Faculty Profiles

Back to Previous Page

Home/Faculty/Faculty Directory/Faculty Profiles

Back to Previous Page

Biography
B.A., Ursinus College
M.A., University of Connecticut
J.D., University of Connecticut
L.L.M., Lewis and Clark Law School

Professor Hirokawa joined the faculty at Albany Law School in 2009. He teaches courses involving environmental and natural resources law, land use planning, property law, and jurisprudence. Professor Hirokawa's scholarship has explored convergences in ecology, ethics, economics, and law, with particular attention given to local environmental law, ecosystem services policy, watershed management, and environmental impact analysis. He has authored dozens of professional and scholarly articles in these areas and has co-edited (with Patricia Salkin) Greening Local Government (forthcoming 2012, ABA). Prior to joining the faculty at Albany Law, Professor Hirokawa was an Associate Professor at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Oregon School of Law. Professor Hirokawa practiced land use and environmental law in Oregon and Washington and was heavily involved with community groups and nonprofit organizations. Professor Hirokawa studied philosophy and law at the University of Connecticut, where he earned his JD and MA degrees. He earned his LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School.
Presentations
American Bar Association Webinar, Dec. 19, 2012
Greening Local Government
Moderating a national webinar on the book “Greening Local Government,” co-edited by Prof. Hirokawa

Pace Law School, March 28, 2012
Faculty Exchange Colloquium
“Information and Ecosystem Services”

University of Oregon School of Law, March 3, 2012
Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, Panel on Rhetoric, Narrative, and Environmental Advocacy
“Constructions of Nature: Property and Ecosystem Services”

Albany Law School, February 28, 2012
Albany Scholarship Development Workshop
“Idea and Ideology in Environmental Law”

Albany Law School, February 4, 2012
2nd Annual Northeast Scholarship and Teaching Development Workshop
"Rhetoric and Resiliancy in Law's Idea of Nature"

Florida Coastal School of Law, November 3, 2011
13th Annual Northeast Florida Environmental Summit: Economics, Ethics, & the Environment
"Economics and Ecology for Local Governments"

Albany Law School, October 12, 2011
Faculty Teaching Colloquium, New Teaching Ideas and Resources
"Engaged Learning between Community and Classroom"

Lewis & Clark School of Law, October 7, 2011
Fall Symposium 2011: 21st Century Water Law
"Driving Local Governments to Ecosystem Governance"

Gonzaga University Law School, October 6, 2011
Faculty Colloquium
"Local Governments and Ecosystem Governance"

Pace Law School, May 5, 2011
Practically Grounded: Best Practices for Skill Building in Teaching Land Use, Environmental, and Sustainable Development Law
"Teaching from the Dirt"

American Association of Law Schools, January 7, 2011
Annual Meeting, Natural Resources Law Section, "New Voices on Cutting Edge Issues in Natural Resources and Environmental Law," Selected Paper.
"Three Stories about Nature: Property, the Environment, and Ecosystem Services"

Albany Law School, October 14, 2010
Albany Law Review Symposium, Big Oil, Big Consequences, and the Big Unknown: Exploring the Legal, Regulatory, and Environmental Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill
Moderator, "Disaster Response: Assessing the Adequacy of Environmental Laws, Regulations, and Litigation"

Albany Law School, September 28, 2010
Albany Scholarship Development Workshop
"Sustainability and Urban Forests: An Ecosystem Services Perspective"

American Association of Law Schools, June 12, 2010
Workshop on Property Law
"Rethinking Resources: Defining New Categories of Property to Meet the Climate Challenge"

State and Local Government Law Section, ABA, April 30, 2010
Spring Meeting - Land Use Hot Topics
"Regulating the Vacancy of Property"

Albany Law School, February 10, 2010
Getting Published! A Hot Lunch Faculty Workshop
"Online, Short-Form Publishing in Law-Review Hosted Supplements"

Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS), August 5, 2009
62^nd Annual Meeting
"Teaching Land Use Law at the Crossroads: Incorporating Green Building and Sustainability into the Curriculum"

The Center for American and International Law, December 12, 2008
Planning, Zoning and Property Rights
"Implementing the New Environmental Discourse: Sustainable Development Codes"

Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS), July 29, 2008
61st Annual Meeting
"Property Pieces in Compensation Statutes: Law's Eulogy for Oregon's Measure 37"

University of Texas School of Law, March 6, 2008
Land Use Conference
"Navigating the Future Challenges to Green Building"

Texas Wesleyan School of Law, February 8, 2008
Texas Wesleyan Junior Faculty Workshop
"Moving into the Second Generation of Green Building Laws"

Texas Wesleyan School of Law, November 2, 2007
Texas Wesleyan Junior Faculty Workshop
"Property Pieces in Compensation Statutes"

