Environmental Law Clinic

Environmental Law Clinic

The Spokane River flows along the south side of the Gonzaga campus.

The Environmental Law Clinic was founded in 2009 by Professor Mike Chappell (now deceased), who after spending years in California litigating environmental cases to stop illegal water polluters, decided to relocate his family to Spokane.

Mike saw the need to provide students at Gonzaga with “real world” experience working on environmental issues in the community.

The Clinic provides representation to not-for-profit environmental programs in the Inland Northwest. This includes the work to protect and restore the river in Gonzaga’s backyard – the Spokane River.

Like most urban waterways, the Spokane once served as a lifeblood for indigenous people. Over the years, however, it has been abused in countless ways.

One of the Clinic’s clients includes the Spokane Riverkeeper.

In 2008, Spokane's Center for Justice applied for and received Riverkeeper status. Clinic Director Rick Eichstaedt became the official Spokane Riverkeeper and the Clinic became its legal representative - and the representative of other Waterkeeper Alliance affiliates and organizations in the area, including the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper and the Kootenai Environmental Alliance.  After Mike’s unfortunate death, Rick agreed to step in and serve as the Clinic’s director.

For Clinic students, the outdoors is now more than a scenic setting; it's also a legal laboratory, an opportunity to apply class work to real-world legal challenges.

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