Achinthi Vithanage
- Professor of Law for Designated Service
- Associate Director of Environmental Law Programs
- Advisory Board Member, Sustainable Business Law Hub
Education
Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of International Studies, University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia)
LLM in Environmental Law (Global), Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University (New York)
SJD in Environmental Law Candidate '25, George Washington University Law School (Washington D.C.)
Prior to joining Haub Law as the Associate Director of Environmental Law Programs, Professor of Law for Designated Service in Environmental Law Achinthi Vithanage was a Visiting Associate Professor of Law and the first Environmental and Energy Law Fellow with an international law background at the George Washington University Law School (GW Law). Professor Vithanage was born in Sri Lanka, lived in the United Arab Emirates, practiced as an attorney in the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia, and undertook tertiary studies in Australia, Japan, China, Spain, and the United States, providing her a unique international perspective. She also worked at the Energy & Water Ombudsman of NSW and practiced in the corporate, commercial, and property legal sectors in Sydney, Australia.
Since her arrival in the United States, Professor Vithanage was recognized as one of the country’s leading environmental and energy lawyers in LawDragon’s inaugural list in 2021 and was subsequently listed in LawDragon’s 500 Leading Environmental Lawyers Guides for 2023 and 2024. Within the American Bar Association’s Section on Environment Energy & Resources (SEER) she serves on its Governing Council, is the founding Co-Chair of the Environmental Law Society Network, and a former Co-Chair of the International Law Committee. She serves on the Secretariat to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Academy of Environmental Law, is a member of the World Commission on Environmental Law, and an originating member of the International Association of Energy Law, a global network of early career energy law professors. Most recently, she attended COP28 and the 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference as the ABA Delegate and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Environmental Law Institute’s Environmental Forum publication.
At GW Law, Professor Vithanage taught International Environmental Law, Global & Comparative Environmental Law, Environmental Lawyering, and coached students in international environmental law moot court competitions. She also taught Introduction to Environmental Law at GWU's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, and Introduction to Sustainability, an interdisciplinary course based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, at GWU. She teaches a similar range of courses at Haub Law.
A merit scholarship recipient, Professor Vithanage graduated summa cum laude from Haub Law's LLM program following completion of her 180 page thesis on ex situ high seas biodiversity conservation under international environmental law. She is concurrently pursuing a doctorate degree at GW Law as the Shaw Graduate Fellow in Administrative Law.
Fellowships and Scholarships:
George Washington University Law School as the Shaw Graduate Fellow in Administrative Law
George Washington University Law School as the Environmental and Energy Law Fellow
Honors and Awards:
Recognized in Lawdragon Green 500 Leading Environmental Lawyers Guides for 2023 and 2024
Recipient of ABA SEER Chair’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Section (2023)
Recipient of ABA SEER 2021-2022 Special Achievement Award for the International Environmental and Resources Law Committee (2022)
Recognized in the Inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyers 2021 Guide
Selected for ABA SEER Leadership Development Program (2018-2019)