Lesley K. McAllister

Lesley K. McAllister is a Professor of Law at the UC Davis School of Law

Professor McAllister teaches and writes in the areas of environmental,  energy, and climate law, with a research emphasis on the roles of regulatory and legal institutions in environmental compliance and enforcement.  

Before joining the UC Davis law faculty in 2013, Lesley McAllister held appointments at the University of San Diego School of Law and the UC San Diego School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.  She teaches and writes in the areas of environmental, natural resources, property, and energy law, both domestic and international.  Much of her scholarship focuses on innovative regulatory approaches, such as cap-and-trade regulation, public-private governance, and citizen enforcement.

Professor McAllister’s publications include her book “Making Law Matter:  Environmental Protection and Legal Institutions in Brazil” (Stanford University Press, 2008), as well as various book chapters and articles including “The Enforcement Challenge of Cap-and-Trade Regulation,” 40 Environmental Law (2011); “Dimensions of Enforcement Style: Factoring in Regulatory Capacity and Autonomy,” 32 Law & Policy 61 (2010); “The Overallocation Problem in Cap-and-Trade: Moving Toward Stringency,” 34 Columbia Journal of Environmental Law 396 (2009); “Regional Climate Regulation: From State Competition to State Collaboration,” 1 San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law 81 (2009); “Sustainable Consumption Governance in the Amazon,” 38 Environmental Law Reporter 10873 (2008); and “Beyond Playing ‘Banker’: The Role of the Regulatory Agency in Emissions Trading,” 59 Administrative Law Review 269 (2007).

Professor McAllister received a B.S.E., magna cum laude, in Civil Engineering from Princeton University in 1991; a J.D. with distinction from Stanford Law School in 2000; and a Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley in 2004.