Ryke Longest
Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic and Senior Lecturing Fellow
Ryke Longest currently serves as the Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic and a Senior Lecturing Fellow at the Duke University School of Law. He supervises students practicing in the clinic and teaches the seminar portion of the clinic.
Ryke received his B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1987 and graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1991. After graduation from law school, Ryke worked as a solo practitioner doing criminal defense work as well as small civil cases. In 1993, he began to work for the North Carolina Department of Justice in the Environmental Division. During his 14 year career at Justice, he served as lead counsel to state level environmental agencies, boards and commissions. Ryke litigated cases before administrative agencies, state courts, federal courts and appellate courts at all levels. He also drafted legislation and advised agencies on rulemaking. In addition, Longest represented the State of North Carolina in complex criminal appeals.
Ryke is admitted to practice in the state courts of North Carolina, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina, the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is also an active member of the N.C. Bar Association.
Ryke and his wife, Lynn Longest, live in downtown Raleigh with their son, Patrick. Lynn is a licensed real estate broker working with the firm of Hodge and Kittrell.
