Zach Pilchen JD ’13

Zach Pilchen joined the Biden-Harris administration in October 2022 as Senior Legal Counsel in the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Previously, Pilchen was an associate at Beveridge & Diamond, PC, where he served as Deputy Chair of the Air & Climate Practice Group. Before that, Zach was an attorney-advisor in EPA’s Office of General Counsel, where he advised EPA policymakers on the development of air pollution and climate change regulations under the Clean Air Act.

While initially at EPA, Zach spent two years detailed to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works Brookings Institution fellowship, and later as an executive branch detailee. In the Senate, he advised Democratic policymakers on an array of environmental matters, including bipartisan legislation reforming how the Clean Water Act regulates ballast water discharges, and bipartisan legislation phasing down the production and importation of hydrofluorocarbons.

Zach Pilchen has received numerous awards for his professional work, including EPA’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service and the U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Excellence. During law school, Zach clerked or interned with numerous components of the EPA and DOJ, including the EPA Office of Compliance; the EPA Office of Civil Enforcement; the EPA Office of Administrative Law Judges; the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon; and a specialized Clean Air Act litigation group within DOJ’s Environmental & Natural Resource Division in Washington, D.C.

In addition to his JD from Lewis & Clark, Zach Pilchen holds an LLM in Energy & Environmental Law, with highest honors, from George Washington University.