About Richard Lazarus

Richard Lazarus


Richard Lazarus is the Charles Stebbins Fairchild Professor of Law at Harvard University, where he teaches Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Supreme Court Advocacy, and Torts.  He also recently served as the Executive Director of the President’s Commission responsible for investigating the root causes of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1979 and he has a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in economics from the University of Illinois, where he focused on environmental issues.

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Books and Reports

Book cover of The Making of Environmental Law
Book cover of Deep Water
Book cover of The Rule of Five
Book cover of The Making of Environmental Law
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Law Review Articles

Lessons from the States for Promoting
Procedural Regularity in U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Recusals, 111 Ohio L. Rev. 895 (2026)

Repealing Environmental Law’s Magna Carta Amidst the Devolution of Environmental Law, 104 Tex. L. Rev. Online 36 (2025)

The Rise of Constitutional Alarmists on the Supreme Court and Its Portent for the Future of Environmental Law, 85(4) Ohio St. L. J. 983 (2025)

In Memoriam: Professor Charles Fried, 138 Harv. L. Rev. 1169 (2025)

Justice Gorsuch and the Future of Environmental Law, 43 Stan. Envtl. L. J. 1 (2024)

Sackett v. EPA: The Judicial Destruction of the Clean Water Act, U. Chi. L. Rev. Online 1 (August 11, 2023)

The Scalia Court: Environmental Law’s Wrecking Crew Within the Supreme Court, 47 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 407 (2023)

Reflections on Farber’s Inequality and Regulation, 3 Am. J. L. & Equality 414 (2023)J

ustice Breyer’s Friendly Legacy for Environmental Law, 95 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1395 (2023)

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Supreme Court Advocacy

Counsel of Record for Respondent St. Croix County, Joseph P. Murr, et al., v. State of Wisconsin and St. Croix County, 137 S. Ct 1993 (2017)

Counsel of Record for Environmental Respondent Riverkeeper, Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, 556 U.S. 208 (2009)

Co-Counsel, Los Angeles County Flood Control Dist. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 568 U.S. 78 (2013)

Co-Counsel for Petitioners, Massachusetts v. U.S. Envt’l Prot. Agency, 549 U.S. 497 (2007) (jurisdictional stage only)

Co-Counsel for Respondents, Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U.S. 139 (2010)

Counsel of Record for Respondents American River and Friends of the Presumpscot River, S.D. Warren v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection, 547 U.S. 370 (2006)

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Recent Presentations

  • 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award in Environmental, Energy, or Resources Law and Policy Presentation, ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (January 2026)
  • The Making of Environmental Law in the United States, Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative, University of Iowa College of Law (April 17, 2025)
  • Harvard Voices on Climate Change: EPA Rollbacks & the Future of Environmental Protection, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, Harvard University (April 9, 2025)
  • The Rise of Constitutional Alarmism on the Supreme Court and its Portent for the Future of Environmental Law, Faculty Colloquium, University of Denver Sturm College of Law (April 3, 2025)
  • The Making of Environmental Law and the Challenges Presented by Trump 2.0, The University of Denver College of Law (April 3, 2025)
  • Environmental Law Under Siege: The First 66 Days of Trump 2.0, Keynote Address, 54th Spring Conference on Environmental Law, American Bar Association (March 27, 2025)
  • The Challenges of Constitutional Law in the United States for Climate Lawmaking, The Cambridge Series on Law and the Climate Crisis, University of Cambridge (November 4, 2024)
  • The Challenge of Climate Lawmaking, CEENRG Thursday Seminars, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge (October 31, 2024)
  • Morning Prayers, Harvard Memorial Church (September 6, 2024)
  • The Challenge of U.S. Climate Law in the Next Five Years, Harvard Climate Action Week, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, Harvard University (June 10, 2024)

In The News

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