New York University School of Law is launching the Environmental Justice Laboratory (EJL) this fall, thanks to a gift from attorneys Marie Napoli and Paul Napoli.
The EJL will provide law students with an opportunity to engage in cutting-edge policy advocacy, litigation and research in the field of environmental justice — which includes addressing environmental problems that disproportionately burden communities of color and low-income neighborhoods and promoting environmental and social change.
The EJL will work with partners, including impacted communities, to address longstanding environmental racism and build a just, decarbonized future.
Two of NYU Law’s centers — the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law and the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law — will work together to develop and oversee EJL’s strategic direction and operations.
“This gift innovatively targets the intersection of two areas of pressing social concern, environmental harm and racial inequity,” said Troy McKenzie, dean of NYU Law. “Environmental justice has been an emerging area of focus here at the law school and across the country. This funding will enable us to significantly expand that work and contribute meaningfully to the field.”
During their 30 years of law practice, Marie and Paul Napoli have focused on complex environmental litigation and advocacy.
The Napolis have a multigenerational connection to NYU Law. Their daughter is a Class of 2026 J.D. student, Marie received her LL.M. from the law school in 2001, and Paul’s father, Joseph Napoli, received his LL.M. from the school in 1973.
In a statement, Marie and Paul Napoli said, “It is our hope that the Environmental Justice Lab will stand as a beacon of hope and progress in the quest to tackle some of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time.”
