With an early passion for the environment, Colin Myers ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½21 attended the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½SUNY ESFΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½) and enrolled in a major that would set him on a path to becoming a New York State Environmental Conservation Officer. It was during his junior year, when he began taking business law and environmental law and policy classes that Colin started thinking about law school. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½I really enjoyed these classes which led to my pivot from wanting to be an environmental cop to being an environmental lawyer,ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ said Colin.
Once he had set his mind on pursuing a law degree focused on environmental law, Haub Law was an easy choice for him. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½I chose Haub Law because of its top-notch environmental law program. I was excited about learning environmental law from an extremely knowledgeable faculty at the top of the field. In doing my research, I also learned the Law School offered endless opportunities to participate in excellent extracurriculars and internships. Taking all of this with the SchoolΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½s proximity to New York City and given that I am also from Rockland County, which allowed me the ability to commute from home, Haub Law was my top choice.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ Once Colin started at Haub Law, as an undergraduate science major, the transition to legal writing proved challenging. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½I had gotten very used to scientific writing which uses the passive voice. Once I changed that muscle memory, I was able to adjust by the end of my 1L year and am now always cognizant of the use of passive voice, a style strongly discouraged in legal writing.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½
During his time at Haub Law, Colin also took advantage of the dual degree option that Pace offers to obtain both an MBA and a JD on an integrated and accelerated schedule. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½For the dual degree program, I spent my first two years at Haub Law, then a year at Lubin (including the summer), and for my last year, I took both law and business classes in the fall, and just law classes in the spring. Switching to business school was a big change ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ no more Socratic method or weekly homework, and more group projects ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ but it taught me business skills that I thought I was lacking from an education in science and law and that I believed were needed for my ultimate goal: a career in sustainability. The dual degree allowed me to take the dynamic career path IΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ve gone down ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ first going into management consulting before pivoting to a law firm. Without the dual degree, I likely would not have gone into management consultingΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½a field that led me to where I am now.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½
It was during ColinΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½s 2L year, while taking both environmental law and corporate law classes, that he began to understand the relationship between business law and strategy, environmental law, and corporate finance. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½This led me to corporate sustainability, an emerging area I saw as an opportunity to address environmental issues in a proactive way rather than in a reactive way. In corporate sustainability, you get to work on putting systems in place to reduce the chance of certain risks occurring and mitigating those risks that do occur, a pursuit I find enjoyable. I also had the fortunate experience of finding a mentor in Professor Jason Czarnezki who helped me navigate the path towards my end goal.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½
Now, a corporate associate with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Colin supports the sustainability office and environmental, social, and governance (ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ESGΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½) teams of a leading alternative asset manager by performing ESG due diligence for transactions by managed funds, responding to ESG due diligence questionnaires from current and prospective fund investors, and reviewing ESG marketing materials. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½The work is challenging, interesting, and evolving all the time. I get to help my clients make the best sustainable business decisions available. To be able to help my clients make a positive impact is important to me.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½
Colin also is an advisory board member of the Sustainable Business Law Hub at Haub Law, which was launched in 2021. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½I wanted to get involved in the Sustainable Business Law Hub because it was influenced by the curriculum I pursued and career path I went down and is an initiative I wish existed while I was a student. The Sustainable Business Law Hub aims to create the next generation of sustainable business lawyers, and business savvy lawyers are an essential stakeholder in helping to achieve sustainable, long-term value creation. ItΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½s exciting and rewarding to have a part in the initiativeΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½s development and growth.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½
As part of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½s 29th Annual Law Leadership Awards Dinner, held this past spring, Colin was recognized with a ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Shining Star Award.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ The Shining Star Award recognizes up-and-coming leaders in the Haub Law alumni community who have made significant contributions to the profession, their organizations, and the community early in their careers. Through his impactful career and his ongoing support of the Haub Law community, Colin has made significant contributions since graduating from Haub Law in 2021.
When Colin is not working or supporting Haub Law, he enjoys focusing on health and fitness. ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½I spend a lot of time exercising, going on walks with my fiancΓ© and dog, and meal prepping. I try to live my life as sustainably as possible and focusing on health and fitness plays a big role in that.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½
On Monday, February 10, 2025, the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½ welcomed Professor Michael C. Dorf, Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School as the speaker for the 2025 Dyson Distinguished Lecture. His lecture was entitled: ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Play in the Joints of the Religion Clauses and Law More Broadly.ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Professor Bennett Gershman speaks with CBS News about the legal battle over NYCΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½s congestion pricing program, noting that a judge has already upheld the plan and that President Trump does not have the authority to overturn it.
Bennett Gershman, professor of law at ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½, told Newsweek: "Trump's Executive Order seeking to outlaw so called Birthright Citizenship is itself unlawful and will be easily struck down. "Mr. Trump may not like the constitutional rule. But however much he would like to, he does not have the power to flout the Constitution. He would need to get and the states to amend the constitution to implement his objective."