Honoring Director of Earthrise, Professor Allison LaPlante ’02

Clinical professor, alum and Director of Earthrise Law Center, the acclaimed environmental litigation clinic at Lewis & Clark, Allison LaPlante, announced her departure from Earthrise as of June 1, 2024, to spend more time with her sons. Earthrise’s Managing Attorney, Lia Comerford ’13, is serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor and the acting director of the Clinic for the near future.

Allison’s announcement brought her nearly 20 years of exemplary service at the law school to a close. In an email to faculty and staff, Dean Jennifer Johnson noted that “Allison has taught and trained countless law students how to be effective environmental lawyers as well as helped graduates secure career placements doing environmental legal work across the spectrum of environmental careers.” Her fellow faculty members responded with expressions of gratitude for her dedication and commitment.

Fellow environmental law professor Dan Rohlf added, “Allison has been an amazing mentor for many many students and even attorneys at the beginning of their careers. She has worked with countless students on real-world complex environmental cases, providing both invaluable experience as well as an example of how to be a terrific lawyer. Earthrise fellows have had the good fortune of being her colleague for two years, and I can think of no better way to get off to a flying start for an environmental law career. Attorneys all over the country who work for governments, firms, and NGOs trace a good part of their early experience and inspiration (and for some of them, their very jobs!) back to Allison.”

Allison has also been a tireless advocate for our natural resources. Professor Rohlf noted, “We all literally breathe easier as a result of Allison’s work. Earthrise’s lawsuit against PGE led to a settlement that resulted in closure of a massive coal-fired power plant in eastern Oregon in 2020. (Professor Melissa Powers ’01 was also a vital part of the legal team while a student). Allison’s work with students has also called many water polluters to account, strengthened water quality standards that protect our rivers and streams, and the list goes on.”

“No one has done more to protect water quality under the Clean Water Act than she has,” agreed Professor Craig Johnston.

Associate Dean Janice Weis who leads the environmental law program at the school added, “Allison is an incredible combination - killer litigator, great educator and mentor to our students, and all around lovely, warm and welcoming person. We have been so lucky to have her all of these years!

Hannah Goldblatt ’20, Staff Attorney for Advocates for the West, expressed her gratitude for Allison’s mentorship as an Earthrise clinic student. “Allison made a concerted effort to plug me into exciting cases and empowered me to take on chunks of briefing, which helped me foster a sense of independence and confidence in my legal thinking.”

Similarly, Audrey Leonard ’20, staff attorney for Columbia Riverkeeper, noted, “working with Allison at Earthrise was easily the most impactful experience I had at Lewis & Clark. The mentorship and trust she offered me as a student gave me the confidence to be the advocate I always wanted to be, both for myself and the environment. The example Allison set through her values and leadership encouraged me to aim high and solidified my path in public interest environmental law.”

In her humble fashion, Allison expressed her gratitude for “the friendships I have built here and the mentorship I have received. I am very proud of the work I have done here over the last two decades, but it is time for me to move on. It was a difficult decision, but it is the right one for me right now.”

Allison LaPlante joined Earthrise Law Center as a staff attorney and clinical professor of law in January, 2005. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Allison received her BS in Biology/Ecology from Cornell. For three years she worked for a national environmental organization, focusing on toxics issues while dividing her time between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. While at Lewis & Clark Law School she was active in a wide variety of environmental law activities, including Earthrise, NEDC, and environmental moot court. Following graduation, Allison held a District of Oregon federal clerkship in Portland. As an Earthrise staff attorney, she focused primarily on issues and cases concerning pollution control.