Best Environmental Law Schools in 2026–2027: Rankings, Programs & Careers

^{Last Updated: August 2026}

Environmental law has expanded far beyond traditional pollution control and conservation work. Today's environmental lawyers may handle climate regulation, renewable-energy development, environmental litigation, land use, natural resources, water rights, environmental justice, hazardous-waste compliance, corporate environmental risk, permitting, and disputes involving federal and state environmental statutes.

For prospective law students interested in these areas, choosing the right law school requires more than finding the school with the highest specialty ranking. Applicants should evaluate the depth of the environmental law curriculum, clinics and externships, faculty expertise, geographic placement, overall employment outcomes, cost of attendance, scholarship assistance, and the strength of the school's broader legal reputation.

The following guide examines the best environmental law schools for 2026–2027 and explains what applicants should consider before deciding where to attend.

Best Environmental Law Schools: 2026–2027 Rankings

The 2026–2027 U.S. News environmental law specialty rankings evaluated environmental-law programs at law schools across the United States. Specialty rankings can provide useful information about academic reputation within a field, but applicants should view them alongside overall employment, debt, geography, and career objectives rather than treating them as a definitive measure of which school is best for every student.

Environmental Law Rank	Law School
1	Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
2	Lewis & Clark Law School
2	University of California, Berkeley School of Law
4	UCLA School of Law
5	Harvard Law School
5	Vermont Law and Graduate School
7	University of Colorado Law School
8	Columbia Law School
8	New York University School of Law
8	University of Oregon School of Law
8	University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
8	Vanderbilt Law School
13	Stanford Law School
14	Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
14	Georgetown University Law Center
14	University of Michigan Law School
17	Texas A&M University School of Law
18	University of Denver Sturm College of Law
18	Duke University School of Law
18	George Washington University Law School
18	University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law
18	University of Kansas School of Law
18	University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
18	UC Davis School of Law
25	University of Florida Levin College of Law
25	Florida State University College of Law
25	University of Minnesota Law School
25	Tulane University Law School
25	UC Law San Francisco
25	Yale Law School

Because several schools are tied, ranking positions may include multiple institutions. Applicants interested in comparing environmental specialty rankings with broader measures of law-school strength should also review the TLS guide to Law School Rankings and the discussion of whether law school rankings really matter.

1. Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University ranks first nationally for environmental law in the 2026–2027 specialty rankings. Located in White Plains, New York, Haub Law has built one of the country's most extensive environmental-law programs.

Students can choose from a broad environmental curriculum covering environmental regulation, climate and energy issues, conservation, land use, international environmental law, and related subjects. The school also operates the Environmental Litigation Clinic and Food and Farm Business Law Clinic, along with programs such as the Pace Energy and Climate Center, Land Use Law Center, Food Law Center, Sustainable Business Law Hub, and Global Center for Environmental Legal Studies.

Haub is especially worth considering for students who want environmental law to be a central part of their legal education rather than merely a collection of electives.

Prospective students can learn more through the Pace Law School profile.

Its location is another potential advantage. Students interested in environmental regulation, public-interest organizations, government work, or private practice can explore opportunities in the New York metropolitan area while also pursuing environmental externships and networking opportunities.

2. Lewis & Clark Law School

Located in Portland, Oregon, Lewis & Clark Law School has one of the longest-standing reputations in environmental, natural resources, and energy law.

The school's Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law program covers areas including climate resilience, clean energy, environmental justice, air and water regulation, ecosystems, biodiversity, oceans, rivers, and public lands. JD students can pursue environmental and natural-resources or energy-focused certificates, while the school also offers graduate environmental-law programs.

One of Lewis & Clark's major strengths is experiential education. The Earthrise Law Center allows students to participate in environmental litigation and advocacy, including work involving motions, pleadings, case strategy, client representation, and other aspects of environmental practice.

Students considering the school can review the Lewis & Clark Law School profile.

Lewis & Clark may be particularly attractive to students interested in environmental public-interest work, natural resources, wildlife, water, energy, or practicing in the Pacific Northwest. Applicants should nevertheless compare the school's overall employment outcomes and cost against other schools offering stronger national placement.

2. University of California, Berkeley School of Law

Berkeley Law combines a highly ranked environmental program with the broader employment reach of a nationally prominent law school.

Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment works on climate, energy, and environmental policy and brings together legal research, government, business, and community stakeholders. Its Environmental Law Clinic gives students hands-on experience in litigation, administrative proceedings, legislation, and policymaking, with significant attention to environmental health and environmental justice.

That combination can make Berkeley especially attractive for applicants who want substantial environmental-law opportunities without narrowing their post-graduation options to one specialty.

Read the UC Berkeley School of Law profile or explore the broader overview of California law schools.

4. UCLA School of Law

UCLA School of Law has developed a major environmental and climate-law presence through its Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Students can pursue an environmental-law specialization and participate in courses and experiential programs addressing environmental regulation, climate change, environmental justice, natural resources, and California environmental policy.

UCLA's Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic provides students with hands-on experience representing public-interest clients in environmental matters. The California Environmental Legislation & Policy Clinic adds another dimension by allowing students to work on environmental issues connected with the state legislative process.

UCLA may be particularly compelling for students who want to practice environmental law in California, where climate policy, natural resources, land use, air regulation, water, energy, and environmental justice create significant legal work.

See the detailed UCLA School of Law profile for additional information about admissions, academics, employment, and student life.

5. Harvard Law School

For applicants seeking both environmental-law opportunities and broad national career portability, Harvard Law School deserves serious consideration.

Harvard's Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic allows students to work on litigation, administrative, legislative, regulatory, and policy projects involving environmental and energy issues. Clinic projects can involve nonprofit organizations, government clients, scientists, and other professionals working on environmental matters.

Harvard's broader institutional strength is significant because many students enter law school committed to one field but later change interests. A law school with national placement power can provide considerable flexibility if a student's goals evolve from environmental public interest toward litigation, government, corporate practice, energy, or another field.

Applicants can review the Harvard Law School profile for admissions and academic information.

5. Vermont Law and Graduate School

Few American law schools have made environmental education as central to their institutional identity as Vermont Law and Graduate School.

Its Environmental Law Center offers an extensive collection of environmental law and policy courses, legal clinics, centers and institutes, and environmental faculty. Programs cover environmental advocacy, energy and climate justice, animal law, agriculture, food systems, and other environmental-policy subjects.

This breadth can be extremely attractive to applicants who are confident that environmental law will be their primary focus.

However, prospective students should not select Vermont solely because of its specialty reputation. Scholarship amount, total debt, bar outcomes, employment prospects, and the geographic markets in which graduates work deserve careful analysis before enrollment.

The Vermont Law School profile provides additional information for applicants comparing the school with other environmental-law options.

7. University of Colorado Law School

Colorado Law is particularly strong for students interested in environmental law at the intersection of natural resources, public lands, water, energy, climate policy, and the American West.

Its environmental and natural-resources offerings include a specialized certificate, interdisciplinary degree opportunities, the Natural Resources Clinic, and the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment.

The center focuses on subjects including water, public lands, climate change, energy development, tribal resources, environmental justice, and conservation.

Students considering a career in Colorado or the broader Mountain West should give the school particular consideration because geographic connections can be extremely important in legal hiring.

The University of Colorado Law profile provides additional information about admissions, cost, curriculum, and employment.

Other Top Environmental Law Programs

Several schools tied near the top of the environmental-law rankings also deserve close examination.

Columbia Law School can be attractive to students seeking access to New York's private-sector, public-interest, corporate, regulatory, and international legal communities. See the Columbia Law School profile.

New York University School of Law combines national employment reach with extensive public-interest infrastructure. Its Environmental Law Clinic emphasizes environmental litigation and advocacy. Applicants can review the NYU School of Law profile.

Students specifically interested in studying in New York can also consult the guide to New York law schools.

University of Oregon School of Law is another strong option for environmental and public-interest law, particularly for students who hope to establish careers in Oregon or the Pacific Northwest. See the University of Oregon School of Law profile.

University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law has substantial offerings in environmental, natural-resources, water, and energy law and may be especially appealing for students targeting the Mountain West. Review the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law profile.

Vanderbilt Law School provides applicants with another nationally recognized option. See the Vanderbilt Law School profile.

Stanford, Georgetown, Michigan, Duke, George Washington, Maryland, UC Davis, Yale, and the other highly ranked programs in the table above should also be evaluated when their broader employment outcomes, scholarship packages, geography, or particular environmental offerings align with a student's goals.