Lewis & Clark College, November, 2006
"Local Environmental Law as Competition Between Science and Voice"

Oregon State Bar Ass'n, August, 2006
Real Estate and Land Use Section Annual Conference

"Kelo Update"University of Oregon, October, 2005
Measure 37 Roundtable
"The Practical Effects of the Macpherson Decision"

Lorman Education Services CLE, October, 2004
Zoning and Land Use in Oregon and Washington
"Washington's LUPA/Hearings Boards Process" and "Recent Land Use Case Law/Legislation"

Oregon State Bar Ass'n, August 2003
Real Estate and Land Use Section Annual Conference
"A Tale of Two Systems: An Attorney's Perspective" (Washington and Oregon land use)

Clark County Bar Association CLE, May, 2003
Land Use and Environmental Law Conference, Organizer/Lecturer
"Opposing a Land Use Application"

University of Washington, April, 2003
University of Washington Environmental Law Lecture Series
"The Grass is Always Greener (and the Water Bluer) on the Other Side of the Columbia: A Comparison of Oregon and Washington Water Laws," Joint lecture with Professor Janet Neuman, Lewis & Clark Law School

University of Oregon, March, 2003
Public Interest Environmental Law Conference
"Social Construction of Nature and Environmental Protection"

Books

RETHINKING SUSTAINABILITY TO MEET THE CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGE, Jessica Owley and Keith H. Hirokawa, eds. (Environmental Law Institute, 2015)
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND CONTRASTING IDEAS OF NATURE: A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH, Keith H. Hirokawa, editor (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
GREENING LOCAL GOVERNMENT: LEGAL STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND FISCAL SAVINGS, Keith H. Hirokawa and Patricia Salkin, eds. American Bar Association, 2012)

