E. Donald Elliott
Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law
(fall term)
E. Donald Elliott is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School and a leading academic scholar, as well as practitioner, in the fields of administrative and environmental law.
FULL BIOGRAPHY
Education & Curriculum Vitae
J.D., Yale Law School, 1974
B.A., Yale University, 1970
Courses Taught
- Advanced Environmental Law
- Comparative Chemical Controls
- Administrative Law
- Energy Law and Policy
- Food and Drug Law
- Civil Procedure
- Conservative Critique of the Administrative State
- Regulation of Energy Extraction
E. Donald Elliott is is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School. He is a leading academic scholar, as well as practitioner, in the fields of administrative and environmental law. Elliott is “one of the most well-known, well-regarded environmental law professors in the nation,” according to John Cruden, former President of the Environmental Law Institute and Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama administration. Elliott has been on the Yale Law faculty since 1981 and currently teaches courses in environmental law, conservative legal theory, energy law, administrative law and civil procedure. For 2013 through 2020, he was co-chair of Environmental Practice Group at Covington & Burling LLP, in Washington D.C. From 2003 until he joined Covington in 2013, he was a partner in Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, chairing the firm’s worldwide Environment, Health and Safety Department.
His latest book (with Dan Esty) is Advanced Introduction to U.S. Environmental Law (London: Elgar, 2021). Recent articles include “Lessons for the Law from COVID-19: Alternative Histories to Define the Roles of Politics and Expertise in the Administrative State” and (with Joshua Galperin) “Agency General Counsels, Beware: Federal agencies can face legal risk if they only provide constructive notice of regulatory changes through publication and FOIA availability.’”
From 1989 to 1991, Elliott served as Assistant Administrator and General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1993, he was named to the first endowed chair in environmental law and policy at any major American law school, the Julien and Virginia Cornell Chair in Environmental Law and Litigation at Yale Law School. From 2003-2009, he was a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, which advises the federal government on environmental issues. Elliott also testifies frequently in Congress on environmental issues. He has taught as a visitor at the University of Chicago Law School, the Georgetown University Law Center, Arizona State University Law School and the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
He has served as a consultant on improving the relationship of law and science to the Federal Courts Study Committee, which was chartered by Congress to make recommendations for improving the federal courts, and to the Carnegie Commission for Law, Science and Government. He co-chaired the National Environmental Policy Institute’s Committee on Improving Science at EPA.
Elliott is a Senior Fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) and an elected member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and the American Law Institute. He serves on the Board of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and as chair of its legal committee, as well on the Advisory Board for NYU’s Institute for Policy Integrity and the New Civil Liberties Alliance. He is a former member of the boards of the Environmental Law Institute, and the Center for Clean Air Policy. He is the author or coauthor of seven books and has published more than 80 articles in professional journals. He also writes a regular column about current events in The American Spectator and has published op-eds in many leading newspapers.
He was named one of the top 25 environmental attorneys in the United States by the National Law Journal and is highly ranked in Chambers USA: Leading Lawyers for Business; Best Lawyers in America; D.C. Super Lawyers; Who’s Who in American Law; and Who’s Who in the World.
He earned both his B.A., summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. from Yale. Following graduation, he was a law clerk for Gerhard Gesell in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and for Chief Judge David Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Thursday, December 29, 2022
The Worst Supreme Court Decision in History — A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Sunday, November 13, 2022
Democracy WAS on the Ballot — A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Putin Isn’t Going Away Any Time Soon — A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Biden Nixes EPA Action on Climate — A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Sunday, September 11, 2022
What Trump Should Do Now — A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Sunday, August 21, 2022
How the Supreme Court Blocked Congress’s Effort to Redeem the Administrative State — A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is the Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
How West Virginia v. EPA Changed the Administrative State — A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, December 22, 2021
A Year in Books: Faculty Elevated New Ideas on a Range of Critical Issues
Yale Law School’s renowned faculty published an extraordinary collection of books and scholarship in 2021. Here’s a look back at the year in books published by YLS faculty and lecturers in law.
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
A Comprehensive Overview of Environmental Governance
Two leading environmental law scholars — Hillhouse Professor at Yale University Daniel Esty ’86 and E. Donald Elliott ’74 — have published a new environmental law textbook.
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Israel’s $1 Million Payoff to Dr. Fauci Violates the Constitution — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott is Professor of Law (adjunct) at Yale Law School.
