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The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University
 

Lucia Ann Silecchia

 Professor of Law

silecchia@law.edu

 

Professor Silecchia is a native of Queens, New York. She received her B.A. degree summa cum laude from Queens College (C.U.N.Y.) in 1987 and her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990, where she was a senior editor of the Yale Law Review, a current topics editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review, and a Francis Coker teaching fellow. Following her graduation from law school, she practiced law in the litigation department of Rogers & Wells (now Clifford, Chance) in New York City.

 

In 1991, Professor Silecchia joined the Columbus School of Law and served as the assistant director of the Lawyering Skills Program. After two years with the Lawyering Skills Program, she became an assistant professor in 1993 and an associate professor in 1997. She has been an ordinary professor since 2004, and served as the law school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 2004 and 2005. She teaches or has taught Environmental Law, Property, Trusts and Estates, Corporations, Advanced Legal Research and Writing, Comparative Property, Environmental Crimes, Lawyering Skills, and Law Journal Writing. During her 2000-2001 sabbatical, she spent the fall semester as a Visiting Scholar at Yale Law School and the spring term in Rome conducting research on environmental ethics issues from the perspective of Catholic social thought. Her 2007-2008 sabbatical saw travel to Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

Professor Silecchia currently serves on the executive board of the Association of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools, and is the 2008-2009 chair of the Conference on Catholic Legal Thought, on whose executive board she has served since 2006. In April 2007 she was one of nine Americans to participate in a Vatican conference on Climate Change and Development, organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Professor Silecchia has written in the areas of environmental law, ethics, and enforcement, legal education, Catholic social thought, legal writing, law and literature, and social justice. Professor Silecchia has given presentations at national and international conferences for legal educators, law librarians, lawyers, religious groups, students, and environmental professionals. She has also advised the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace and the Environmental Justice Project of the U.S. Catholic Conference, assisted the American Bar Association’s CEELI Project in critiquing draft business association laws for Estonia, taught in Catholic University’s cooperative programs at Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland, and lectured in Portugal as part of Catholic University’s U.S. - Portugese Law Initiative at the University of Lisbon. Her other “extracurricular” activities include membership in the Environmental Law Institute, the Association of Legal Writing Directors, the National Italian-American Bar Association, the Legal Writing Institute, The John Carroll Society, and the Bar Associations of New York State and the District of Columbia. She was also named one of three national “Persons of Distinction” by the Association of Legal Writing Directors and was Catholic University’s “Mirror of Justice Scholar” in 1996. She has also been a member of the teaching faculty for the international law students in the Washington D.C.-based Institute for United States Law.

Professor Silecchia is admitted to the bars of New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

PUBLICATIONS


Law Review Articles:

Lucia A. Silecchia, “The Preferential Option for the Poor:” An Opportunity and a Challenge for Environmental Decision-Making, 5 U. ST. THOMAS L. J. 87-142 (2008).


Lucia A. Silecchia, Discerning the Environmental Perspective of Pope Benedict XVI, 4
VILLANOVA J. OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT 227-269 (2007).


Lucia A. Silecchia, Faith in the Public Square: Some Reflections on Its Role and Limitations From the Perspective of Catholic Social Teaching, 6 U. MD. L. J. RACE, RELIGION, GENDER & CLASS 69-80 (2006).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Catholic Social Teaching and Its Impact on American Law: Observations on the Past and Reflections on the Future, 1VILLANOVA J. OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT 277-312 (2004).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Environmental Ethics from the Perspective of NEPA and Catholic Social Teaching: Ecological Guidance for the 21st Century, 28 WILLIAM & MARY ENVTL. L. & POL’Y REV. 659-798 (2004).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, The Catalyst Calamity: Post-Buckhannon Fee-Shifting in Environmental Litigation and a Proposal for Congressional Action, 29 COLUMBIA J. ENVTL. L. 1-87 (2003) (lead article).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Things Are Seldom What They Seem: Lawyers and Judges in the Tales of Mark Twain, 35 CONN. L. REV. 559-646 (2002).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Reflections on the Future of Social Justice, 23 SEATTLE U. L. REV. 1121-1154 (2000).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Integrating Spiritual Perspectives With the Law School Experience: An Essay and an Invitation, 37 SAN DIEGO L. REV. 167-209 (2000).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Pinning the Blame & Piercing the Veil in the Mists of Metaphor: The Supreme Court’s New Standards for the CERCLA Liability of Parent Companies and A Proposal for Legislative Reform, 67 FORDHAM L. REV. 115-202 (1998).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Of Painters, Sculptors, Quill Pens and Microchips: Teaching Legal Writers
in the Electronic Age, 75 NEBRASKA L. REV. 801-846 (1997).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, On Doing Justice and Walking Humbly With God: Catholic Social Thought on Law as a Tool For Achieving Justice, 46 CATHOLIC U. L. REV. 1163-1187 (1997) (Text of the “Mirror of Justice” Lecture delivered at Catholic University on November 18, 1996).

