Gabriella Mickel

Gabriella Mickel

3.20.2023

By Lynn Kodjoe

Name: Gabriella Mickel
Hometown: Toledo, Ohio
Law School: : Haub Law at Pace University (I am a joint degree student though (JD/MEM), so I am also currently getting my Master of Environmental Management at the Yale School of the Environment)
Graduation Year: 2023

What inspired you to go to law school?

A giant toxic algal bloom floated into my hometown’s water treatment plant. We could not drink the water or even shower in it. The National Guard had to respond with trucks of bottled water, as the grocery stores sold out almost instantly. The algal blooms continue to happen every year, although they do not float directly into the water treatment plant annually, and they will only worsen with climate change.

After people voted rights of nature into Toledo’s charter and the Ohio Supreme Court struck it down, the state government did nothing to regulate the CAFOs that cause these blooms or to otherwise address the issue. After that, I got really, really angry. I finished my math degree, got another degree in history to study the issue’s historical roots. Through this research, I realized that there were solutions, the government just refused to act, so I went to law school to study environmental law at Pace!

What area of the law interests you and why?

Environmental law, land use law, and sustainable finance for the reason above!

What extracurriculars are you involved in and how have they impacted your experience?

I am the Editor-In-Chief of the Pace Environmental Law Review, Co-Chair of ABA SEER’s Environmental Law Society Network, Co-Editor of the NYSBA’s Environmental Lawyer’s Law Student Corner, and a researcher at the Land Use Law Center. Formerly, I was the President of the Environmental Law Society at Haub Law and a teaching fellow for a course on sustainable finance policy and regulation at Yale.

These extracurriculars have allowed me to explore my particular interests outside of courses and to build my network, so I always have someone to call when I want to learn something new. They have also been great outlets to give back to these communities via mentorship, event planning, and resource building. For example, through these extracurriculars, I’ve gotten the opportunity to publish law review articles and a book chapter, and I’ve also been able to plan a symposium on environmental constitutionalism and connect environmental students across the country.

What do you hope to achieve after you graduate?

After graduation, I hope to ~eventually~ become a law professor! (Actively taking advice – if anyone has any!)

What advice would you give to your fellow law students?

Join NYSBA!! AND THEN GO TO EVENTS!

Why should other law students join NYSBA?

Networking and learning! NYSBA can introduce you to other students and practicing attorneys in areas that are interesting to you.