Tracy Hester, a longtime partner at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP and head of the firm's Houston environmental group, has joined the University of Houston Law Center, where he will direct the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources (EENR) Center. He will continue as senior counsel with Bracewell & Giuliani's environmental team.
"I'm excited about this new opportunity to help educate some of our brightest future environmental lawyers and to play a new role in the debates over policy at the intersection of our energy needs, environmental concerns and our country's natural resources," Hester said. "Proper understanding of these issues is a big step toward smart policy decisions, and I'm excited about increasing the role that the EENR Center will play in this process."
UH Law Center Dean Raymond T. Nimmer noted that Hester has earned a national reputation for his innovative application of environmental laws to emerging technologies such as wind and other renewable power sources.
"Tracy Hester is a key part of building the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Center as a highly respected and influential academic think-tank and policy center that can make far-reaching impacts on energy law and policy and on the practice of law in this sector," Nimmer said.
According to editors who have cited Hester as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" and a "Texas Super Lawyer", he has "great problem -solving skills," can "think through really difficult problems and is highly creative." Chambers USA cites him among the top environmental lawyers in Texas and commends him as a "bright, solution-oriented attorney."
Hester has served on the adjunct faculty at the UH Law Center since 1995, teaching environmental and related courses. He earned his bachelor's degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1986.
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About the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Center
The EENR Center links energy issues with impacts on the environment and natural resources. It provides a forum for education and discussion of the most important energy-related issues of the day, including climate change, air pollution, clean coal and renewable energy. EENR Center sponsors the Environmental & Energy Law & Policy Journal, the first law review devoted to the intersection of environmental and energy law. Additionally, EENR Center is a component of the new Strategic Energy Alliance at the University of Houston. For more information about EENR at UH Law Center, please visit www.law.uh.edu/eenrcenter
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas' premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 37,000 students.