Lucia Ann Silecchia, Ounces of Prevention & Pounds of Cure: Developing Sound Policies for
Environmental Compliance Programs, 7 FORDHAM ENVTL. L. REV. 583-634 (1996 Symposium Issue).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Judicial Review of CERCLA Cleanup Procedures: Striking a Balance to
Prevent Irreparable Harm, 20 HARVARD ENVTL. L. REV. 339-395 (1996) (lead article).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Legal Skills Training in the First Year of Law School: Research? Writing?
Analysis? or More?, 100 DICKINSON L. REV. 245-301 (1996).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, New York Attorney Malpractice Liability to Third Parties: Toward a Rule of Reason and Predictability, 15 PACE L. REV. 391-457 (1995).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Designing and Teaching Advanced Legal Research and Writing Courses, 33 DUQUENSE L. REV. 203-248 (1995).


Additional Articles:


Lucia Ann Silecchia, When Do Claims Challenging a Statute’s Effect on Pre-Existing Contracts Accrue?, PREVIEW OF UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT CASES, April 2002.


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Raising the Bar in Law School, LEGAL TIMES, Sept. 6, 1999 at S29. (reprinted as

Lucia A. Silecchia, Law School Survival and Success, TEXAS LAWYER, Nov. 15, 1999 at 38).

Joseph DiMento & Lucia Ann Silecchia, A Time to Put Things Together and ... A Time to Question Strategies of Environmental Law in the Mid ‘90's in RAPPORTO MONDIALE SUL DIRITTO DELL’AMBIENTE 659 (Stefano Nespor, ed., 1996) (American contribution to “A World Survey of Environmental Law” published by the Italian environmental law journal, RIVISTA GIURDICA DELL’ AMBIENTE).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Challenges for Environmental Professionals in a Climate of Increased Criminal Enforcement of Environmental Violations in PRACTICAL ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTIONS: A CHANGING AGENDA 55 (1996 Conference Proceedings of the National Association of Environmental Professionals).


Lucia Ann Silecchia & Michael J. Malinowski, Square Pegs and Round Holes: Does the Sentencing of Corporate Citizens for Environmental Crimes Fit Within Guidelines?, 8 FED. SENT. RPTR. 230 (1996).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Regulation and Certification of Environmental Professionals, J. ENVTL. L. & PRAC. 38 (Nov./Dec. 1994).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, The Environmental Professionals Training and Certification Act: A Critique, NAEP NEWS 5 (May/June 1994) (reprinted as Lucia Ann Silecchia, Congress Seeks to Certify Environmental Professionals, ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE 3 (Oct. 1994).


Book Chapters:


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Skill Development, in J.P. OGILVY ET AL., LEARNING FROM PRACTICE: A
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEXT FOR LEGAL EXTERNS (2nd ed., Thompson West, 2007).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Management Skills, in J.P. OGILVY ET AL., LEARNING FROM PRACTICE: A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEXT FOR LEGAL EXTERNS (2nd ed., Thompson West, 2007).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Skill Development, in J.P. OGILVY ET AL., LEARNING FROM PRACTICE: A
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEXT FOR LEGAL EXTERNS (West 1998).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, Management Skills, in J.P. OGILVY ET AL., LEARNING FROM PRACTICE: A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEXT FOR LEGAL EXTERNS (West 1998).


Unpublished Reports:


Lucia Ann Silecchia, COMMENTS SUBMITTED TO THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL ON JUSTICE AND
PEACE: RESPONSE TO THE CHAIRMAN’S PAPER FOR THE SECOND PREPATORY COMMITTEE
FOR THE WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (March 14, 2002).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, THE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA OF THE 104TH CONGRESS: A LEGISLATIVE ANALYSIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES CATHOLIC CONFERENCE (February 20, 1996).


Lucia Ann Silecchia, COMMENTS: DRAFT FORMS OF BUSINESS ENTERPRISES LAW FOR ESTONIA (March 25, 1995).


SPEECHES & PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS

•Moderator and Discussant, Scholarly Career Planning as a Christian
Conference on Catholic Legal Thought
Seattle University
May 29, 2008 (Seattle, WA)

 

•Panelist, The Challenge of Inclusion: Avoiding the “Us” and “Them”
Conference of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools
Boston College Law School
April 8, 2008 (Boston, MA)


•Reflections on the Right to Environmental Health as a Condition for Development
University of Lisbon
March 10, 2008 (Lisbon, Portugal)


•Ecological Guidance for the 21st Century
Fordham Law School
Catholic Lawyer’s Program on Globalizing Justice
November 1, 2007 (New York, NY)


•The Preferential Option for the Poor: An Opportunity and a Challenge for
Environmental Decision-making
University of St. Thomas
September 21, 2007 (Minneapolis, MN)


•Participant, International Conference on Climate Change and Development
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
April 26-27, 2007 (Vatican City)


•Religion in the Public Square: Some Reflections on its Role and Limitations from the
Perspective of Catholic Social Teaching
University of Maryland
Symposium on Religion and the Law
April 11, 2006 (Baltimore, Maryland)


•Respondent to Sen. Lisa Maurkowski’s Presentation, Climate Change: An Alaskan
Perspective
Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
February 13, 2006 (Washington, D.C.)


