Note how many report the outcomes of lawsuits. Stories mention who sued whom, seldom the plaintiffs' lawyers.
Lawsuits are often the best defense of the environment.
A state highway department announced plans for a highway that would cut a swath through wetlands, in apparent violation of state and federal laws. Local environmentalists protested without result. In 1971 the Sierra Club established the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. It grew and became the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, a public interest law firm. Without charge it represents hundreds of clients, using the courts to safeguard public lands, national forests, parks, and wilderness areas, to reduce air and water pollution, prevent toxic contamination, preserve endangered species and wildlife habitat, and achieve environmental justice.