Atlantic Legal Foundation (ALF)
Background
The Atlantic Legal Foundation (ALF) is a non-profit law firm established in 1977 with the mission of “advocating limited and efficient government, free enterprise, individual liberty, school choice and sound science.” [1]
ALF provides legal services pro bono to individuals, corporations, and trade associations. The organization focuses its operations on issues affecting free enterprise and on “limited constitutional government.” [1]
While ALF acknowledges that climate change is a real issue, the organization has opposed the EPA in court on topics such as the clean water act and the regulation of automobiles’ CO2 emissions. [2], [25], [6]
Among the organization’s more prominent members is A. Alan Moghissi. According to an article at PR Watch, Moghissi characterizes environmentalism as a belief that “members of endangered species deserve protection and that, because there are billions of humans, humanity does not qualify for protection.” [27]
Moghissi also supports, or is a member of, organizations that question the existence of man-made climate change, including the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow. [28]
Rodney W. Nichols is another prominent ALF member with a history of questioning the existence of man-made climate change. Nichols is affiliated with various organizations that promote climate science contrarianism, such as the CO2 Coalition and the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. [29]
In February 2016, Nichols co-authored a New York Post article that included the following quote: [30]
“The war on fossil fuels isn’t based on science but on unreliable climate models. Rather than trying to correct the models, Team Obama is trying to ‘dispute the science’ by trying to manufacture scary warming trends.”
ALF includes programs in the following areas:
Stance on Climate Change
In an Amicus Brief filed on October 25, 2006, the ALF expressed the following in a footnote: “There is no doubt that CO2 levels in the atmosphere have risen faster than at any time in history and there is little doubt that the average world temperature has been increasing, probably as a consequence.” [2]
Funding
The following totals are based on original research of public 990 tax forms by DeSmog, combined with archived data from the Conservative Transparency project summarizing ALF‘s funding from 1985 onwards. Note that not all individual funding values have been verified by DeSmog. [7]
View the attached spreadsheet for details on Atlantic Legal Foundation’s Funding by year (.xlsx).
| Donor | Total |
| Sarah Scaife Foundation | $2,530,000 |
| F.M. Kirby Foundation | $652,500 |
| Jaquelin Hume Foundation | $300,000 |
| John M. Olin Foundation | $210,000 |
| Castle Rock Foundation | $80,000 |
| The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation | $75,000 |
| Exxon Mobil | $30,000 |
| Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation | $20,000 |
| Philip M. McKenna Foundation | $19,000 |
| ExxonMobil Foundation | $9,000 |
| Joyce and Donald Rumsfeld Foundation | $4,500 |
| DonorsTrust | $100 |
| Grand Total | $3,930,100 |
Other Donors
According to ExxonSecrets, ALF has also received funding from large corporations such as ASARCO, ARCO Chemical Co, Chevron, DuPont, Pfizer, and Texaco. [4]
990 Forms
Key People
Board of Directors
| Name | 2007[11] | 2008[12] | 2009[13] | 2010[14] | 2011[15] | 2013[17] | 2014[18] | 2015[19] | 2017[20] | Description |
| Andrea E. Utecht | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||||
| Augustus I. duPont | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Secretary (2012 to present) |
| Carol A. Casazza Herman | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||||
| Charles R. Work | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors, Former Secretary | |
| Clifford B. Storms | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |
| David E. Wood | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Treasurer (2011 to present) | ||
| Donald M. Gray | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |
| Douglas Foster | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Vice Chairman |
| Edwin L. Lewis | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |
| Elia Weinbach | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||||
| Ernest B. Hueter | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||
| Ernest T. Patrikis | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |
| Francis B. Burch, Jr. | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||||
| Frank H. Menaker | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |
| Frank R. Jimenez | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||||
| Frederick Seitz | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||||
| George S. Frazza | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors |
| Gregory J. Morrow | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||
| Hayward D. Fisk | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Chairman, Acting President (2016 to present) |
| James I. Wyer | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Chairman Emeritus | |
| Jay B. Stephens | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||||
| Jeffrey S. Sherman | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||
| Joe G. Hollingsworth | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||
| Marcy S. Cohen | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||||
| Nevin Sanli | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||||
| Nicolas Morgan | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||||||
