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Patrice Simms

Titles

  • Adjunct Faculty

Biography

Patrice Simms is Vice President of Litigation for Healthy Communities at Earthjustice. A leading environmental attorney and legal scholar, Patrice began his career as an attorney in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of General Counsel, and later served as a counsel to EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board and as a Senior Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. After the 2020 election, Patrice led the EPA Agency Review Team for the Biden-Harris transition, and he is currently teaching Environmental Justice at Harvard Law School as a visiting professor. Additionally, Patrice served in the Obama Administration as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. And prior to joining Earthjustice in 2017, he was a law professor at Howard University School of Law, teaching, writing, and speaking on various subjects related to environmental law and environmental justice. 

Patrice served on the Earthjustice Board of Trustees for five years. A recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, he was a founding steering committee member of the Green Leadership Trust and Green 2.0, and is a member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Patrice received his law degree from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., and completed his undergraduate studies at Northeastern University in Boston.

Courses Taught

  • Toxic Exposure and Health: Communities on the Front Lines