By Allison Torres Burtka
Michigan Law
The Colorado Office of the Attorney General has named 3L Henry Evans as its 2026 Hobbs Fellow. During this yearlong fellowship—which honors the late Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs Jr., an advocate for clarity in water rights issues—Evans will work on projects to protect and improve the quality of Colorado’s land, air, water, and wildlife.
“There’s a really fascinating set of issues in Colorado, particularly around water rights,” said Evans, whose fellowship will provide him the opportunity to work with several units in the AG Office’s Natural Resources and Environment Section.
“I think there will be a lot of very interesting work, and Colorado is one of the states that is doing a lot to push back against the current federal government’s reverse of course on environmental protection and climate change.”
New perspectives on the law and state government
Evans has long been interested in environmental protection, and his work before law school with the Ann Arbor firm Kanji & Katzen, which represents Indigenous tribes, kindled his interest in law school and environmental law. There, he worked on a lawsuit to shut down the Line 5 pipeline, which carries oil from western Canada through the Bad River Reservation in Wisconsin and into Michigan.
Before working at Kanji & Katzen, Evans hadn’t fully appreciated how powerful the law was as a tool for environmental protection. “That case [Bad River v. Enbridge] is in large part about trespass, property rights, and tribal sovereignty,” he said.
“Seeing those tools used to vindicate the rights of a sovereign and protect the environment was eye-opening.”
Evans then earned a master’s in history, focused on American Indian history, before law school. He headed to Michigan Law with these overlapping interests in federal American Indian and environmental law.
His 1L summer clerkship with the Yurok Tribe in Northern California was fascinating for many reasons, he said, but it also changed his perspective of government work.
He observed that “the tribal government was incredibly responsive” to a fairly small community of about 6,000 members, and that “the community was really involved in the goings on of their government.”
Working for the Yurok Tribe changed Evans’s somewhat cynical perception of government. “That was a good course correction on how I thought about governments in general. But also, a lot of environmental law requires you to play ball with governments,” he said.
Environmental law at Michigan
At Michigan Law, Evans has deepened his understanding of and experience with environmental law. He said he has benefited immensely from all the environmental and energy law faculty, “who are on the cutting edge of their field and do so much work to help us shape our interests, explore where we want to go in the field, and show us what’s possible.”
The Environmental Law Society and the environmental and energy law curriculum “have been really robust,” he added. “I love every class I’ve taken at this school.”
Evans’s participation in the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic last fall with Professor Oday Salim further prepared him for a career in this field, he said. “Professor Salim has got so much energy and so much passion for teaching, and he’s this font of knowledge—and just an excellent mentor. I’ve been lucky enough to work with him in the clinic, in his class, and doing research assistant work with him.”
Evans added, “I would encourage every student to take a clinic in an area they’re interested in—or just take a clinic at all—because the guided practical experience of the course over the semester is totally invaluable.”
His involvement in the clinic included work with a local government, which bolstered his interest in state government work. He sees the Hobbs Fellowship as a way to gain “experience with seasoned attorneys who I think are pushing on really good issues” and to contribute to important environmental work.
As a Hobbs Fellow, Evans looks forward to working in public service, “particularly on something that I think is a really good exercise of government authority and power.
“It feels productive and pro-social, building up the health of communities and states.”
Michigan Law
The Colorado Office of the Attorney General has named 3L Henry Evans as its 2026 Hobbs Fellow. During this yearlong fellowship—which honors the late Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs Jr., an advocate for clarity in water rights issues—Evans will work on projects to protect and improve the quality of Colorado’s land, air, water, and wildlife.
“There’s a really fascinating set of issues in Colorado, particularly around water rights,” said Evans, whose fellowship will provide him the opportunity to work with several units in the AG Office’s Natural Resources and Environment Section.
“I think there will be a lot of very interesting work, and Colorado is one of the states that is doing a lot to push back against the current federal government’s reverse of course on environmental protection and climate change.”
New perspectives on the law and state government
Evans has long been interested in environmental protection, and his work before law school with the Ann Arbor firm Kanji & Katzen, which represents Indigenous tribes, kindled his interest in law school and environmental law. There, he worked on a lawsuit to shut down the Line 5 pipeline, which carries oil from western Canada through the Bad River Reservation in Wisconsin and into Michigan.
Before working at Kanji & Katzen, Evans hadn’t fully appreciated how powerful the law was as a tool for environmental protection. “That case [Bad River v. Enbridge] is in large part about trespass, property rights, and tribal sovereignty,” he said.
“Seeing those tools used to vindicate the rights of a sovereign and protect the environment was eye-opening.”
Evans then earned a master’s in history, focused on American Indian history, before law school. He headed to Michigan Law with these overlapping interests in federal American Indian and environmental law.
His 1L summer clerkship with the Yurok Tribe in Northern California was fascinating for many reasons, he said, but it also changed his perspective of government work.
He observed that “the tribal government was incredibly responsive” to a fairly small community of about 6,000 members, and that “the community was really involved in the goings on of their government.”
Working for the Yurok Tribe changed Evans’s somewhat cynical perception of government. “That was a good course correction on how I thought about governments in general. But also, a lot of environmental law requires you to play ball with governments,” he said.
Environmental law at Michigan
At Michigan Law, Evans has deepened his understanding of and experience with environmental law. He said he has benefited immensely from all the environmental and energy law faculty, “who are on the cutting edge of their field and do so much work to help us shape our interests, explore where we want to go in the field, and show us what’s possible.”
The Environmental Law Society and the environmental and energy law curriculum “have been really robust,” he added. “I love every class I’ve taken at this school.”
Evans’s participation in the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic last fall with Professor Oday Salim further prepared him for a career in this field, he said. “Professor Salim has got so much energy and so much passion for teaching, and he’s this font of knowledge—and just an excellent mentor. I’ve been lucky enough to work with him in the clinic, in his class, and doing research assistant work with him.”
Evans added, “I would encourage every student to take a clinic in an area they’re interested in—or just take a clinic at all—because the guided practical experience of the course over the semester is totally invaluable.”
His involvement in the clinic included work with a local government, which bolstered his interest in state government work. He sees the Hobbs Fellowship as a way to gain “experience with seasoned attorneys who I think are pushing on really good issues” and to contribute to important environmental work.
As a Hobbs Fellow, Evans looks forward to working in public service, “particularly on something that I think is a really good exercise of government authority and power.
“It feels productive and pro-social, building up the health of communities and states.”
