Conscious Counsel: Ethical Considerations in Environmental Justice

Environmental attorney Amy Edwards will speak during the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy and Resources' (SEER) 32nd Fall Conference in Seattle, Washington. The three-day event will feature engaging presentations from leaders in the environmental, energy and natural resources sectors, including regulators, scholars and in-house counsel. Ms. Edwards' session will take place on the second day of the event and will explore the intersection between a lawyer's ethical duties and environmental justice (EJ) principles. Initiatives from federal agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), in conjunction with various executive orders, have put environmental justice in the spotlight. Do lawyers have an ethical obligation to competently learn and apply EJ principles under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct? How should lawyers apply the duty of communication under Model Rule 1.6 to unspecified "community members?" Does the duty of competence require additional education on tribal issues and sovereign entities? This discussion will dive into these questions and more, providing counsel with a path for navigating ethical considerations that arise in the context of EJ policies.