February 2, 2016
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse to Keynote Event on Combatting Climate Change in the Courts
CONTACT:
Paul Guequierre, Director of Communications, pguequierre@acslaw.org or (202) 393-6187
WHAT: Global climate change is among the most pressing issues of our time, and the battle to forestall it is being waged in the courts frequently under legal theories old and new. On Wednesday, February 10, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) will host a discussion of leading experts on combatting climate change in the courts. For example some legal experts argue that Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act can be applied to the fossil-fuel industry, as it was to Big Tobacco. Experts will also discuss pending court challenges to the President Obama’s Clean Power Plan and his rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as the viability of public nuisance claims.
WHO:
· Introduction: Caroline Fredrickson, president, American Constitution Society
· Featured Remarks by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
· Moderator: Lisa Heinzerling, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
· Richard E. Ayres, founding partner, Ayres Law Group, LLP; co-founder, National Resources Defense Council
· Sharon Eubanks, partner, Bordas & Bordas, PLLC; lead counsel for the United States in United States v. Phillip Morris, et al.
· Roger R. Martella, Jr., partner, Sidley Austin, LLP; former general counsel, Environmental Protection Agency
· Matthew F. Pawa, president, Pawa Law Group, P.C.
WHEN: Wednesday, February 10, 2016, 12:00 - 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
WHERE: National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, 13th Floor
Lunch will be available starting at 12:00 p.m. and the program will begin at 12:30 p.m.
The event is open to the press. Please RSVP to press@acslaw.org.
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS), founded in 2001 and one of the nation's leading progressive legal organizations, is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals dedicated to making the law a force to improve lives of all people. For more information about the organization or to locate one of the more than 200 lawyer and law student chapters in 48 states, please visit www.acslaw.org.