| Philip R. Sellinger | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |
| R. William Ide | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||||
| Robert A. Lonergan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||
| Robert E. Juceam | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors |
| Robert L. Haig | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors |
| Stephen J. Harmelin | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors, Former Treasurer |
| Thomas E. Birsic | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||||
| Thomas L. Sager | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||
| Tracy A. Bacigalupo | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||||
| Victoria P. Rostow | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||||
| Vincent A. Maffeo | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||||||
| William B. Lytton | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||
| William G. Primps | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | ||
| William Graham | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||
| William H. Slattery | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | President (until 2016) | |
| William P. Cook | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors |
Foundation Officers
| Name | 2007[11] | 2015[19] | 2016[23] | 2017[24] | Description |
| Briscoe R. Smith | Y | Y | Senior Vice President and Counsel | ||
| Hayward D. Fisk | Y | Y | Chairman; Acting President (2016 to present) | ||
| Martin S. Kaufman | Y | Y | Y | Y | Senior Vice President and General Counsel |
| William H. Slattery | Y | Y | President (until 2016) |
Advisory Council
| Name | 2007[11] | 2008[12] | 2009[13] | 2010[14] | 2011[15] | 2012[16] | 2013[17] | 2015[19] | 2016[21] | 2017[22] |
| A. Alan Moghissi | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| A. F. Spilhaus, Jr. | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Adam Offenhartz | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
| Alan Charles Raul | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Albert W. Driver | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Alfred L. Ferguson | Y | |||||||||
| Arthur F. Fergenson | Y | |||||||||
| Barry H. Smith | Y | |||||||||
| Briscoe R. Smith | Y | Y | ||||||||
| C. Thomas Harvie | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Charles M. Elson | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
| Charles W. Mooney, Jr. | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| David C. Apy | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
| Dennis McBride | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Frederick T. Elder | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| George E. Ehrlich | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
| Hamilton Osborne, Jr. | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
| Hayward D. Fisk | Y | Y | ||||||||
| Henry N. Butler | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Hung Cheung | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| John H. Carley | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| John J. Calandra | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
| John Kenney | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Lance H. Wilson | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Michael S. Nadel | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
| Michael X. McBride | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
| Ozgur Ozkan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Patricia Buffler | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
| Patrick Sheller | Y | |||||||||
| Paul C. Rooney, Jr. | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Philip S. Guzelian | Y | |||||||||
| Prof. Charles M. Elson | Y | |||||||||
| Prof. Richard Wilson | Y | Y | ||||||||
| R. Edwin Selover | Y | Y | Y | |||||||
| Richard A. Hauser | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Richard Wilson | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
| Robert Gold | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Rodney W. Nichols | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Roger S. Kaplan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Ronald E. Gots | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Sam Scott Miller | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||||
| Stephen T. Whelan | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Susan L. Meade | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Thomas R. Gottshall | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||
| Thor Halvorssen | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||
| Victoria P. Rostow | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |||
| William G. Primps | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
Actions
December 1, 2014
The ALF filed an amicus brief on behalf of a couple that purchased property in Connecticut who were mired in legal battles with the Army Corps Engineers over the portion of their land that is considered publicly-owned wetlands. The amicus brief was summarized on the ALF‘s site: [25]
“Our brief highlights and puts a human face on the barriers and frustrations faced by landowners whose property is deemed to contain jurisdictional wetlands by either the Army Corps of Engineers or the EPA.” [25]
November 25, 2014
The ALF filed extensive comments in which it critiqued the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule titled “Waters of the United States Under the Clean Water Act, 79 Fed. Reg. 22188, et seq.”