•Discerning the Environmental Perspective of Pope Benedict XVI
Villanova University
Conference on Catholic Social Thought and Ecology
November 11, 2005 (Villanova, Pennsylvania)


•Catholic Social Teaching and Its Impact on American Law: Observations on the Past and
Reflections on the Future.
Villanova Law School
Symposium on Catholic Social Thought and the Law
October 3, 2003 (Villanova, Pennsylvania)

 

•Environmental Stewardship
St. Patrick’s Church
Lenten Lecture Series on Catholic Social Teaching
April 16, 2003 (Washington, D.C.)


•Perspectives on Law Teaching
AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference
October 18, 2001 (Washington, D.C.)


•Introduction to Environmental Law in the United States
Institute for United States Law
August 1, 2001 and August 5, 2002 (Washington, D.C.)


•Introduction to American Property Law
Institute for United States Law
July 26, 2001 and July 31, 2002 (Washington, D.C.)


•Introduction to Corporate and Business Law
Institute for United States Law
July 24, 2001 and August 1, 2002 (Washington, D.C.)


•Teaching Advanced Legal Research Through the Use of Research Journals: Sources &
Strategies
American Association of Law Librarians
July 16, 2000 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) (via videotape)


•Spiritual Perspectives on Law Practice and Professionalism
St. Thomas More Society of Rhode Island
May 16, 2000 (Providence, Rhode Island)


•Catholic Perspectives on the Future of Social Justice
“Major Address” at the Dedication of Seattle University Law School Building
October 18, 1999 (Seattle, Washington)


•Bridging the Gap Between Teaching and Scholarship
Association of Legal Writing Directors’ Bienniel Conference
July 31, 1999 (Boston, Massachusetts)

 

•Litigation, Achieving Justice, and Catholic Social Thought
St. Thomas More Society of Rockville
May 20, 1999 (Rockville, Maryland)• Reports from the Field: Advice to New Law Teachers
AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers
July 26, 1997 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• Reports from the Field: Advice to New Law Teachers
AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers
July 26, 1997 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• Reports from the Field: Advice to New Law Teachers
AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers
July 26, 1997 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• Introduction to American Law: Legal Writing
American Association of Law Librarians (Workshop for the Non-JD)
July 16, 1997 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• Ethics and The National Environmental Policy Act
A.L.I. - A.B.A. Course on N.E.P.A.
April 17, 1997 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• Launching an Academic Career
Yale Law School
March 4, 1997 (New Haven, Connecticut)

 

• Ethical Dilemmas for the Environmental Lawyer as Policy Maker
A.L.I. - A.B.A. 27th Annual “Environmental Law” Course of Study
February 15, 1997 (Bethesda, Maryland)

 

• Professors and Professing: Faith and Students in the Academy
Law Professors’ Christian Fellowship Conference on “Following Christ in the Legal Academy” January 3, 1997 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• On Doing Justice and Walking Humbly With God: Catholic Social Thought on Law as
Tool for Advancing Justice
The Eighth Annual Mirror of Justice Lecture, Guild of Catholic Lawyers
November 18, 1996 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• Law Teaching as a Service Profession: Advice to New Law Teachers
AALS New Law Teachers’ Conference
July 27, 1996 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• Legal Writing in the Electronic Age
Legal Writing Institute Biannual Conference
July 19, 1996 (Seattle, Washington)

 

• Law, Legal Discourse and the New Technology (discussant)
Joint Meeting of the Law & Society Ass’n/Research Committee on the Sociology of Law
July 13, 1996 (Glasgow, Scotland)

 

• Challenges for Environmental Professionals in a Climate of Increased Criminal
Enforcement of Environmental Violations
21st Annual Conference, National Association of Environmental Professionals
June 4, 1996 (Houston, Texas)

 

• Corporate Compliance and the Self Evaluative Privilege
Symposium on Recent Developments in Environmental Crime (hosted by the FORDHAM JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW)
February 29, 1996 (New York City, New York)

 

• Preparing for a Career in the Legal Profession
Women & the Law Conference (sponsored by the Public Leadership Education Network)
November 5, 1995 (Washington, D.C.)

 

• Implementing Curricular Reform in Legal Research & Writing Programs
Association of Legal Writing Directors’ Conference
July 29, 1995 (San Diego, California)

 

• Scope of Coverage in Legal Research & Writing Programs
Luncheon Speaker, Mid-Atlantic Regional Legal Writing Conference
May 22, 1995 (Villanova, Pennsylvania)

BAR ADMISSIONS

 

• Supreme Court of the United States (May 1995)

• District of Columbia (November 1991)

• State of New York (May 1991)

• State of Connecticut (December 1990)


MEDIA

 

Quoted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Catholic News Service, Newsweek, The Journal Record, and Science & Technology News, discussing topics such as the Catholic majority on the Supreme Court, environmental ethics, Catholic social teaching, preconstruction condominiums, and indoor air quality.

 


 



Last Revised 02-Oct-08 10:46 AM.