Education

• Indiana University A.B. 1975
• Indiana University School of Law J.D. 1979

Courses

• Conservation Law Clinic (B558)
• Wildlife Law (B550)

Background

• Earned his J.D. summa cum laude from Indiana University School of Law; elected to the Order of the Coif
• Member of the Board: Sycamore Land Trust; Aldo Leopold Foundation
• Panelist, 2007 Indiana Conclave on Legal Education
• Co-Founder, Center For Compatible Economic Development
• Former director of Conservation Law Center and Law School's Conservation Law Clinic; clients included the Land Trust Alliance, The American Bird Conservancy, Great Lakes United, The Nature Conservancy, Sycamore Land Trust, and the Great Lakes Protection Fund

Biography

William Weeks has represented clients in natural resource conservation matters in private practice as a member of the Bar in Indiana and the District of Columbia. He also worked for the conservation of biodiversity as Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President of The Nature Conservancy. He is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Law and the author of Beyond the Ark (Island Press, 1996). He was appointed Glenn and Donna Scolnik Clinical Chair in 2015 and served as director of the Conservation Law Center, Inc. and the Law School's Conservation Law Clinic through 2018, when he was named an emeritus professor.

Selected works

Books

• BEYOND THE ARK. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1996.

Reports

• WATER AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN INDIANA: MODERNIZING THE STATE'S APPROACH TO A CRITICAL RESOURCE(with Jack Wittman). Bloomington, IN: Conservation Law Center, 2017.
• “Report of the Governor’s Task Force on Sustainable Natural Resources in Indiana,” W. William Weeks, Chair (2012).

Articles

• ABA RPTE Conservation Easement Task Force Report: Recommendations Regarding Conservation Easements and Federal Tax Law(with Turney Berry, et. al.), 53 REAL PROPERTY, TRUST AND ESTATE LAW JOURNAL 245 (2019).
• Climate Change Challenges for Land Conservation: Rethinking Conservation Easements, Strategies, and Tools(with Jessica Owley, et. al.), 95 DENVER LAW REVIEW 727 (2918).
• Statutory Reform to Protect Migrations as Phenomena of Abundance(with Jeffrey B. Hyman and Andrea Need), 41 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW 407 (2011).
• A Tradable Conservation Easement for Vulnerable Conservation Objectives74 LAW AND CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS 229 (Fall, 2011).
• Hicks v. Dowd, Conservation Easements and the Charitable Trust Doctrine: Setting the Record Straight(with Nancy A. McLaughlin), 10 WYOMING LAW REVIEW 73 (2010).
• In Defense of Conservation Easements: A Response to the End of Perpetuity(with Nancy A. McLaughlin), 9 WYOMING LAW REVIEW 1 (2009).

Interests

• Environmental law
• Conservation easements
• Endangered Species Act
• Invasive species

Areas of Expertise

• Conservation law