Erika Fontánez Torres

Érika Fontánez Torres is an associate professor at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, an adjunct professor at the U.P.R. Graduate School of Planning, and a collaborating lawyer in Environmental cases at the U.P.R. Legal Aid Clinic. She coordinates the Law School’s Pro Bono Program, volunteers as a legal counselor for the Land Trust of Caño Martín Peña’s Communities, and serves as mentor of the internationally recognized student organization National Environmental Law Association, known as A.N.D.A. Before teaching, Fontánez Torres clerked at the Court of Appeals and worked as a legal assistant to the Secretary of Natural Resources.

Her investigation interests include the legal discourses in socio-environmental conflicts, the configuration of space through Law, and the relation between property, urbanism, and environment from a socio-juridical perspective. She teaches courses and seminars on Contracts, Property, Urbanism and Planning, Environmental Law, Property and Environmental Policy, and Law and Public Participation. Among Fontánez Torres’ publications are articles in Puerto Rican, U.S. and Spanish law journals; collaborations in newspapers, handbooks, and interdisciplinary investigations, as well as a chapter in the book Ética ecológica. She is a member of SELA, the Latin-American Studies Association, the Law and Society Association, the International Sociological Association, the American Bar Association, and of several committees of the Puerto Rico Bar. 

Education

LL.M., London School of Economics, 2002
J.D., University of Puerto Rico, 1999
B.A., University of Puerto Rico, 1996