Publications

Foundations of Insider Environmental Law, 49 Environmental Law 631 (2019) (with Jonathan Rosenbloom)Link to Publication
Environmental Law. Disrupted, 49 Environmental Law Reporter 10038 (2019) (with Inara Scott, et al.)Link to Publication
The Costs of Climate Disruption in the Tradeoffs of Community Resilience, 41 Western New England Law Review 455 (2019) (with David Dickinson)
“Gaming Rhetoric and the Complicated Story of Local Identity” in BEYOND ZERO-SUM ENVIRONMENTALISM (Environmental Law Institute 2019) (with Jonathan Rosenbloom) (Sarah Krakoff, Melissa Powers, and Jonathan Rosenbloom, eds.) Link to Publication
Environmental Law from the Inside: Local Perspective, Local Potential, 47 Environmental Law Reporter 11048 (2017)Link to publication
RETHINKING SUSTAINABILITY TO MEET THE CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGE, Jessica Owley and Keith H. Hirokawa, eds. (Environmental Law Institute, 2015)
Towards Engaged Scholarship, 33 Pace Law Review 821 (2013) (with John R. Nolon, Michelle Bryan Mudd, Michael Burger, Kim Diana Connolly, Nestor Davidson, Matthew Festa, Jill I. Gross, Lisa Heinzerling, Tim Iglesias, Patrick C. McGinley, Sean Nolon, Uma Outka, Jessica Owley, Kalyani Robbins, Jonathan Rosenbloom, and Christopher Serkin)
The Most Important Current Research Questions in Urban Ecosystem Services, 25 Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum 1 (2014) (with James Salzman, Craig Anthony Arnold, Robert Garcia, Kay Jowers, Jeffrey LeJava, Margaret Peloso, and Lydia Olander)
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND CONTRASTING IDEAS OF NATURE: A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH, Keith H. Hirokawa, editor (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
"Town, Gown and Place-Based Sustainability: Collaborating in the Shared Space" in HIGHER EDUCATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: EFFECTIVE TOWN AND GOWN LEGAL STRATEGIES, Cynthia Baker and Patricia Salkin, eds. (with Jonathan D. Rosenbloom) (American Bar Association, 2013)papers.cfm
"Land Use Planning in a Climate Change Context" in RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON CLIMATE ADAPTATION LAW, Jonathan Verschuuren, ed. (with Jonathan D. Rosenbloom) (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013)
"The Role of Green Building in Climate Change Adaptation" in RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON CLIMATE ADAPTATION LAW, Jonathan Verschuuren, ed. (with Aurelia Marina Pohrib) (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013)papers.cfm
Aligning Regulation with the Informational Need: Ecosystem Services and the Next Generation of Environmental Law, 46 Akron Law Review 963 (with Elizabeth J. Porter) (2013)
Contributions on Green Building and Ecosystem Services, in ACTING AS IF TOMORROW MATTERS: ACCELERATING THE TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABILITY, John C. Dernbach, ed. (2012, ELI)
Curtailing Ecosystem Exportation: Ecosystem Services as a Basis to Reconsider the Merits of Export-Driven Agriculture in Economies Highly Dependent on Agricultural Exports, 30 VIRGINIA ENVIRONMENTAL LAW JOURNAL 1 (2012) (with James Gathii)papers.cfm
Making Sense of a " Misunderstanding of the Planning Process": Examining the Relationship between Zoning and Rezoning Under the Change or Mistake Rule, 44 URBAN LAWYER 295 (2012)papers.cfm
From Euclid to the Development of Federal Environmental Law: The District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and the Regulation of Physical Space, in A HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO, Paul Finkelman and Roberta Alexander eds. (2012, Ohio University Press)From%20Euclid%20Chapter8.pdf
GREENING LOCAL GOVERNMENT: LEGAL STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND FISCAL SAVINGS, Keith H. Hirokawa and Patricia Salkin, eds. American Bar Association, 2012)
Urban Forests as Green Infrastructure, in GREENING LOCAL GOVERNMENT: LEGAL STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND FISCAL SAVINGS, Keith H. Hirokawa and Patricia Salkin, eds. (American Bar Association, 2012)papers.cfm
Sustainable Habitat Restoration: Fish, Farms, and Ecosystem Services, 23 FORDHAM ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REVIEW 1 (2012) (with Charles Gottlieb)papers.cfm
Driving Local Governments to Watershed Governance, 42 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW 157 (2012)papers.cfm
Sustainability and the Urban Forest: An Ecosystem Services Perspective, 51 Natural Resources Journal 233 (2012)papers.cfm
Teaching from the Dirt: Best Practices and Land Use Law Pedagogy, 2 PACE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REVIEW ONLINE COMPANION 68 (2011)papers.cfm
Sustaining Ecosystem Services through Local Environmental Law, 28 Pace Environmental Law Review 760 (Invited for Special Issue: Rediscovering Sustainable Development Law, 2011) (peer reviewed)papers.cfm
Three Stories about Nature: Property, the Environment, and Ecosystem Services 62 Mercer Law Review 541 (2011)papers.cfm
Property as Capture and Care, 74 Albany Law Review 175 (2011)papers.cfm
Disasters and Ecosystem Services Deprivation: From Cuyahoga to the Deepwater Horizon, 74 Albany Law Review 543 (2011)papers.cfm
Local Planning for Wind Power: Using Programmatic Environmental Impact Review to Facilitate Development, 33 Zoning and Planning Law Report 1 (Winter 2010) (with Andrew Wilson)papers.cfm
Chapter 35, Moratoria, in AMERICAN LAW OF ZONING, Patricia Salkin, ed. (2010)
Chapter 36, Local Environmental Law, in AMERICAN LAW OF ZONING, Patricia Salkin, ed. (2010)
Regulating Vacanct Property, 42 Urban Lawyer 627 (2010) (Co-authored with Ira Gonzalez)papers.cfm
Can Urban University Expansion and Sustainable Development Co-Exist?: A Case Study in Progress on Columbia University, 37 Fordham Urban Law Review 637 (Spring 2010) (with Patricia Salkin)papers.cfm
Contextualizing the Roots of Environmental Law, 38 Reviews in American History 153 (2010)contextualizingtheroots.pdf
Critical Enculturation: Using Problems to Teach Law, 2 Drexel Law Review 1 (2009)papers.cfm
A Challenge to Sustainable Governments?, 87 Washington University Law Review 203 (2009)papers.cfm
At Home with Nature: Early Reflections on Green Building Laws and the Transformation of the Built Environment, 39 Environmental Law 507(2009)papers.cfm
The Relevance of Land Use Law to Climate Change Preparedness: The Case of Sustainable Water Practices, Trends Vol. 40, No. 5 (2009) (ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources)papers.cfm
Property Pieces in Compensation Statutes: Law's Eulogy for Oregon's Measure 37, 38 Environmental Law 1111 (2008)papers.cfm
Dealing with Uncommon Ground: The Place of Legal Constructivism in the Social Construction of Nature, 21 Virginia Environmental Law Journal 387 (2003)papers.cfm
Some Pragmatic Observations About Radical Critique in Environmental Law, 21 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 225 (2002), reprinted in ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AND LAW (Goldstein, ed. 2004)papers.cfm
The Prima Facie Burden and the Vanishing SEPA Threshold: Washington's Emerging Preference for Efficiency Over Accuracy, 37 Gonzaga Law Review 403 (2001/2002)papers.cfm
The Gap Between Informational Goals and the Duty to Gather Information: Challenging Piecemealed Review under the Washington State Environmental Policy Act, 25 Seattle University Law Review 343 (2001)papers.cfm
How Good is an Old Water Right? The Application of Statutory Forfeiture Provisions to Pre-Code Water Rights, 4 University of Denver Water Law Review 1 (2000) (Co-authored with Janet C. Neuman)papers.cfm