The ALF included the following summary of its comments on its website: [26]
“The issue of federal wetlands jurisdiction is controversial because it enables two federal agencies, EPA and the Corps, which have concurrent Clean Water Act enforcement jurisdiction, to extensively and intensively regulate land use down to individual lots, and, in effect, to override local zoning and land use regulation and to use their permitting process to micro-manage development on private land throughout the country, even in areas that are not, at least in the common-sense meaning, wetlands.” [26]
“The Foundation’s comments on the Proposed Rule assert that EPAs proposed rule is unreasonably broad, rendering virtually all water bodies with few exceptions subject to the jurisdiction of the USACE and the EPA and that it conflicts with the more concrete and limited plurality test in Rapanos.” [26]
October 25, 2006
The ALF filed an amicus brief (PDF), to the United States Supreme Court in Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [2], [5]
Where states and environmental activist organizations were asking the court to order the EPA to regulate some greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, ALF‘s brief argues that regulating automobiles’ CO2 emissions is not only ineffective in attempting to control global concentrations of “greenhouse gases,” but it also may have an economic cost that far exceeds alternatives. [6]
Atlantic Legal Foundation Contact & Location
As of January 30, 2017, the main contact address was: [9]
500 Mamaroneck
Suite 320
Harrison, NY 10528 USA(914) 834-3322
Related Organizations
- Pacific Legal Foundation — created the Atlantic Legal Foundation [10]
- National Legal Center for the Public Interest — sister organization, also created by the Pacific Legal Foundation [10]
- Washington Legal Foundation — sister organization, also created by the Pacific Legal Foundation [10]
Resources
- “About Us,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived March 15, 2016. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/0BK68
- Amicus Brief (PDF) of COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, ET AL., PETITIONERS, v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, ET AL., RESPONDENTS. No. 05-1120. October 26, 2006. Archived.pdf on file at DeSmog.
- “Atlantic Legal Foundation,” Media Matters. Accessed January, 2012.
- ExxonSecrets Factsheet: Atlantic Legal Foundation, ALF.
- “Atlantic Legal Foundation Files Amicus Brief with Supreme Court in Important Environmental Case,” Atlantic Legal Foundation, October 25, 2006. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/o3CT8
- “Atlantic Legal Foundation Files Amicus Brief in Important Environmental Case in the Supreme Court,” The Free Library.
- “Atlantic Legal Foundation,” Conservative Transparency. Search performed January 26, 2017.
- William Pentland. “Climate Skeptic: Non-Consensus Science Is Likely Junk,” Forbes, October 23, 2011.
- “Atlantic Legal Foundation New Address,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/gi40c
- “Atlantic Legal Foundation,” Sourcewatch. Accessed January 26, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/J0u49
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived June 7, 2007. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/7b55t
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived May 5, 2008. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/S12NK
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived April 30, 2009. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/CMFuD
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived Jan 29, 2010. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/04BOW
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived July 25, 2011. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/VyzG7
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived May 12, 2012. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/61QOK
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived June 2, 2013. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/p6t5A
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived June 30, 2014. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/uIk0l
- “Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived April 5, 2015. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/a2fAN
- “ALF Leadership,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived January 27, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/9GRvK
- “Advisory Council,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived March 15, 2016. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/4jjby
- “Advisory Council,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived January 27, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/XrSYG
- “Atlantic Legal Foundation Officers,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived January 18, 2016. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/0IlOo
- “Atlantic Legal Foundation Officers,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived January 27, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/hgsbR
- “Jurisdictional Determinations and the Clean Water Act,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived March 15, 2016. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/6qlAf
- “Foundation Files Comments on Proposed EPA Rule on Federal Wetlands Jurisdiction,” Atlantic Legal Foundation. Archived October 12, 2016. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/aJtqE
- John Stauber. Sheldon Rampton. “The Junkyard Dogs of Science,” PR Watch, Fourth Quarter 1998, Volume 5, No. 4. Archived March 11, 2013. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/8qpHS#selection-893.0-893.36
- “A. Alan Moghissi,” DeSmog. Last revision February 9, 2016.
- “Rodney W. Nichols,” DeSmog. Last revision January 28, 2017.
- Rod Nichols. Will Happer. “The Supreme Court sided with science against Obama,” New York Post, February 15, 2016. Archived September 14, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/SGu0y
