Our History
The Stanford Environmental Law Society, founded in 1969, is the nation's oldest environmental law society. At its inception, the Society's primary function was to sponsor original research in developing areas of environmental law, and to provide public and private sector consultation on environmental issues.
In the early 1970s, the Society published dozens of handbooks, guides, reports and essays on current legal issues. Most notable of these publications were the handbooks, which students continue to publish today. The handbooks provide community activists, practitioners, and policy-makers with a working understanding of environmental laws that bear on issues such as endangered species, wilderness preservation, forest management, historic preservation, energy policy, and water use. The handbooks are available for purchase from the Society.
In 1978, the Environmental Law Society published the first Stanford Environmental Law Annual with the goal of providing a forum for student papers in developing areas of environmental law. Topics included coastal future, energy production, California water law, and wildlife protection.
By the early 1980s, the Environmental Law Society had grown to include committees on Community Relations, Consulting, Development, Education, Marketing, and Field Studies. During this time, the student-run Law Annual became the Environmental Law Journal (ELJ).
The Stanford Environmental Law Journal (ELJ) is run by students who are eager to explore environmental issues, improve their writing skills, and be actively involved in academic discourse. ELJ publishes articles on a variety of issues in natural resources law, environmental policy, law and economics, international environmental law, and other topics relating to law and the environment. ELJ accepts submissions from academics, practitioners, or other writers, as well as students, throughout the year. We publish in January and June.
In 1990, Environmental Law Society and Journal students actively participated in the 20th anniversary of Earth Day. Between 1991 and 1993, Stanford students circulated a semi-monthly newsletter, the Green News, which discussed pertinent local and national environmental issues.
The Society and Journal also worked with faculty and the administration to develop the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program (ENRLP). ENRLP was formalized in 1993 and has quickly become one of the nation's leading environmental and natural resource law curricula. Working with local environmental activists and policy makers, Society and Journal members also assisted in developing an environmental law outreach program. The program established a “hands-on” complement to academic study of environmental law issues. The outreach program grew into the Stanford Earthjustice Environmental Law Clinic, which began taking clients in 1997.
Over the years, the Society has organized speakers, participated in local environmental projects on the Peninsula and in the Bay Area, and educated policy-makers and political candidates on environmental issues. The Society has also continually provided relief for law students through field trips to local natural areas, including Yosemite National Park, Stanford's Jasper Ridge Reserve and Aņo Nuevo State Park.
In 1999, the Society joined the National Society of Environmental Law Societies (NAELS). NAELS provides Society members with the opportunity to learn from, collaborate with, and network with other Environmental Law Society members from around the county. NAELS is a growing, dynamic organization in which Stanford students hold and can take leadership roles. In 2000, the Stanford ELS hosted the 11th annual NAELS conference, titled Sea Change: the NAELS Conference on Ocean and Environmental Law.
Together, the Society and Journal provide a support network for those interested in summer and post-graduation employment in environmental areas. Through outdoor educational trips and social gatherings, it is the Environmental Law Society and Journal's hope to provide a community of common interest and meaningful personal interaction for all those interested in environmental issues at Stanford and in the larger community.