Giraffe Heroes Database
Coppelman, Peter |
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“He’s the lawyer that many of us in his generation had hoped we would be.” So said a law-school classmate of Peter Coppelman, describing the idealism of their 1968 graduating class and the financial comforts that had detoured them away from careers in the public interest—but not Peter Coppelman. The Giraffe Heroes Project has now commended Coppelman for continuously sticking his neck out for the common good, devoting his career to causes he believes in, bypassing opportunities to enrich himself. Beginning with civil rights work as a law school student in 60’s Louisiana, Coppelman went on to advocate for the poor, the elderly, the disabled, endangered species, and for “Mother Earth.” He handled class action cases that preserved hundreds of millions of dollars in health and welfare benefits for the low-income elderly. His work with the disabled led to strong federal regulations on their behalf. He won precedent-setting environmental cases in federal courts across the country. At the Wilderness Society he campaigned for bills that added almost 9 million acres to the federal Wilderness system. After working on issues of recycling and hazardous-waste disposal, he accepted a Presidential appointment to work on environmental issues at the Justice Department, helping run what has been described as the largest environmental law firm in the world. As a leader of that “firm,” Coppelman helped save old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, restore the Everglades, protect roadless areas in national forests, buy the Headwaters redwood forest in California and establish new national monument areas. His courtroom arguments stopped the movement to subvert federal management of national lands in the west. He’s worked to keep animal-feed antibiotics out of the human food chain, and he’s trained thousands of citizens around the country to participate in public decision-making. Fully aware of the financial rewards his fellow law-school grads have gained while he was working either for a modest salary or pro bono, Peter Coppelman says that working in the public interest may not have been lucrative, but it has been deeply rewarding in more significant ways. He is now devoting his experience and his high energy to urging the next generation to stick their necks out for the common good. Age when commended: adult (20-64) Year commended: 2008 Occupation: Attorney |
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YOU & THE FOUNDER
From time to time, Ann Medlock, this Project's founder, does a brief but inspiring email called Heads Up. You can check out past copies here. They're so good (and so free) we bet you'll join the Heads Up circle and send them on to friends & family.
For further wit & wisdom from Ann, check out her speeches, radio commentaries and OpEds.
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