Archive for the ‘Green doc’ Category
How the “Green Movement” has Affected the Legal System
by Johney Maron
Society’s focus on the environment and being “green” is affecting even our smallest everyday decisions like paper or plastic at the grocery store. Climate change, industrial disasters, and the overall well being of our environment is on the minds of everyone from lawyers to the smallest elementary school child learning the importance of turning off lights. This shift has created an interesting trend in the legal world making environmental law not only a hot topic but a popular field to practice.
More and more, legal minds of all ages are seeking out the opportunity to hone their legal skills and ply their trade in the realm of environmental law. Although this field has become a popular one and is growing quickly, it has actually been around for a very long time. Going as far back as the 1960s and 70s, you can begin to see the hallmarks of what is fundamentally environmental law with the passage of statutes that regulated land use and protected National Parks. And that was just the beginning. Today, the sector works to create statutes on a wide range of policy issues, including land protection and development, pollution control, and resource conservation and management.
Environmental law, once described as a “niche” area, has become a massive body of law that reaches into many social issues. So, it is no wonder that this is such a vastly growing field when you think about the complexities of the industry and the various policy issues that are encompassed within environmental law. Attorneys entering the field are thrust into some of the most pressing issues of today, issues that have broad reaching implications both domestically and internationally. The excitement of dealing with policy creation that not only impacts environmental issues, but also affects foreign trade, global economics, and natural resources is now a constant draw among attorneys looking for diverse ways to effect positive change.
What has become known as the “green movement” has opened the door for attorneys to jump with both feet into a very exciting sector. The wave has brought about a change to the legal landscape, resulting in a drastic increase in opportunities within the field. Nowadays, nearly any firm worth its salt has at least one practitioner, if not a whole department, of environmental lawyers to serve the needs of any and all of their clients. There are opportunities at all levels of the government and nearly every law school is adding multiple levels to their teachings of environmental law. The opportunity is big and the need for more lawyers is only going to continue to grow. But perhaps the biggest draw—beyond the thrill of saving Mother Earth, or the satisfaction of thwarting big business—is the sense of autonomy given to many of the practitioners within environmental law. So complex is the landscape, so dense is the maze of regulations, that many attorneys are unleashed to pitch their own battles in one of the many up and coming environmental issues. As new issues arise such as urban sprawl, restructuring our energy sources, and pollution, there will be a greater need for attorneys that are environmentally-minded. A growing field, indeed.
Johney Maron, medical device salesman, always has his eye on environmental issues. Hoping to raise his kids in a healthy world, he looks to trusted experts like Willie Shepherd for legal concerns, environmental and otherwise.
