The Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic (PELC) was established in 1987 by the Hudson Riverkeepers environmental organization and the Pace University Law School in White Plains, New York. Since the law school’s founding in 1976, it has pioneered ways to enforce laws and to devise lawsuits on the emerging legal frontier of environmental and ecological issues. The Clinic, which also serves as an office for Hudson Riverkeepers, is an integral part of this undertaking.

Pace University Law School has eleven full-time faculty members who teach aspects of environmental law, as well as a related program to teach environmental science. PELC deals with a wide range of issues, from animal rights and water pollution to global climate change. Its Co-Director is Karl S. Coplan. Its Vice Chairman is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who founded the Waterkeeper Alliance, an umbrella organization of approximately 120 environmental activist groups involved in water-related issues.