Should You Choose a Law School Based on Its Environmental Law Ranking?

Usually, not by itself.

Specialty rankings can help applicants identify schools with respected faculty and substantial environmental-law offerings. They do not necessarily tell applicants which school will provide the best career outcome.

A student deciding between a highly ranked national law school and a lower overall-ranked school with a stronger environmental specialty ranking should compare much more than the specialty numbers.

TLS's broader discussion of law school rankings emphasizes that rankings are only one part of a highly personal decision. Applicants considering nationally prominent schools may also find the TLS discussion of the traditional top law schools useful when thinking about geographic portability and employer recognition.

Environmental law can be a comparatively specialized employment market. The ability to compete for broader litigation, regulatory, corporate, real-estate, energy, or government positions may therefore become important even for someone who enters law school certain that environmental law is the ultimate goal.

What to Look for in an Environmental Law School

A strong environmental program should offer more than an introductory environmental-law course.

Applicants should examine the school's environmental clinics and externships, environmental and energy faculty, specialized centers or institutes, relevant journals, course depth, public-interest opportunities, government placements, environmental student organizations, and relationships with employers.

Employment outcomes should receive particular attention. Determine how many graduates obtain full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage and where those graduates work. A school's overall employment data may have a much greater effect on your career than its specialty rank.

Geography is equally important. Environmental practice often intersects with state regulatory systems, local governments, natural resources, utilities, real estate, and regional industries. California, Washington, D.C., New York, Colorado, Oregon, and other major environmental-law markets each provide different types of opportunities.

Cost and scholarships can be especially important for students considering government or nonprofit environmental careers. A substantial scholarship from one school may create far greater career flexibility than paying full tuition at another.

Applicants interested in public-interest careers should also investigate each school's loan repayment assistance program because compensation in government and nonprofit practice can differ significantly from compensation at large private law firms.

Finally, investigate whether environmental students actually have access to the clinics, journals, externships, and professors advertised by the school. A program may look extensive on paper while offering only a limited number of seats in its most valuable experiential opportunities.

Environmental Law Clinics and Experiential Learning

Clinical experience can be one of the most valuable parts of an environmental legal education.

Environmental lawyers frequently work with complex administrative records, statutes, regulations, scientific evidence, public agencies, businesses, community organizations, and technical experts. Clinics can expose students to those realities before graduation.

Depending on the program, environmental-law students may learn to draft administrative comments, analyze proposed regulations, participate in litigation, interview clients, develop legislative strategies, conduct environmental research, draft briefs, work on permitting disputes, or assist nonprofit and government organizations.

When comparing environmental law schools, applicants should therefore ask not merely, "How many environmental courses does this school offer?" but also, "What will I actually get to do as a student?"

What Do Environmental Lawyers Do?

Environmental law is not a single type of practice. Lawyers in the field can represent corporations, developers, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, community groups, landowners, energy companies, utilities, investors, and other clients.

Environmental Law Practice	Typical Issues
Environmental Litigation	Enforcement actions, contamination disputes, statutory challenges, and citizen suits
Regulatory Compliance	Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, hazardous waste, permitting, and agency regulations
Climate Law	Emissions policy, climate litigation, adaptation, and disclosure
Energy Law	Renewable energy, utilities, infrastructure, and project development
Land Use	Zoning, development approvals, environmental review, and permitting
Natural Resources	Public lands, forestry, mining, wildlife, and conservation
Water Law	Water rights, water quality, allocation, and infrastructure
Environmental Justice	Pollution burdens, community advocacy, and regulatory equity
Corporate Environmental Law	Compliance, transactions, environmental due diligence, and risk
Government Practice	Regulation, enforcement, legislation, and policy development

LawCrossing's guide to working as an environmental law attorney provides a broader look at the work performed by environmental lawyers in government, private practice, corporations, and public-interest organizations.

Students who want to examine the employment market can also review LawCrossing's Environmental Law Jobs Forecast 2025–2030 and current environmental attorney jobs.

Is Environmental Law a Good Career?

Environmental law can offer intellectually challenging work and the opportunity to address major issues involving climate change, land use, energy, pollution, natural resources, environmental justice, and economic development.

The career path is also highly varied. Some environmental attorneys pursue public-interest advocacy. Others represent regulated industries. Some join federal, state, or local agencies, while others advise companies on environmental compliance, transactions, renewable-energy projects, permitting, or environmental risk.

