our partners are targeted in response to their advocacy, and helps them build skills and alliances to protect themselves and their organizations, deter threats and attacks, and carry on their high-impact work.