Claudia Polsky is a clinical professor of law and the founding Director of the Environmental Law Clinic.
Before launching the Clinic, she spent eighteen years as a public sector and public interest environmental litigator: fourteen as a Deputy Attorney General in the Environment Section of the California Department of Justice, and four at Earthjustice and Public Citizen Litigation Group. She has litigated cases in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court; testified before Congress and the California legislature; and drafted and successfully defended environmental regulations.
Polsky also served as Deputy Director for Pollution Prevention and Green Technology at California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control. There, she managed a program that addressed an area of ongoing professional focus: reducing exposure to toxic chemicals throughout the supply chain, from workers to consumers to communities impacted by toxic waste. The Environmental Law Clinic handles many toxics-reduction matters, ranging from pesticide exposure cases to the regulation of hazardous ingredients in consumer products. It also addresses other issues of environmental health and environmental justice, including climate justice and access to safe drinking water for all.
Polsky’s past environmental advocacy work has encompassed negotiating conservation easements for The Nature Conservancy; protecting threatened Pacific salmon populations through dam removal; obtaining an injunction to save 50 million national forest acres from logging and roadbuilding; and serving as a volunteer park ranger in Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks.
Education
B.A., Harvard University (1987)
M. Appl. Sci., Lincoln University, New Zealand (1989)
J.D., Berkeley Law (1996)
Claudia Polsky is not teaching any Law courses in Spring 2025.
Courses During Other Semesters
| Semester | Course Num | Course Title |  Teaching Evaluations | Fall 2025 | 291A sec. 001 | Environmental Law Clinic Seminar | 294.24 sec. 001 | Environmental Health Law Through Film | 295.5E sec. 001 | Environmental Law Clinic | 295.5F sec. 001 | Advanced Environmental Law Clinic | Spring 2024 | 291A sec. 001 | Environmental Law Clinic Seminar | View Teaching Evaluation | 295.5E sec. 001 | Environmental Law Clinic | View Teaching Evaluation | 295.5F sec. 001 | Advanced Environmental Law Clinic | View Teaching Evaluation |
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California limits on ‘forever chemicals’ PFAS in products are effective, study says
Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law, weighs in on findings of a study she co-authored on California limits on ‘forever chemicals’ saying “It suggests a tangible public health payoff from the state’s more stringent environmental regulations.”
A California law has long required warnings for toxic chemicals. Researchers finally know if they work.
“It becomes incredibly important to evaluate whether the law is actually doing what it’s supposed to be doing,” says Claudia Polsky, study co-author and director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law, “which is reducing exposure to chemicals.”
Opinion: Orange, Black and Red Dye No.3: Halloween lessons for the FDA
“Halloween 2024 is a reminder that the Food and Drug Administration is long overdue for taking an obvious action to make the holiday less scary: banning artificial food coloring,” writes Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of California Berkeley School of Law.
Stricter toxic chemical rules reduce Californians’ exposures
A new study, co-authored by Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of California Berkeley School of Law, suggests California’s stricter regulations are reducing levels of BPA, PFAS and other harmful toxics in people.
Unique Auditor-Mentee Program Enriches Environmental Law Clinic and UC Berkeley Undergrads
Each year the Berkeley Law clinic welcomes up to three UC Berkeley undergrads, who immerse themselves in weekly classes and environmental projects with law students.
UN declares PFAS pollution in North Carolina a human rights violation
“The great thing about framing this accurately as a violation of human rights,” said Claudia Polsky, director of Berkeley Law’s Environmental Law Clinic, “is that framing is capacious enough to include stories about PFAS health harms, ecological harms, corporate responsibility, about lack of regulatory vigor, about inadequate legal remedies for people who are coming out injured.”
UN Probes DuPont, Chemours Over Human Rights Harms From PFAS
Claudia Polsky, director of Berkley’s Environmental Law Clinic, said it’s rare for the Human Rights Council to send allegation letters to a transnational corporation, rather than solely to national government. “We hope the UN’s action will induce shareholders to bring DuPont in line with international human rights law.”
North Carolina residents urge UN to investigate toxic PFAS pollution
If the UN human rights commission chooses to investigate, a special rapporteur would fact-check the allegations in the communication, then issue “pointed” allegation letters to regulators, Chemours and other culpable parties detailing problems and posing questions, said Claudia Polsky, director of UC Berkley Law Clinic.
Chemours Accused of Human Rights Violation at Chemical Plant
“The Special Rapporteur can’t compel any action,” said Claudia Polsky, director of UC Berkeley’s Environmental Law Clinic. “But if he decides to investigate the allegations and recommends the companies or agencies take any of the requested actions, the public attention often spurs alleged offenders to respond publicly.”
Timely Trio: Unique Environmental Law Topics Highlight Brand New Fall Semester Courses
The new offerings include Environmental Justice and Health Equity, Environmental Justice and Advocacy in California, and Environmental Health Law Through Film.
Ecology Law Quarterly Celebrates 50 Years of Publication — and a Powerhouse Community
The student-run journal sits at the pinnacle of the academic landscape, publishing groundbreaking environmental law scholarship four times a year.
PFAS in waste spurs alarm over ‘poisoning,’ regulatory gaps
Professor Claudia Polsky, Director of the Environmental Law Clinic, comments on the clinic’s work to address toxic PFAS chemicals in America’s drinking water, describing them as “equal opportunity poisons.”
Judge sends EPA to drawing board for new rules on oil spill cleanup products
Professor Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic, discusses her clients’ successful federal suit to compel the EPA to update an oil spill contingency plan they said was woefully out of date
EPA Updates Rules To Monitor Oil Spill Cleanup Chemicals
Professor Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic, discusses the EPA’s updated monitoring requirements for dispersants used in response to oil spills
PACE: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Professor Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic, appears in a segment about PACE funding to discuss the ELC report, The Dark Side of the Sun: How PACE Financing Has Under-Delivered Green Benefits and Harmed Low-Income Homeowners
Groups Say It’s Time For EPA To Update Oil Spill Response
Professor Claudia Polsky and the Environmental Law Clinic are representing several groups filing suit to force the EPA to upgrade its quarter-century-old plan for responding to oil spills that allows harmful oil dispersants to be used copiously
Deceptive Energy-Saving Remodel Plans Hit Homeowners With Financing Gotchas
Professor Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic, discusses the new ELC report, The Dark Side of the Sun: How PACE Financing Has Under-Delivered Green Benefits and Harmed Low-Income Homeowners
A Pro-Israel Lawyer is Weaponizing Public Records Law Against Palestinian Activists
Professor Claudia Polsky says a lawsuit by a right-wing activist against UCLA could cause a chill on students’ First Amendment rights
Crisis Management: Major Gift Advances Clinic’s Environmental Health and Justice Work
A $250,000 gift from Orrick and the family of its chair Mitch Zuklie ’96 unlocks a $1 million anonymous gift to help expand the Environmental Law Clinic’s impact and reach.
Rolling Back and Pushing Forward: Berkeley Law Experts Weigh in on Environmental Policy Under Biden
Forecasting what to expect on climate and environmental policy during the first 100 days of the Biden administration and beyond.