All VLS Courses

International Investment Arbitration and the Environment

This course will examine a cutting-edge area of environmental advocacy. Under the umbrella of sustainable development, the course brings together the points of contact between three areas of international law, namely investment, human rights, and the environment, which together form one of the most dynamic areas of international environmental advocacy today. The course will explore how the various treaties underlying these three regimes relate to one another, with a particular emphasis on dispute settlement. In this context, the seminar will examine conflict of norms and hierarchy issues, as well as interpretative tools to prevent or minimize conflict. Besides these theoretical inquiries, the course will cover particular themes where human rights, environmental, and investment law interact, such as: the right to health, the right to water and sanitation, due process and denial of justice, property rights and expropriation, and stabilization clauses and positive human rights obligations. The course will place special emphasis on bilateral investment treaty negotiations, as well as on international investment arbitrations involving health, safety and environmental measures.

Download 2013 Course Syllabus

International Law

This course provides an introduction to international law and the international legal system.  Using real-world examples, it examines the processes through which international law is made, interpreted and applied, exploring the role of states as well as that of international bodies, non-governmental organizations, and corporations. The application of international law in domestic legal systems is examined, as is the reach of domestic law in the international arena.

International Regulation of Trade

An introduction to the field of international trade regulation.  Focused primarily on the interpretation and application of key provisions of the major trade treaties falling under the jurisdiction of the World Trade Organization, the course also examines arbitral decisions interpreting and applying provisions of separate bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade treaties such as NAFTA.

International Trade and the Environment

Examines the intersection between trade liberalization and environmental protection. The course addresses protection of natural resources through unilateral trade-based measures, the legality of multilateral environmental agreements employing trade measures, utilization of science-based trade tests, and environmental impacts of foreign investment liberalization.

Download 2013 Course Syllabus

Interviewing, Counseling, and Negotiation

This simulation-based course introduces knowledge and behaviors needed to accomplish interviewing and counseling and negotiation tasks successfully.  Topics include working relationships with clients, gathering information from clients effectively, and helping clients make decisions in both dispute resolving and transactional contexts.

Introduction to American Legal System: Constitutional Law, Legislation, Regulation

Provides foreign-trained lawyers with a thorough introductory grounding in the U.S. legal system, environmentally-relevant common law, constitutional law, legislative and regulatory regimes, and the skills needed to access and utilize appropriate materials. 

Introduction to Chinese Law

An introduction to contemporary Chinese legal system and institutions in historical and comparative perspective.  Studies diverse aspects in the legal development of the PRC, including the legislature, sources of law, the legal profession and the judiciary, administrative law, the criminal justice system, dispute resolution, and the efforts and challenges of addressing China's environmental degradation and energy problems through law.

Introduction to Legal Studies

An introduction to the fields of legal analysis, research, and writing through the study of environmental statutes and case law. The course explores research and investigatory techniques, citation form, legal reasoning, writing skills, and professionalism. 

Introduction to Study of Law

An introduction to the fields of legal analysis, research, and writing through the study of environmental statutes and case law. The course explores research and investigatory techniques, citation form, legal reasoning, writing skills, and professionalism. 

JD Part Time Externship

Provides an opportunity to obtain field based experience on a part-time basis.  Students must work three hours per week for 15 weeks for each credit earned, and may earn from two to six credits depending on the time committed.  Students meet regularly with their faculty sponsors for evaluation and reflection of their experience.