Because employment opportunities and compensation can differ considerably among those settings, prospective students should begin investigating possible career paths before committing to large amounts of law-school debt.

LawCrossing's environmental-law career resources provide additional insight into choosing a career as an environmental attorney.

Do You Need to Major in Environmental Science Before Law School?

No. Law schools generally do not require a particular undergraduate major for students who want to become environmental attorneys.

Students enter environmental law from backgrounds including political science, economics, history, environmental studies, engineering, biology, chemistry, business, and many other disciplines.

A scientific or technical background can be useful in certain types of environmental work, but strong legal research, writing, statutory interpretation, analytical reasoning, and advocacy skills remain fundamental.

Students interested in especially technical areas may also consider joint programs combining a JD with environmental science, environmental management, urban planning, public policy, or a related discipline.

Is a Specialized Environmental Law School Better Than a Higher-Ranked General Law School?

There is no universal answer.

A specialized environmental program may provide more courses, professors, clinics, journals, and classmates focused on the field. A more highly ranked general law school may provide greater geographic portability, broader employer access, stronger clerkship opportunities, or more flexibility if your practice interests change.

The correct choice depends on the schools involved, scholarship offers, total cost, desired geographic market, career goals, and each school's actual employment outcomes.

This question has been debated extensively by TLS users, including in discussions comparing schools such as Stanford and Lewis & Clark. The recurring lesson is that applicants should avoid treating environmental specialty rankings as substitutes for a full employment and cost analysis.

Which Environmental Law School Is Best for You?

The answer depends on what you want your degree to accomplish.

Students seeking the greatest concentration of environmental courses and institutions may be drawn to Haub, Lewis & Clark, or Vermont. Those seeking a combination of elite national placement and major environmental programs may focus more heavily on Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard, Stanford, NYU, Columbia, Michigan, Duke, Georgetown, or other nationally prominent schools.

Students targeting environmental, water, energy, or natural-resources work in the Mountain West may find Colorado or Utah particularly attractive. Those targeting the Pacific Northwest may give additional weight to Lewis & Clark and Oregon. Students interested in California environmental law have numerous strong options, including Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, and UC Davis.

Ultimately, the best environmental law school is not necessarily the school with the highest specialty rank. It is the school that gives you the strongest combination of career opportunities, affordable cost, relevant practical experience, geographic access, and flexibility for the type of lawyer you hope to become.

Frequently Asked Questions About Environmental Law Schools

What Is the #1 Environmental Law School?

In the 2026–2027 environmental law specialty rankings, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University ranks #1, followed by Lewis & Clark Law School and UC Berkeley School of Law in a tie for #2.

Which Law Schools Are Best for Climate Law?

Several highly ranked environmental programs have substantial climate-law offerings. Pace/Haub, Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard, Lewis & Clark, Colorado, NYU, Columbia, Stanford, and other schools provide coursework or research opportunities touching climate, energy, environmental regulation, or sustainability. Applicants should examine the current curriculum at each school because course offerings change.

Should I Attend a Lower-Ranked School Because Its Environmental Program Ranks Higher?

Not automatically. Compare overall employment outcomes, scholarship offers, total debt, geographic placement, alumni network, and the strength of alternative career options. Environmental specialty rank should be one factor rather than the entire decision.

Are Environmental Law Clinics Important?

They can be extremely valuable. Clinics can give students practical experience involving litigation, regulatory advocacy, legislation, administrative agencies, clients, and environmental policy before graduation.

Where Do Environmental Lawyers Work?

Environmental lawyers work in law firms, government agencies, corporations, nonprofit organizations, environmental advocacy groups, energy companies, real-estate organizations, and other employers dealing with regulation, development, natural resources, pollution, climate, or land use.

Can Environmental Lawyers Work in BigLaw?

Yes. Large law firms may have environmental, energy, land-use, regulatory, infrastructure, project-development, litigation, and transactional practices in which environmental expertise is useful.

Is Environmental Law Only About Representing Environmental Organizations?

No. Environmental lawyers represent interests on many sides of regulatory and litigation matters. Private companies, developers, manufacturers, utilities, energy businesses, landowners, governments, nonprofits, and community organizations all require environmental legal services.