Center for Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law

The Center for Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law at Florida State University College of Law strengthens the school's nationally recognized program in the area. The Center helps provide first-rate education to students who will become leaders in the practice of law, advocacy and policymaking. The Center takes a collaborative approach to convene internationally regarded experts for thought-provoking events and to produce important interdisciplinary research. The Center’s location in the capital of the nation’s third largest state–one at the cutting-edge of environmental, energy and land use law and policy–is a tremendous advantage for students and scholars affiliated with the Center.

• Mission
• Select Goals
• Director
• Affiliated Faculty
• Environmental, Energy & Land Use Law Program
• Activities

Mission

The Center’s mission is to enhance Florida State University College of Law’s nationally ranked programs, which are taught by nationally recognized legal experts who produce impactful scholarship and provide a first-rate education to law students concentrating in areas of law relating to the environment; to engage in pioneering research and enrichment events that will help develop cutting-edge scholarship and policy; and to marshal legal skills for addressing challenges in the areas of environmental, land use, energy and natural resources law. The Center’s training, research and service must have strong theoretical groundings, provide practical skills for the practice of law, advocacy and policymaking, and be interdisciplinary in pedagogy.

Select Goals

• Enhance the College of Law’s training by strengthening the support of its exceptional array of courses and programs in environmental, energy, land use and natural resources law
• Promote research and first-rate scholarship in areas of law relating to the environment
• Spearhead events that bring together top scholars so they can collaborate and learn from one another
• Engage in first-rate programming of events with renowned speakers of diverse perspectives 
• Ensure students are exposed to practical skills training and mentors by requiring completion of work outside of the law school in externships, internships and pro bono activities for not-for-profit organizations
• Assist in the employment of graduates in positions that serve Florida, the nation and the world in providing for the protection of a healthy and economically productive environment

Director

James Parker-Flynn, Visiting Professor and Director of the Center for Environmental, Energy, and Land Use Law

Professor Parker-Flynn specializes in environmental and energy law, with a focus on climate change issues. He teaches Energy Law and Policy, Land Use Regulation, and the Environmental Justice Seminar. Before joining FSU Law, he practiced law with Carlton Fields, where he specialized in appellate practice, land use litigation, and environmental law. He has published several articles on climate law and policy, and is frequently invited to discuss climate related issues. 

Affiliated Faculty

Shi-Ling Hsu, D'Alemberte Professor

Professor Shi-Ling Hsu is an expert in the areas of environmental and natural resource law, climate change, law and economics, and property. He has published in a wide variety of legal journals and recently published a book, Capitalism and the Environment (Cambridge University Press 2021).

Tricia Ann Matthews, Legal Writing Professor

Professor Matthews is a member of the Legal Research and Writing faculty and frequently teaches in the FSU College of Law Summer for Undergraduates Program. Matthews' scholarship extends to animal law—she teaches a course in Animal Law, is the Law School Liaison for The Florida Bar Animal Law Committee, and is the faculty advisor for the law school's Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chapter.

Erin Ryan, the Elizabeth and Clyde W. Atkinson Professor and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs

Professor Ryan teaches in the areas of environmental and natural resources law, property and land use, water law, negotiation and federalism. She has presented widely in the United States, Europe, and Asia. She also has advised National Sea Grant multilevel governance studies involving Chesapeake Bay and consulted with multiple institutions on developing sustainability programs. She is the author of many scholarly works, including Federalism and the Tug of War Within (Oxford University Press 2012).

Mark B. Seidenfeld, Patricia A. Dore Professor of Administrative Law

Professor Seidenfeld is one of the country’s leading scholars on federal administrative law and author of one the most cited administrative law articles. He focuses on how administrative law might be structured to facilitate agencies implementing deliberative democracy, with special attention to the law’s effect on the behavior and accountability of government institutions.

Donald J. Weidner, Dean Emeritus and Alumni Centennial Professor

Don Weidner, dean emeritus at the law school and business law expert, offers program-related courses in real estate law and alternative dispute resolution. In 2019, he completed an eight-year term of service representing Florida on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, a gubernatorial appointment with Senate confirmation. He also served as a legislative liaison to the Conference.

Tisha Holmes, Courtesy Professor of Law

Professor Holmes teaches climate change and community resilience, land use planning, and coastal planning. Her research intends to promote grassroots level capacities through community outreach and participatory engagement.