Mindy Goldstein

Clinical Professor of Law

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Areas of Expertise

Environmental Law

Courses

Administrative Law, Contract Law, Environmental Advocacy, Environmental Law, Turner Environmental Law Clinic

Biography

Clinical Professor of Law Mindy Goldstein is director of the Turner Environmental Law Clinic and director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program at Emory University School of Law. She has represented clients in complex environmental litigation before judicial and administrative tribunals; in legislative and policy matters at the local, state, and federal levels; and in land use, food systems, and other environmental transactions. Her work focuses on matters related to sustainable energy and climate change, conservation, regenerative agriculture and local food systems, protection of natural resources, environmental justice, and access to information. Her representations have been covered extensively by the media, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, E&E News, The Economist, The Hill, Law 360, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, National Public Radio, New York Times, Politico, and Washington Post.

In addition to her legal work, Professor Goldstein has given lectures and presentations on a wide variety of environmental issues around the globe. She is a Senior Faculty Fellow with Emory University’s Center for Ethics, a Faculty Fellow with Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives, and a member of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership.

Professor Goldstein graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina, earning a BS in biology with a minor in chemistry. She received her JD from the University of Maryland, where she graduated magna cum laude with a concentration in environmental law. After law school, she was an associate in the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend.

Professor Goldstein teaches classes in Administrative Law, Contracts, Environmental Advocacy, Environmental Law, Land Use, Legislative Advocacy, and the Turner Environmental Law Clinic.

Select Publications

Presentations

Important Environmental Decisions: Supreme Court Update, panel discussion at the DRI Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Conference (forthcoming March 2022).

Working Farms Fund - Scaling a Sustainable Local Food System in Metro Regions across the U.S., panel discussion at the National Farm Viability Conference (October 2021).

Congress Is Finally Tackling Climate Change – Will It Work?, presentation at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Emory (September 2021).

Food Waste to Renewable Biogas – Anaerobic Digestors that Tackle Climate Change Equitably, presentation at the Partnership for Southern Equity’s Just Growth Circle (August 2021).

How Federal Law Can Address Climate Change, presentation at the Emory Emeritus Faculty Colloquia (May 2021).

Zoning for Compost, presentation to the Georgia Recycling Coalition (April 2021).

Climate Change – It’s Real. So What Can US Environmental Law Do About It?, presentation at the Senior University of Greater Atlanta (March 2021).

Environmental Racism in the Deep South, panel discussion at Emory Law School (February 2021).

The Role of Universities in Building a Resilient Food System, presentation to College of Charleston Center for Sustainable Development (July 2020).

US Environmental Law – What’s Working, What’s Broken, and What’s Going On?, presentation at the Center for American Law Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland (February 2020).

Climate Change: Policies to Address At-Risk Communities, panel discussion at Georgia State University’s Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics (November 2019).

Applying NEPA to Urban Development, presentation at the Natural Resource Defense Council and Partnership Project’s Workshop on How to Use NEPA to Achieve the Results You Want (October 2019).

Georgia’s Energy Portfolio, panel discussion at the Institute of Georgia’s Environmental Leaders (September 2019).

Creating Engaging Online Discussion, panel discussion at the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence Summer Teaching Intensive (August 2019).

Environmental Law Clinics: The Secret Weapon for Saving Our Environment, panel moderator at the Turner Environmental Law Clinic’s 20^th Anniversary Conference: The Future of Environmental Law (January 2019).

Georgia’s Energy Portfolio, panel discussion at the Institute of Georgia’s Environmental Leaders (November 2018).

Transactional Representations for Environmental Law Clinics, panel discussion at the 2^nd Annual Environmental Law Clinic Directors Conference (November 2018).

Shining a Light on Smart Solar Energy Zoning, panel organizer at the Georgia Environmental Conference (August 2018).

The Corporation and the Consumer: Responsible & Irresponsible Corporate Behavior, panel moderator at the 2018 ECGAR Symposium: The Corporation and the Individual (March 2018).

Like a Good Neighbor – Your Composting Facility Is There: Establishing Good Community Relations, panel discussion at the 2018 U.S. Composting Council Conference and Trade Show (January 2018).

Water Resource Management, panel discussion at the CREATE Conference (November 2017).

Resilient Cities – Atlanta’s Path to Resiliency, presentation at the CREW Program on How Cities Will Change the World (October 2017).

Cities and Climate Change, panel discussion at the World Bank Law, Climate Change, and Development Conference (December 2016).

Georgia’s Energy Portfolio, panel discussion at the Institute of Georgia’s Environmental Leaders (November 2016).