Sunday, March 14, 2021
How the 2020 Pandemic Election Cost Lives — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
E. Donald Elliott is Professor of Law (adjunct) at Yale Law School.
Thursday, January 28, 2021
Get Ready for the Gesture Presidency — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott is Professor of Law (adjunct) at Yale Law School.
Friday, January 8, 2021
How the Supreme Court Caused the Riot at the Capitol — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott is Professor of Law (adjunct) at Yale Law School.
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Why Trump Lost — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Can Artificial Intelligence Save the Regulatory State? — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Monday, September 21, 2020
What the Senate Should Do About the Supreme Court Vacancy — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Friday, July 24, 2020
What to Do About Portland — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
How to Make China Pay and Prevent the Next Pandemic — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
World War III Is Almost Over and China Is Winning — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Is the Coronavirus Foreign Interference in Our Elections — or Worse? — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Reopening the Country With Cooperative Federalism — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Coronavirus: In Defense of Conspiracy Theories — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
How the Dems Lost Day Two — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
How the Dems Won Day One — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Friday, December 20, 2019
What’s Really Behind Impeachment — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Monday, December 16, 2019
Chief Justice Roberts May Decide the Next Election — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Friday, December 6, 2019
Redefining ‘The Rule of Law’ — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
How the Great Impeachment Debacle of 2020 Can Be Avoided — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
A Republic, But Only If We Can Keep It — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
An Impeachable Offense Is NOT Whatever the House Says It Is — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Monday, October 28, 2019
How James Comey’s Revenge Is Changing Our Constitution — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Professor Elliott On Imposing a Carbon ‘Tax’
A new paper by Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law E. Donald Elliott ’74 argues that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has existing authority to put a price on carbon.
Friday, June 28, 2019
Is Unpredictability a Virtue in a World Leader? — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
President Trump and the Smarts Fallacy — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
What’s Really Wrong With the Green New Deal — A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Monday, March 4, 2019
Don’t Count Trump Out on North Korea Yet—A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is a Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Friday, February 15, 2019
What’s Worse Than Fake News? Welcome to today’s Hypothetical News—A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Friday, October 19, 2018
Don Elliott and Carol Rose Elected Members of The American Law Institute
Adjunct Professor of Law E. Donald Elliott ’74 and Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor Emeritus of Law Carol M. Rose were elected to The American Law Institute (ALI) on October 18, 2018. The new class includes 31 members who bring a wide range of perspectives and areas of expertise to ALI’s work of clarifying the law through restatements, principles, and model penal codes.
Monday, October 15, 2018
Fixing a broken process for nominating US Supreme Court justices—A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The Conversation
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
EPA In The Trump Era: The Superfund Enforcement Initiative—A Commentary by Donald Elliott ’74
Law360.com
E. Donald Elliott ’74 is Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Elliott to Give Talk on Emerging Trends in Legal Scholarship
E. Donald Elliott, Professor (Adjunct) of Law, will lead a discussion on two emerging trends in legal scholarship, “Alternative Histories of Law” and “Domestic Comparative Law,” on March 8 at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C.
Monday, February 6, 2017
For Moderate Democrats, Judge Gorsuch Is as Good as It Gets—A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
Wall Street Journal
E. Donald Elliott is Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
President Trump Establishes Regulatory Budgets by Executive Order—A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott
Inside Energy and Environment
E. Donald Elliott is Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Monday, November 21, 2016
Drain the swamp? Why not zero in on unelected senior federal bureaucrats?—A Commentary by E. Donald Elliott ’74
The American Spectator
E. Donald Elliott is Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Professor Elliott’s Writing Cited As Top Study
A book examining the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership that Professor E. Donald Elliott co-authored was ranked as the Best Policy Study Report Produced by a Think Tank in 2015 by the University of Pennsylvania’s annual Global Go To Think Tank Index.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Professor Donald Elliott Co-authors Chapter in Book on TTP
E. Donald Elliott, Professor (Adjunct) of Law, co-authored a chapter in Rule-Makers or Rule-Takers?: Exploring the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, edited by Daniel S. Hamilton and Jacques Pelkmans.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
2014 Supreme Court Review and Preview
Environmental Law Reporter
Professor (Adjunct) of Law E. Donald Elliott ’74 was part of a panel discussion.
Monday, June 13, 2011
E. Donald Elliott Elected to the American College of Environmental Lawyers
E. Donald Elliott, Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School, has been elected to the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL).
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Adjunct Professor E. Donald Elliott ’74 Appointed Senior Fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States
E. Donald Elliott ’74, Professor (Adjunct) of Law at Yale Law School, has been appointed a Senior Fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States.