Forthcoming Publications

An Ecosystem Services Approach to Cultural Resource Protection, __ Environmental Law __ (forthcoming) (with Linnea Riegel)
"Local Planning to Preserve Wetlands Assets: Community, Baselines, and Ecosystem Services" in BEYOND RAPANOS: The NEXT GENERATION OF WETLAND REGULATION, Kimberly Connolly, ed. (forthcoming)papers.cfm

Selected Achievements

Professor Keith Hirokawa presented The Essential Environmental Law Curriculum for the Next Generation as part of the A Roundtable Series for Environmental Law Faculty on the Future of Legal Education virtually at Vermont Law School on January 28, 2021.
Professor Keith Hirokawa attended and participated in Re-Imagining Environmental Law: Implementation and 2020 Planning at Airlie House in Warrenton, Va., November 18-19, 2019.
Professor Keith Hirokawa presented "Watershed Governance as an Ecosystem Services Opportunity" as a keynote speaker at the 2018 Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association Annual Conference in Boise, Idaho, on October 22, 2018.
Professor Keith Hirokawa will present "Watershed Governance as an Ecosystem Services Opportunity" as a keynote speaker at the 2018 Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association Annual Conference in Boise, Idaho, on October 22, 2018.
Professor Keith Hirokawa co-organized the Land Use and Sustainability Symposium at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, where he presented on "Sense of Place and the 'Insider' Approach to Environmental Law," on May 4, 2018.
Professor Keith Hirokawa presented “Insider Environmental Law” at Vermont Law School as part of its Distinguished Summer Scholars in residency program on July 20, 2017.
Professor Keith Hirokawa delivered the Boehl Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Policy at the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law on April 5, 2017. His lecture was entitled "Communities and Ecosystems."
Professor Keith Hirokawa gave a lecture entitled “Loving Ecosystems Locally” at The Changing Climate: Reflections on Current Law, Policy, Justice, and Regulation conference at the University at Buffalo School of Law on March 11, 2017.
Professor Keith Hirokawa was a panelist at the NYLCV Education Fund policy forum "Green Infrastructure in the Capital Region" at Albany Law School on February 1, 2017.
Professor Keith Hirokawa was named Distinguished Environmental Scholar by Vermont Law School as part of its 2017 Distinguished Summer Scholars in residency program.
Professor Keith Hirokawa was named Scholar of the Month by the UNC Center for Climate, Energy, Environment and Economics (CE3) for October 2016.
Professor Keith Hirokawa delivered a talk on “Sustaining Ecosystem Services through Local Environmental Law” as part of a seminar series presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its employees and partners.
Professor Keith Hirokawa accepted an invitation to deliver the Boehl Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Policy at the University of Louisville in Spring 2016.
Professor Keith Hirokawa delivered a presentation on environment and health at the First Annual Health & Human Rights Week, sponsored by the Institute for Health & Human Rights at the University at Albany, on Dec. 4, 2012.
Professor Keith Hirokawa discussed "The Development of Federal Environmental Law" on a panel for "Justice and Legal Change on the Shores of Lake Erie: A History of the Northern District of Ohio" at the University of Akron School of Law on Sept. 27.

In the News

Professor Keith Hirokawa was quoted in the beyondpesticides.org news story, "Groups Urge Endangered Species Listing for American Bumblebee after 89% Population Decline," on Feb. 10, 2021.
Professor of Law Keith Hirokawa was quoted in the WNYT-13 news story, "Albany Law students working to get American bumblebee on endangered species list," on Feb. 5, 2021.
Professor of Law Keith Hirokawa was quoted in the Albany Times-Union article, "Albany law students seek to put bumblebees on endangered species list," on Feb. 5, 2021.
Professor of Law Keith Hirokawa was quoted in the biologicaldiversity.org article, "Endangered Species Act Protection Sought for American Bumblebee," on Feb. 3, 2021.
Professor of Law Keith Hirokawa was quoted in the EcoWatch.com article, "Biden Urged to Help Save American Bumblebees From Extinction," on Feb. 3, 2021.
An exercise developed by Professor Keith Hirokawa was highlighted in the Land Use Prof Blog article “Jonathan Rosenbloom on Contemporary Issues in Teaching Land Use: Question 6: Introducing the Common Law and the Power of the Pen” on January 22, 2018.
Recently promoted professors Raymond Brescia, Keith Hirokawa and Sarah Rogerson were featured in the Times Union's "On the Move" section and the Business Review's "People on the Move" section in July 2017.
Professor Keith Hirokawa's co-authored article "Trump’s moves on the Dakota Access Pipeline portend more clashes with states" was published by Salon on February 24, 2017.

Keith Hirokawa

Cour​se​s​​​