Carl Brzorad

Senior Attorney

Carl litigates in federal court to protect clean air, clean water and threatened wildlife. He also advocates for environmental protections through state and federal permitting processes, and negotiates with industry and government agencies to accomplish SELC’s objectives.   

“I believe that the public has an inviolable right to clean air, clean water, and a sustainable and diverse ecosystem,” Carl says.

The profits of industry never should take precedence over the public’s right to a healthy environment. As an attorney at SELC, I fight for these values every day. 

Carl Brzorad

One SELC highlight for Carl is the successful shutdown of commercial horseshoe crab harvesting in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. This type of harvest immensely harms the rufa red knot, a threatened species of migratory shorebird that depends on horseshoe crab eggs for its survival. Today, thanks to SELC’s work, rufa red knots have a protected sanctuary in South Carolina where they can stop to refuel along a transpolar migration from Patagonia to the Arctic.  

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina Carl holds Asheville as a favorite spot in the southeast. “The mountains are beautiful, the town is funky, and the local beer complements both,” he said.

• U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina, clerk 
• J.D., New York University School of Law, Dean’s Scholar; senior executive editor, Journal of International Law and Politics
• B.A., University of South Carolina, summa cum laude