Director
Professor Stepan Wood
Canada Research Chair in Law, Society and Sustainability

Professor Wood obtained his LLB from Osgoode Hall, after which he served as a law clerk to the late Justice John Sopinka of the Supreme Court of Canada and practised law with White & Case in New York. He holds an SJD from Harvard Law School.
Prior to joining the Allard School of Law in 2017, Professor Wood was Professor and York Research Chair in Environmental Law and Justice at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he was also Editor-in-Chief of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Coordinator of the York University JD/Master in Environmental Studies joint program, and founding co-director of Osgoode’s Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinical Program. Professor Wood is founding co-chair of the Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot.
FORMER DIRECTORS
Karin Mickelson

Karin Mickelson joined the Faculty as Assistant Professor in 1991 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1998. She has taught in the areas of international law, international environmental law, real property, environmental law and legal theory, and has supervised and co-supervised graduate students in a wide range of areas including international environmental law, international legal theory and international human rights. She has also served as the faculty advisor to UBC teams participating in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.
Professor Mickelson research activities have focused on the South-North dimension of international law; for example, she has explored the possibility of identifying a distinctive Third World approach to international law in "Rhetoric and Rage: Third World Voices in International Legal Discourse" (1998) 16 Wisconsin International Law Journal 353-419, and has analyzed the failure of international environmental law to respond to the concerns of the South in "South, North, International Environmental Law, and International Environmental Lawyers" (2000) 11 Yearbook of International Environmental Law 52-81.
Her current research focuses on the impact of developing countries on the evolution of international environmental law. She is also a contributor to leading Canadian casebooks on international law and environmental law.
Benjamin Richardson
Professor Richardson joined the UBC Faculty of Law in January 2011, and held the Senior (tier 1) Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law & Sustainability. Previously, he was a Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University (2003-10) and earlier was a Senior Lecturer at the law faculties of the University of Manchester and University of Auckland. Prior to working in academia, Professor Richardson was a policy advisor to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in Australia, and a legal consultant to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in Nepal and Kenya. He completed his undergraduate studies in law and political science with honours at Macquarie University and his PhD at the Australian National University.
Professor Richardson's principal research area is socially responsible investment and its regulation, as a means of promoting environmentally sustainable development. His scholarship also includes Aboriginal peoples and the environment, and climate change law. His recent publications include the books Climate Law and Developing Countries (Edward Elgar, 2009), Indigenous Peoples and the Law (Hart Publishing, 2009), Socially Responsible Investment Law (Oxford University Press, 2008), and Environmental Law for Sustainability (Hart Publishing, 2006).
COORDINATOR
Rebecca Smith
Rebecca is a second-year law student. Prior to attending Allard, she obtained an Honours Bachelor of Arts & Science and Environment & Society, with a minor in Indigenous Studies from McMaster University.
Rebecca is interested in environmental and Indigenous law, particularly how legal frameworks can advance environmental justice and foster reconciliation.
PAST COORDINATORS
Isabella Schopper (2024-2025)

Isabella is a JD Candidate (2026) at the Allard School of Law. Prior to attending Allard, she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Victoria.
Isabella is deeply committed to promoting the rights and welfare of animals. She aims to channel this passion for advocacy through her roles at the Centre, striving for both environmental and animal justice.
Kylie Schatz (2023-2024)

Kylie is a JD Candidate (2025) at the Allard School of Law. Prior to attending Allard, she obtained a degree in International Relations from UBC.
Kylie is interested in the role of law in working towards environmental justice and reconciliation.
- Avery Pasternak (2022-2023)
- Ciara Dixon (2021-2022)
- Jianna Faner (Summer 2021)
- Veronica Philal (2020-2021)
- Sophie Harrison (Summer 2020)