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Jennifer K. Rushlow

Titles

  • Professor of Law
  • Environmental Law Center

Degrees

  • BA, Oberlin College
  • JD, Northeastern University School of Law
  • MPH, Tufts Medical School

Contact

Phone: 802-831-1136

Biography

Professor Jennifer K. Rushlow is an expert in climate change, air pollution, and environmental health law. The courses she has taught at Vermont Law and Graduate School include Climate Change and the Law, Air Pollution Law and Policy, Evidence, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, and Food Justice and Sustainability.

Professor Rushlow received her BA degree from Oberlin College, her Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law, and her Master of Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine. Professor Rushlow practiced law at the non-profit advocacy organization Conservation Law Foundation and the law firm Anderson & Kreiger in Boston. Her practice focused on environmental and land use law, climate change, agriculture, transportation, and environmental justice.

While at Conservation Law Foundation, Professor Rushlow argued and won a landmark climate law case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Kain v. Department of Environmental Protection, 474 Mass. 278 (2016). Professor Rushlow was named a 2016 Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for her work on the Kain case. Professor Rushlow published an article about the Kain case with co-author Susan Reid, “Behind the Curtain: Insiders’ View of Developing and Enforcing State Climate Change Laws,” 50 Envtl. L. Rep. 10466 (2020).

Professor Rushlow founded Conservation Law Foundation’s farm and food program, including the establishment of the Legal Food Hub, a free legal services clearinghouse for small farmers and food businesses in New England. Mayor Martin Walsh honored Professor Rushlow with a Greenovate Boston Award in 2016 for her work on the Legal Food Hub.

Professor Rushlow is appointed by the Vermont Supreme Court to serve as Reporter for the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence. She previously served as Chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Environmental Law in 2023-2024. She has been admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Vermont, and various federal courts.

Professor Rushlow regularly appears in the media, including coverage by the New York Times, National Public Radio, the Washington Post, the Hill, Politico, Time Magazine, Bloomberg, the Guardian, the Boston Globe, E&E News, and others.

Curriculum Vitae

Expertise

  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Justice
  • Environmental Law
  • Environmental Litigation
  • Food and Agriculture
  • Transportation

Departments

  • Dean's Office
  • Environmental Law Center