Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law is once again ranked #1 in the country for Environmental Law by the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings, released today. Haub Law was also ranked #13 in the nation for its trial advocacy program, placing it impressively among the top 10% of schools nationwide. Several other programs at Haub Law were recognized in the top rankings this year, including Dispute Resolution, International Law, Health Law, Tax Law and the Part-Time Program.

“This year marks the 5th time, and the 4th year consecutively, that Haub Law has received the #1 ranking for Environmental Law,” said Dean Horace E. Anderson Jr. “Our Environmental Law Program has a global footprint and is consistently rated among the very best in the country. We are also tremendously proud of the significant strides and rise in the rankings that our trial advocacy program continues to make. That progress can be directly attributed to both the fundamentals of advocacy we provide in the classroom and the practical opportunities we provide outside of the classroom. At Haub Law, we continue to recruit top faculty, generate top scholarship, and establish leading-edge programs, resulting in attracting students who seek to make positive change as leaders and advocates of the future.”

The Environmental Law Program is widely known for its innovative programs, expert faculty, and renowned scholarship, and for attracting distinguished guest speakers along with an impressive student body. In 2021, the Law School launched the Sustainable Business Law Hub, creating new opportunities for training, policy, and research that address global environmental challenges. The Sustainable Business Law Hub’s advisory board features prominent experts in the field, and the Hub also provides paid internship opportunities for students through partnerships with prestigious firms and companies, and through collaborations with the region’s business community.

In recent years, the environmental law program also initiated the Environmental Law and Policy Hack Competition for law schools throughout the country and the Future Environmental Law Professors Workshop which trains new and aspiring professors pursuing a career in environmental law. Other well-known programs and opportunities at the school include the annual hosting of the preeminent environmental law moot court competition, the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. The Law School also hosts lectures and panels throughout the year featuring environmental scholars, advocates, and policymakers, and it recognizes leading international environmentalists through the annual presentation of the Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy, considered one of the world’s most distinguished awards in the field of environmental law.

Haub Law offers more than 40 environmental law courses, as well as dozens of internship and externship opportunities. In recent years, the Law School has expanded its environmental law faculty, attracting prominent scholars in the field as full-time and visiting assistant professors. Students have the opportunity to research emerging areas of environmental law alongside experts in the field through the Environmental Law Program’s various centers and institutes, including the Pace Energy & Climate Center and Land Use Law Center, and can directly represent clients through the Environmental Litigation Clinic and the Food and Farm Business Law Clinic. These opportunities provide Haub Law students with the tools they need to be national and international leaders in environmental law.

"At Haub Law, our students are immersed in not just learning about, but actively working to solve, current environmental challenges, both in and out of the classroom,” said Jason J. Czarnezki, Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Law Programs and Strategic Initiatives at Haub Law. "At Haub Law, through both classroom education and experiential opportunities, we provide our environmental law students with the skills required to make an immediate impact in practice. I am both proud and thrilled that the work of our Environmental Law Program has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report for the fourth year in a row with the #1 ranking. I am confident that here at Haub Law, our educational experience launches our students into successful careers and problem solvers – as environmental lawyers, policy experts, and change makers across not just the United States, but around the globe.”

Successful in providing an international environmental education, in recent years, Haub Law was ranked #1 in the top 50 Environmental Policy Centers of Excellence across the globe by the journal of Environmental Policy and Law (EPL). Haub Law is also a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which provides students with the opportunity to draft memoranda, debate issues, and attend IUCN meetings, including the World Conservation Congress and U.S. National Committee meetings. Additionally, through the United Nations Diplomacy Practicum, students provide assistance to UN country Missions by attending their meetings and preparing research on issues such as climate change, renewable energy, fisheries protection, and forest management.

With a ranking of #24 last year, the trial advocacy program at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law has continued to rise notably each year, ranking #13 in the nation this year by the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings. Over the last year, Haub Law has had 45+ Mock Trial and Moot Court Teams, with an average of over 116 student participants on these teams as a whole. In recent years, the Law School’s Mock Trial and Moot Court teams regularly place at or near the top in competitions. Just in the last few months, the trial advocacy program successes have included winning both the season and championship title in the 2024 National Trial League Competition, taking home the championship at New York Law School’s third annual Soccer Negotiation Competition, winning the invite only Shark Beach Showdown National Trial Competition, along with numerous individual top advocacy awards and recognitions. The Law School also hosts several prominent competitions throughout the year, this year that included hosting the 2024 ABA Representation in Mediation Competition. Further, as a founder of the preeminent International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition (ICC Moot) held annually in The Hague, Netherlands, Haub Law hosted the 2024 Regional Round for the Americas and Caribbean of the ICC Moot.

“Haub Law has remained dedicated to providing our students with a top-tier advocacy program,” said Louis V. Fasulo, Professor of Trial Practice and Director of Advocacy Programs. “Our students have endless opportunities to learn and participate as advocates through top national and international competitions. In recent years, our teams consistently finish at or near the top of these tough competitions regularly, with our advocates regularly receiving individual recognitions for their stellar performances. This latest climb in the rankings is a recognition of the incredible work and talent of our students and coaches and the school’s commitment to our nationally ranked advocacy program.”

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Adjunct Professor of English Carlie Hoffman, MFA, received a 2024 National Jewish Book Award for her poetry collection entitled When There Was Light.

Hoffman was awarded the Berru Award in Poetry in Memory of Ruth and Bernie Weinflash. Now in its 73rd year, the National Jewish Book Awards is a prestigious and long-running program of the National Jewish Council. This year, more than 100 judges reviewed over 650 submissions.

When There Was Light is Hoffman’s second published poetry collection, following her debut This Alaska, and explores themes of identity, heritage, family, and loss.

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“Carlie Hoffman’s When There Was Light shows a mastery of thinking through language,” said Sean Singer, National Jewish Book Award judge. “When There Was Light adds to Jewish poetics not only in its subjects, but in its system of thought: an area of doubts, wishes, and possibilities.”

Hoffman won a Northern California Publishers and Authors Gold Award in Poetry for This Alaska and was a finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award. She’s also received a 92Y/Discovery Prize and an Amy Award from Poets & Writers.