Environmental

Seminar - This course will cover the law of biodiversity, with a focus on the laws of the United States. We will review the science of biodiversity and biodiversity loss, and then examine laws addressing biodiversity at the federal, state, and local levels. We will cover biodiversity law, ecosystem management, and emerging challenges like climate change and renewable energy development. The course will be graded based on short response papers and participation in class discussions.

Skills - 2 hours. Drafting a Solar Farm Bill is a practicum in which the class acts as an advisory law firm for its client, a solar farm bill solution and its facilitator, the educational non-profit Climate Solutions Advocacy Institute (CSAI). The class objective is to provide the client with a white paper that can advise CSAI in its development of a massive solar farm bill, financed by green bonds.

Seminar – 2 hours. Much of our modern federal government relies on administrative agencies exercising authority delegated to them by Congress. Federal courts have traditionally deferred to agencies’ implementation of the statutes they administer, although these courts also set aside (or “vacate”) agency actions they find to be unlawful. In recent years, however, several justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have openly called for revisiting several administrative law doctrines that underlie this system.

Lecture - 3 hours. Course examines how the U.S. Constitution and the federal Administrative Procedure Act constrain and regulate decision making by government agencies and officials. Topics include administrative due process, separation of powers, delegation of authority to agencies, procedural requirements for agency adjudication and rulemaking, and the extent and limits of judicial review. This course is highly recommended for anyone intending to practice in any public law area or at the intersection of public/private law.

Seminar - 2 units.  Trade tariffs, fecal water pollution, and migrant workers’ rights: these are all issues that have been in the news this year.  A common thread: these issues all affect, and are affected by, aspects of our food system and the laws surrounding this system.  This course explores the various legal structures surrounding the governance of our food system; we will cover environmental regulation (or lack thereof), food safety laws, trade laws, and labor laws.  Indeed, the structure of our food system is especially in flux during this administration, given the upcoming passage o

Seminar - 2 hours.  Elective course for Environmental Law Certificate Program.  This course will survey the law’s understanding and treatment of animals by looking at the development of federal and state policies toward wild, captive, farmed, and companion animals.

Seminar - 2 hours. The seminar explores the history, law, and public policy of energy regulation in the United States, emphasizing economic and environmental regulation. Competitive restructuring of the natural gas and electric utility industries is emphasized. The basic regulatory schemes for other energy sources—hydroelectric power, coal, oil, and nuclear power—are explored depending on class interest. This seminar is recommended to anyone interested in the energy sector, various models of economic regulation, or regulated industries.

Final Assessment: Take-home exam

Discussion - 4 hours. An introduction to environmental law, focusing primarily on federal law.  Includes coverage of the historical development of environmental law, including the transition from common law to statutory law; the role of courts, the legislature, and the executive branch in the development and implementation of environmental policy; allocation of authority among different levels of government; the role of market forces in environmental decisions; and the major regulatory strategies that have been applied to control environmental harm.

Discussion - 3 hours.  Core course for Environmental Law Certificate Program.  This class examines underlying theory and practice in securing compliance with our major environmental laws.  After exploring basic principles of enforcement, we look at current issues arising in implementing environmental law in civil prosecutions, criminal prosecutions, and citizen suits.  These include environmental federalism, deterrence-based and cooperation-based theories of enforcement, penalty policies, supplemental environmental projects, mens rea requirements for criminal violatio

Discussion - 3 hours. Elective Course for Environmental Law Certificate Program. Prior course work in environmental law and/or international law is helpful. This course provides an overview of the structure and basic principles of international environmental law and policy. The course considers the challenge of addressing global environmental problems in a system characterized by multiple sovereign governments, the regulatory limitations of U.S.