On November 16, 2009, SPR partner Pamela Esterman will receive the Founders Award from the Theodore W. Kheel Center on the Resolution of Environmental Interest Disputes. The Kheel Center was launched in April 2008 to train lawyers in environmental dispute resolution, and is housed at Pace Law School in White Plains, New York. The mission of the center is to promote the use of non-traditional forums to resolve environmental disputes. Pam Esterman is Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Kheel Center. She has been instrumental in organizing events and training programs for the Center since its creation. She will receive the award in honor of her dedication and service to the mission of the Kheel Center.
In addition, on November 17, the Kheel Center will hold its second annual day-long Summit, at the University Club in New York City. The program, entitled “Changing Times: Changing Practice, Effective Legal Strategies to Resolve New Environmental Disputes” is intended to highlight new conflict resolution strategies that can be used in place of litigation or other adjudicatory tribunals for the resolution of environmental disputes. Several examples of the types of new approaches will be presented. These include approaches that have been used in siting energy generation facilities, as well as those that have been used to address complex land use problems associated with sea level rise. Pam Esterman will moderate a panel entitled: “Negotiating and Selecting Sustainability Practices to Mitigate Climate Change.” She also co-authored an article on the skills lawyers need to advise clients in environmental disputes which will be included in the 2009-2010 edition of the Pace Environmental Law Review.
