I’m pleased to share that a paper I wrote for a class on environmental law was published last month by the American Indian Law Journal from the Seattle University School of Law. It’s called Advancing the Rights of Nature: Lessons from Sauk-Suiattle v. City of Seattle. You can download it here.

The paper is about a 2022 “rights of nature” court case in Washington state in which the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe sued the City of Seattle, alleging that the City’s hydroelectric dams on the Skagit River violate the rights of salmon including the rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve. The case offers some important lessons that can inform future rights of nature actions.

I was pretty chuffed when the journal accepted my paper back in the summer. Working with the journal’s editorial team – all law students carrying a fulltime course load – I learned a lot about what it takes to transform a class paper into a polished, professional article ready for publication in a law journal.

If you decide to read this: first, thanks! and second, legal writing is very formal and extensively footnoted. Quite different from my usual blog posts.

Thanks for reading.