Zach Pilchen

Senior Legal Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Zach Pilchen received his JD magna cum laude from Lewis & Clark Law School, and served as a Graduate Fellow in Administrative Law at George Washington University Law School. While in school, he participated in several moot court competitions, and earned recognition as a national finalist in the National Moot Court Competition (2012), and a national champion for the National Animal Law Competition (2013). Zach Pilchen also spent some time as an associate editor for Environmental Law, during which time he wrote case summaries for the law review, and edited articles on topics such as the renewable production tax credit.

Prior to accepting his current position, Mr. Pilchen had several years of experience working in a legal environment. He spent two years working on clean air issues with the Northwest Environmental Defense Center in Portland, Oregon, and gained valuable experience drafting public comments for operating permits and providing legal research and analysis. From there, Zach Pilchen worked as a clinical law student with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and conducted legal research on energy issues for the American Council on Renewable Energy. Along the way, he worked in numerous law clerk positions within EPA in the Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance, as well as the Office of Administrative Law Judges.