May 18, 2021
New documents obtained under state open records laws reveal important details about the expanding, and arguably improper, deployment of law schools by or on behalf of donors in the climate litigation industry. That latter, national effort, which we now know is being coordinated by donors out of New York, enlists local activist groups, faculty, and attorneys general to bring lawsuits in state courts against traditional “fossil fuel” energy companies, as well as others involved in energy production and transport. As described by the plaintiffs’ lawyers and advisors, these suits have been brought to impact public policy and to find new sources of revenue for activists and state budgets.