ike any good performance, a successful day in court requires practice. A lot of practice, says Ben Chagnon, a senior attorney with the environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice.
Chagnon would know: He has argued and assisted with cases up and down the judicial system, and like most seasoned advocates, he uses moot courts — or simulated court hearings — to prepare for oral argument.
“One thing you’re always looking for are people who won’t automatically agree with you, but who will understand the issues, and even understand what the lawyer on the other side is going to argue,” Chagnon says.
Typically, Earthjustice relies on panels of its own lawyers to refine oral presentations before entering a courtroom, Chagnon says. But today, he is grateful to have an additional testing ground for critical environmental law cases: the Environmental Moot Court Initiative at Harvard Law School.
The initiative, which began in 2023 and is part of the Emmett Environmental Law Center, brings together students and experts to help green law organizations prepare for court — bolstering their chances, supporting wider environmental legal strategy, and giving budding environmental lawyers an insider’s view into the profession.
Earlier this year, Chagnon and his Earthjustice colleagues participated in a moot court through the program, which he calls a “real benefit” to eco litigants.
“What they’re doing is a great way to help environmental nonprofits have the same amount of firepower when it comes to the dedicated preparation for oral argument that the government has long had,” he says. “Between the faculty, students, and other experts, the group can offer a lot of ideas, some of which might change the way you ultimately choose to present your case.”
‘No one else does what we do’
Led by Andrew Mergen, the faculty director of Harvard’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, along with clinical instructor Sommer Engels, the initiative is unique. While other law school moot court programs exist, Harvard’s is the only one focused on supporting outside environmental advocates with cases at any stage of litigation in state or federal courts.
“No one else does what we do,” says Mergen, who spent decades leading and working at the appellate section of the Environment & Natural Resources Division at the Department of Justice before joining Harvard Law.
Such a service is critical to advancing environmental law today, Mergen insists.
“The courts have changed a lot over the last few decades,” he says. “I think a lot of the green groups have recognized that, and they’re trying to be more strategic about the cases that they bring, and how they argue them.”
Read more
https://hls.harvard.edu/today/an-environmental-law-testing-ground/
