Keith H. Hirokawa
Associate Professor of Law
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Courses: Property, Environmental Law, Ethics, and Policy, Jurisprudence Seminar

Professor Keith Hirokawa joined Texas Wesleyan University School of Law as an associate professor in 2007, bringing his interests in environmental and natural resources law, land use, property law, and jurisprudence to the faculty. During his practice in Oregon and Washington, Professor Hirokawa was involved with community groups and nonprofit organizations, serving in a variety of capacities as counsel, advisor, and board member. He continues his involvement with the ABA’s State and Local Government Law Section as editor of the Government Law News. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas Wesleyan, Professor Hirokawa taught land use law as an adjunct professor at the University of Oregon School of Law.

Professor Hirokawa’s scholarship focuses on the tension between property and the treatment of natural resources, particularly the manner in which our perspectives on nature and property are constructed through law. His research reflects his interests in the emerging and ongoing controversies in land use, environmental law and legal theory, and on bridging the gap between environmental ethics and environmental law. Professor Hirokawa’s recent research includes the design of legal education in both the law school curriculum and teaching methods, encompassed in the pedagogical debate over the perceived divergence between legal education and the practice of law.

Professor Hirokawa holds an L.L.M. from Lewis and Clark Law School, where he engaged his academic endeavors in environmental and natural resources law. He earned both his J.D. and M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Connecticut and his B.A. from Ursinus College, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Selected publications

“Dealing With Uncommon Ground: The Place of Legal Constructivism in the Social Construction of Nature,” 21 Virginia Environmental Law Journal 387 (2003).

“Some Pragmatic Observations About Radical Critique in Environmental Law”, 21 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 225 (2002), reprinted in Environmental Ethics and Law (Goldstein, ed. 2004).

“The Prima Facie Burden and the Vanishing SEPA Threshold:  Washington’s Emerging Preference for Efficiency Over Accuracy,” 37 Gonzaga Law Review 403 (2001/2002).

“The Gap Between Informational Goals and the Duty to Gather Information:  Challenging Piecemealed Review Under the Washington State Environmental Policy Act,” 25 Seattle University Law Review 343 (2001).

“How Good is an Old Water Right? The Application of Statutory Forfeiture Provisions to Pre-Code Water Rights,” co-authored with Janet C. Neuman, 4 University of Denver Water Law Review 1 (2000).