1. Home
  2. |Professionals
  3. |Elizabeth B. Dawson

Elizabeth B. Dawson

Partner | She/Her/Hers
Partner | She/Her/Hers
ZWRhd3NvbkBjcm93ZWxsLmNvbQ==
VCardLinkedIn
VCardLinkedIn

Areas of Focus

Overview

Elizabeth B. Dawson counsels clients in navigating the range of federal environmental and climate-related laws and regulations, helping them comment on and litigate agency rulemakings, pursue federal approvals, and defend against enforcement actions. In addition to administrative rulemaking advocacy, Ellie has briefed and argued these issues in federal courts around the country, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to the Western District of Washington. Ellie’s practice also offers clients legal guidance on a broad range of ESG and sustainability issues. Clients value her deep knowledge and immersion in ESG as well as her ability to break down complex risk into pragmatic business solutions.

Ellie’s prior experience includes over five years at the Environment & Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where as a trial attorney in the Environmental Defense Section she gained invaluable insight into agency policies, procedures, and thought processes. Ellie received numerous performance awards, a Special Achievement Award, and was nominated for the John Marshall Award for Participation in Litigation, one of DOJ’s highest awards offered to attorneys. 

Ellie is a partner in the Environment and Natural Resources Group in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C., office, a leader of the firm’s global ESG Advisory Team, and chair of the firm’s Sustainability Committee. She also maintains an active pro bono practice, currently focusing on asylum for diverse applicants facing persecution in their home countries.

Outside the firm, Ellie has served on the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation Committee and as the co-chair of the ABA’s Clean Technology and Climate Change Committee, where she organized programs covering such topics as the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and the role of climate change in the legal profession. Ellie was also selected to participate in the Environmental Law Institute’s Emerging Leaders Initiative and has received a Certificate in Sustainable Capitalism & ESG Online from Berkeley Law Executive Education.

Career & Education

    • Department of Justice: Environment and Natural Resources Division
      Trial Attorney, Environmental Defense Section, 2011–2017
    • Department of Justice: Environment and Natural Resources Division
      Trial Attorney, Environmental Defense Section, 2011–2017

    • Viterbo University, B.A., summa cum laude, Spanish/B.F.A. musical theatre, 2005
    • Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, J.D., summa cum laude, Cornelius Honor Society, 2011
    • Viterbo University, B.A., summa cum laude, Spanish/B.F.A. musical theatre, 2005
    • Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, J.D., summa cum laude, Cornelius Honor Society, 2011

    • District of Columbia
    • Oregon
    • District of Columbia
    • Oregon

    • Spanish
    • Spanish

Elizabeth's Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.18.26

Interior Secretary Convenes Endangered Species Committee (aka “God Squad”) Regarding Oil & Gas Exemption: What Companies Need to Know

In a rare move that could have significant impacts for businesses operating in regulated industries, the Trump administration has indicated plans to invoke the Endangered Species Committee, commonly referred to as the “God Squad.”  See 16 U.S.C. 1536(e); 50 C.F.R. Part 453. On March 16, 2026, the Interior Department published a notice in the Federal Register, stating that the Committee will hold a meeting – which will be livestreamed - on March 31 in Washington, D.C. to consider an ESA exemption “with respect to oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities” in the Gulf.[1]This little-known but powerful federal panel earned its nickname because it holds the authority to exempt certain projects from the protections of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), potentially clearing the way for development and other activities in sensitive habitats....

View All Insights

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2023
  • Best Lawyers: Environmental Law, 2024–2026

Elizabeth's Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.18.26

Interior Secretary Convenes Endangered Species Committee (aka “God Squad”) Regarding Oil & Gas Exemption: What Companies Need to Know

In a rare move that could have significant impacts for businesses operating in regulated industries, the Trump administration has indicated plans to invoke the Endangered Species Committee, commonly referred to as the “God Squad.”  See 16 U.S.C. 1536(e); 50 C.F.R. Part 453. On March 16, 2026, the Interior Department published a notice in the Federal Register, stating that the Committee will hold a meeting – which will be livestreamed - on March 31 in Washington, D.C. to consider an ESA exemption “with respect to oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities” in the Gulf.[1]This little-known but powerful federal panel earned its nickname because it holds the authority to exempt certain projects from the protections of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), potentially clearing the way for development and other activities in sensitive habitats....

View All Insights

Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.18.26

Interior Secretary Convenes Endangered Species Committee (aka “God Squad”) Regarding Oil & Gas Exemption: What Companies Need to Know

Client Alert | 7 min read | 03.10.26

EU Sustainability Reporting Revamp: Key Updates to the CSRD and the CS3D from the Omnibus I Directive

Speaking Engagement | 03.04.26

"Crowell Atelier West Coast: ESG in 2026," Crowell & Moring Seminar.

Client Alert | 6 min read | 02.27.26

Major Questions, Major Drama

View All Insights

Practices

Elizabeth's Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.18.26

Interior Secretary Convenes Endangered Species Committee (aka “God Squad”) Regarding Oil & Gas Exemption: What Companies Need to Know

In a rare move that could have significant impacts for businesses operating in regulated industries, the Trump administration has indicated plans to invoke the Endangered Species Committee, commonly referred to as the “God Squad.”  See 16 U.S.C. 1536(e); 50 C.F.R. Part 453. On March 16, 2026, the Interior Department published a notice in the Federal Register, stating that the Committee will hold a meeting – which will be livestreamed - on March 31 in Washington, D.C. to consider an ESA exemption “with respect to oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities” in the Gulf.[1]This little-known but powerful federal panel earned its nickname because it holds the authority to exempt certain projects from the protections of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), potentially clearing the way for development and other activities in sensitive habitats....

View All Insights