The Importance of Environmental Careers, keynote speaker at Emory’s 9^th Annual Green Networking Night (October 2016).

Composting Regulation in Atlanta, presentation at the Mayor’s Community Composting Program (August 2016).

Consent-Based Siting, panel discussion at U.S. Department of Energy Public Meeting on Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal Sites (April 2016).

Food, Faith, and Farming: A LAMP Symposium on Growing Community, panel moderator at the Georgia Tech Leadership and Multifaith Program (March 2016).

Environmental Justice, presentation at the Global Development and Social Justice Workshop, Humphrey Fellowship Program (March 2015).

Key Environmental Issues in U.S. EPA Region 4 – Enforcement, panel discussion at the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Spring Conference (March 2015).

Water Impacts of Nuclear Power, panel discussion at the University of Florida College of Law, 21^st Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference (February 2015).

America’s Nuclear Future: Taking Action to Address Nuclear Waste, panel discussion at the Bipartisan Policy Center Conference on Nuclear Waste (September 2014).

The Practice of Environmental Law, panel discussion at the ABA Section of the Environment, Energy, and Resources Conference at Emory Law School (March 2014).

Agricultural Policy – Legal Implications, panel discussion at the University of Georgia School of Law, 26^th Annual Red Clay Conference (February 2014).

Waste Confidence – What Is It and Why Does It Matter?, panel discussion at the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Annual Workshop (July 2012).

Urban Agriculture Practices across the Country, teleconference presentation for the Urban Agriculture Committee of the Community Food Security Coalition (April 2012).

Farm to Truck & Table, panel discussion at the Southface Energy Institute’s Annual Greenprints Conference (March 2012).

Zoning for Zucchini: Land Use Advocacy to Support Urban Agriculture, panel discussion at the 15^th Annual Georgia Organics Plow Forward Conference (February 2012).

Understanding and Using the Freedom of Information Act, continuing legal education presentation at the Georgia Public Interest Environmental Law Coalition Meeting (February 2012).

The Role of Environmental Law Clinics in the United States, presentation before the Committee on US-China Relations at Emory Law School (June 2011).

Right Plant? Right Place? The Role of Nuclear Power in Florida’s Energy Future, panel discussion at the University of Florida College of Law, 17^th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference (February 2011).

Publications

Reiser and Goldstein, Opinion: Getting Smart on Solar is a Plus for Communities, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (July 2018).

Rudd, Goldstein, et al., Climate Research Priorities for Policy-Makers, Practitioners, and Scientists in Georgia, USA, Environmental Management (May 2018).

Goldstein and Sutz, Opinion: Feds Should Make Ga. Power Put More Skin in Game on Vogtle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 2018).

Goldstein and Kitron, ‘Tire’-d of Zika? Stopping Mosquitos in Their Tracks, RiverCHAT (Summer 2016).

Goldstein, The Political Fate of the Clean Power Plan, Emory Law News (July 2016).

Goldstein, Michigan v. EPA: Does It Mean More Than Mercury?, Emory Law News (July 2015).

Goldstein, Emory Law Students Comment Successfully for Client on FDA’s Draft Produce Rule re: Need to Better Protect Farmers, the Environment, and Public Health, ABA Administrative Law Journal (Spring 2014).

Curran and Goldstein, Confirm Allison Macfarlane to the NRC, The Hill (May 2012).

Goldstein et al., Urban Agriculture: A Sixteen City Survey of Urban Agriculture Practices Across the Country, Georgia Organics (August 2011).

Contributor to the following reports, published by Friends of the Earth:

Friends of the Earth: Toxic Secret (2019);
Buyers Bee-Ware: Municipal Purchasers’ Guide to Protecting Pollinators (2017); and
Gardeners Bee-Ware: Bee-Toxic Pesticides Found in “Bee-Friendly” Plants Sold in Garden Centers across the US (2016).

Contributor to Lee, et al., Mass-Based Clean Power Plan Compliance: State Law Impacts on Allowance Trading Programs in Eight Southeastern States, Natural Resources Defense Council (2016) (presented at the 22^nd annual Conference of the Parties (COP22) held under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Marrakech, Morocco).

Contributor to Kessler and Chin, Food Equity, Social Justice and the Role of Law Schools: A Call to Action, Resnick Program for Food Law & Policy (2015).

Media Coverage

My work and representations have appeared in hundreds of news stories through print media, broadcast news, and the Internet, including coverage in: New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio, The Economist, The Hill, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press (AP) News, Law 360, Lexis Nexis News Room, American Bar Association News, and E&E News (Energywire, Climatewire, and Greenwire).