Environmental Law Reporter

What Environmental Law Reporter does

The Environmental Law Reporter (ELR) is a subscription-based environmental law research platform founded in January 1971 and operated by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. ELR provides searchable online access to over 50 years of curated environmental law content, including court cases, legislative bills, environmental statutes, agency proposals and rulemakings, Executive Orders, EAB and ALJ decisions, guidance documents, and DOJ consent decrees, organized through a proprietary subject-matter index spanning ten topic areas. The product suite comprises the core ELR subscription, the monthly News & Analysis journal, the ELR Update (delivered three times per month) and ELR Daily Update newsletters, the ELR Online research website, the three-volume Law of Environmental Protection reference text, and topic-indexed case and article archives.

The underlying platform is a subscription-only online research environment with advanced search, subject-matter indexing, and full archival access back to 1970. Print distribution of the Law of Environmental Protection is handled through ThomsonReuters' Westlaw store, and reprint/permission licensing is managed by The YGS Group. ELR indexes and links directly to U.S. EPA guidance and policy documents, reflecting a core content partnership with the federal regulator.

ELR's go-to-market is sales-led through ELI's membership program: both individual and organizational (company, school) memberships unlock the full ELR platform, monthly journal, and update publications. A secondary revenue stream comes from print journal advertising in News & Analysis, with black/white rates ranging from $150 to $350 per insertion depending on page size and frequency (1x/3x/6x), plus a 15% agency commission. The company serves federal and state government attorneys and managers, private sector practitioners in environmental/sustainability/energy/toxic tort/land use law, federal and state courts, law school libraries and educators, and public interest advocacy organizations. Current publication is at Volume 56 (2026), and ELR maintains registered trademarks (Environmental Law Reporter®, ELR®).

Name

Environmental Law Reporter

Legal name

Environmental Law Reporter

Website

https://elr.info

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Environmental Law Reporter (ELR) is a subscription-based environmental law research platform published by the Environmental Law Institute since 1971, serving government attorneys, private practitioners, courts, law schools, and public interest organizations with 50+ years of searchable case, statute, and regulatory archives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. ELI Membership Subscriptions: ELR access is bundled as a benefit of ELI membership. Members receive full access to ELR's online research platform, monthly journal (News & Analysis), and ELR Update publications. Both individual and organizational membership tiers are available.
2. Print Journal Advertising: ELR offers advertising placements in its monthly print journal. Rates vary by page size and frequency (1x, 3x, 6x insertions). Black/white rates range from $150-$350 per insertion depending on page size. Additional charges apply for covers. Agency commission of 15% is offered.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Environmental Law Reporter (ELR) is a subscription-based online legal research platform providing comprehensive, expert analysis of environmental, sustainability, natural resources, energy, toxic tort, and land use law and policy. The platform offers access to over 40 years of archived content including court cases, legislative bills, environmental statutes, agency proposals, rulemakings, Executive Orders, and DOJ consent decrees, supplemented by a monthly print/online journal (News & Analysis) and periodic expert summary updates (ELR Update, ELR Daily Update). ELR is the flagship publication of the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), accessed exclusively through ELI membership.

Product overview

ELR—The Environmental Law Reporter is a comprehensive online legal research platform published by the Environmental Law Institute. The platform operates as a multi-component system comprising the core ELR subscription providing access to over 50 years of environmental law research, the monthly News & Analysis journal, the ELR Update service delivering expert summaries three times monthly on federal and state judicial/administrative developments, the daily ELR Daily Update for federal administrative news, the subscription-only ELR Online research website with extensive statutory and regulatory content, the three-volume Law of Environmental Protection reference text, and the Subject Matter Index for organized topical research. These components work together to serve environmental law professionals including federal and state government attorneys, private sector attorneys, public interest advocates, and educators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• News & Analysis: ELR's highly-respected monthly journal offering insightful articles relevant to both legal practice and policy on environmental topics. Formerly known as just News & Analysis.
• ELR Update
• ELR Online

