Sharmila Murthy Joins Northeastern as Professor of Law and Public Policy

06.29.23 — Northeastern Law is pleased to announce that Sharmila L. Murthy will join the university faculty effective July 3, 2023, as professor of law and public policy with the School of Law and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Initially, Murthy will be on leave to serve as director for environmental justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Previously, she served as senior counsel at CEQ, where she supported CEQ’s work to advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s environmental justice agenda.

“Professor Murthy is an award-winning scholar, teacher, mentor and leader,” said Dean James Hackney. “Her research and expertise in environmental law are vital to policy debates that impact society and our prospects for a sustainable future.”

Murthy most recently served as professor of law and director of faculty scholarship and research at Suffolk University Law School (on leave in 2021/2022 to serve at the White House Council on Environmental Quality). Murthy’s scholarship focuses on examining legal barriers to achieving environmental justice, improving access to water, and addressing climate change. In recognition of her scholarship on access to drinking water and sanitation and on climate change, she was named the 2021 Haub Environmental Law Distinguished Junior Scholar by the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She also received the Charles P. Kindregan Scholarship Award from Suffolk University Law School in 2022. She has been recognized with three different teaching awards from Suffolk University, and received several awards for her mentorship of students, including being named Faculty Advisor of the Year by the American Constitution Society (ACS) in 2021. She also served as chair of the Environmental Law Section of the American Association of Law Schools, which received the Section of the Year Award in 2019 under her direction.

Previously, Murthy was a visiting scholar and fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she co-founded the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation Program at Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. In 2014, she was selected as a finalist for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. Murthy began her legal career as a public interest poverty lawyer. She was awarded a Skadden Fellowship to work with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, where she received the New Advocate of the Year award from the Tennessee Alliance of Legal Services. Murthy also litigated complex and class action cases as an associate with Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein.

Murthy has also served on the boards of numerous non-profits, including the Conservation Law Foundation, HumanRight2Water and Justice at Work. She is a past president of the Boston lawyer ACS chapter. In addition, she previously served as the president of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and the founding president of the Nashville lawyer ACS chapter.

Murthy received her JD from Harvard Law School, her MPA from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and her BS in natural resources from Cornell University. She clerked for the Honorable Martha Craig Daughtrey on the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and was also a US Fulbright Scholar in India.

“I am thrilled to be joining Northeastern University because I believe in the university’s overarching goal, which is to maximize our positive impact in the world,” said Murthy. “When I return from my leave of absence at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, I am looking forward to working with students and colleagues in the School of Law and the School of Public Policy to achieve that goal.”

About Northeastern University School of Law

The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country. Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences through its signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. More than 1,000 employers worldwide in a wide range of legal, government, nonprofit and business organizations participate in the program. With a focus on social justice and innovation, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experiences to successfully practice law.

For more information, contact d.feldman@northeastern.edu.