Juliana and the Role of the Courts in Climate Change
PANEL DESCRIPTION
Climate change litigation has emerged as a critical tool for addressing governmental responsibility for climate harms, with Juliana v. United States standing as one of the most prominent and contested cases in the United States. This panel will examine the legal theories advanced in Juliana, including constitutional rights, public trust principles, and standing, as well as the procedural and institutional challenges the case has faced in the federal courts. The discussion will place Juliana in comparative and forward looking context, assessing how climate litigation may shape future strategies for accountability, policy development, and intergenerational equity.
Moderated by Billy Hennessy.
PHIL GREGORY, OUR CHILDREN'S TRUST
Since Our Children’s Trust (OCT) was founded in 2010, Phil Gregory has served as Of Counsel with OCT on a pro bono basis, all while maintaining his litigation practice with the Gregory Law Group based in Woodside, CA. Among his work for OCT, Phil has served as counsel in OCT’s federal cases, Juliana v. United States, Genesis v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Lighthiser v. Trump. Phil was co-counsel in Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Dept. of Transportation and co-lead trial counsel in Held v. State of Montana. For their win in Held, the trial team won the Public Justice 2025 Trial Lawyers of the Year.
While Phil’s litigation practice typically involves complex business trials, Phil’s environmental representative cases involved issues including title to real property on the California coast and decades-long groundwater contamination, while his other pro bono trial work addressed flooding during Hurricane Katrina, preserving old-growth redwoods in Richardson Grove, and saving Coho salmon in the Smith River and Gaviota Creek.
Phil is a MARTINDALE-HUBBELL® 2026 AV Preeminent Attorney - Judicial Edition, a Master of the Bench and former past President with the Hon. William Ingram American Inn of Court, a Fellow with the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a member with the American Board of Trial Advocates. For 20 years in a row, Phil has been recognized as a Super Lawyer by superlawyer.com. Phil obtained his JD and MBA from Santa Clara University, and BA from Bowdoin College.