Products and services

• ELR – The Environmental Law Reporter (Core Subscription) The flagship subscription research tool providing the most-often cited analysis of environmental, sustainability, natural resources, energy, toxic tort, and land use law and policy. Includes access to over 40 years of archived content, court cases, statutes, regulations, and policy documents. Accessible only through Environmental Law Institute (ELI) membership.
• News & Analysis (Monthly Journal) ELR's highly-respected monthly journal offering insightful articles relevant to both legal practice and policy on pressing environmental topics. Available in print and online formats, included with ELI membership.
• ELR Update Expert summaries delivered three times a month covering the most important federal and state judicial and administrative developments, plus federal legislative and international news.
• ELR Daily Update Daily summary of federal administrative news, delivered via email to subscribers, providing timely updates on regulatory developments.
• Law of Environmental Protection Three-volume comprehensive reference text covering fragmented and conflicting environmental protection laws and regulations. Volume 1 covers general principles; Volume 2 covers media-specific programs (air, water, hazardous waste); Volume 3 covers product regulation including TSCA, FIFRA, drinking water, natural resource protection, and climate change. Edited by former EPA regional counsel. Print copies distributed through Thomson Reuters.

Quantifiable outcome

• Most often-cited environmental law journal in the field
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ThomsonReutersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThomsonReuters serves as the print distribution partner for the Law of Environmental Protection three-volume set, making physical copies available through the store.westlaw.com platform. This partnership provides access to ELI's authoritative environmental law reference materials in print format.
• The YGS GroupminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe YGS Group handles reprints and permissions for ELR content. Organizations seeking to reprint copyrighted ELI/ELR materials contact The YGS Group at elipermissions.com or 800-290-5460 for permissions and licensing.
• U.S. Environmental Protection AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPA provides guidance documents and policy information that ELR indexes and links to as part of its comprehensive environmental law research coverage. ELR maintains a direct link to ELI's Guidance & Policy Documents section sourced from EPA.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Westlaw (Thomson Reuters): The leading legal research platform serving law firms, government, and academia with comprehensive primary law, secondary analysis, and AI-powered tools. Westlaw covers environmental law as part of its broader portfolio and represents both a distribution partner (Thomson Reuters distributes ELR's Law of Environmental Protection) and the most formidable competitor in legal research.
• LexisNexis: Major legal research platform competing head-to-head with Westlaw, providing statutes, case law, and secondary analytical content across all practice areas including environmental law. Lexis+ AI features directly target the workflow that ELR serves with curated environmental analysis.
• Practical Law (Thomson Reuters): Thomson Reuters' legal know-how service providing practice notes, precedents, and current awareness across practice areas including environmental law. Directly competes with ELR's analytical content and update services.
• Bloomberg Industry Group (formerly BNA): Publisher of specialized legal and regulatory reporters including BNA's Environmental Due Diligence Guide and environmental law coverage. Historically the most direct competitor in the environmental law specialty publishing space.
• Bloomberg Law: Legal research and news platform owned by Bloomberg that combines primary law, docket coverage, and practice-oriented analytical content. It competes with ELR for environmental law practitioners, particularly those needing regulatory and transactional analysis.

Emerging players

• Law360: Legal news publication providing daily coverage of environmental law and regulatory developments. Competes with ELR's ELR Update and Daily Update products for the current-awareness use case among practicing attorneys.
• Climate Case Chart (Sabin Center for Climate Change Law): Free academic database tracking climate change litigation globally, maintained by Columbia Law School. Represents a non-commercial, open-access competitor that commoditizes some of the case-tracking functionality ELR provides.
• JD Supra: Legal content distribution and publishing platform that aggregates expert commentary from attorneys across practice areas including environmental law. Competes indirectly with ELR for reader attention and serves as an alternative content channel for legal practitioners.

Broad incumbents

• Wolters Kluwer: Global information services company with significant legal and regulatory publishing operations, including CCH environmental compliance resources. Competes with ELR through broader compliance and regulatory products serving environmental professionals.
• American Bar Association: Professional association that publishes legal content across all practice areas, including the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. Competes with ELR as an alternative authority for environmental law professionals and provides similar educational and analytical resources.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EnvLawReporter
• Facebookfacebook.com/35601332048
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/environmental-law-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Environmental Law Reporter