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Distance Learning Graduates to Participate in VLS Commencement

Vermont Law School — 14 May 2013 16:00:00 EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—May 14, 2013

CONTACT:
Peter Glenshaw, Director of Communications, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1318, cell: 603-738-8487, home: 603-795-4764, pglenshaw@vermontlaw.edu
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SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—Graduates of the distance learning program at Vermont Law School (VLS) will participate in the 2013 Commencement, marking the first time in the law school’s history that its degree recipients will include both residential students and non-residential students.

“This is an incredibly special moment not only for Vermont Law School, but for the students themselves, some of whom are coming from as far away as the Philippines and Puerto Rico to participate in graduation,” said Rebecca Purdom, Director of the Distance Learning and Assistant Dean of Environmental Programs at VLS.

“I am very excited to be participating in commencement,” said Evelyn Rivera-Ocasio, who currently works for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Puerto Rico and will be graduating with an LLM in Environmental Law. “I started this journey two years ago and it has exceeded all of my expectations.”

Twenty-eight distance learning students will participate in the 2013 Commencement in South Royalton, Vermont. Seventeen of the students will be conferred Master’s degrees in Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), and eleven students will receive an LLM degree in Environmental Law. Altogether, 53 VLS students have graduated from the VLS distance learning program (32 MELP and 21 LLM graduates).

Vermont Law School currently enrolls approximately 150 students in its distance learning program. Working in “cohorts,” students can begin a program of study at six different dates during the course of a year, and take one to two courses each term until their degrees are completed. Some of the graduates participating in the Commencement exercises were among the students in the first cohort of the distance learning program, which began two years ago on May 16, 2011.

“We welcome each of these graduates to the VLS alumni community,” said Karis North ‘95, President of the Vermont Law School Alumni Association. “We are proud of your accomplishments and look forward to working with you over the coming years to strengthen and advance Vermont Law School.”

Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, has the top-ranked environmental law program and one of the top-ranked clinical training programs in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; two Master’s Degrees (Master of Environmental Law and Policy, and Master of Energy Regulation and Law), and three post-JD degrees—LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, and LLM in Environmental Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, the South Royalton Legal Clinic, and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. For more information, visit www.vermontlaw.edu.

Randy Hertz, William Sorrell, and Paulo Machado to be honored at Vermont Law School Commencement

Vermont Law School — 06 May 2013 16:00:00 EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—May 6, 2013

CONTACT:
Peter Glenshaw, Director of Communications, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1318, cell: 603-738-8487, home: 603-795-4764, pglenshaw@vermontlaw.edu
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SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—The Vice Dean of NYU Law School and a national leader on clinical education, Randy Hertz, will serve as the speaker at 2013 Commencement at Vermont Law School (VLS). In addition to conferring an honorary degree upon Professor Hertz, VLS will also confer honorary degrees upon Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell and the “Father of Brazilian Environmental Law,” Professor Paulo Affonso Leme Machado.

The 38th Commencement at VLS will be held at 10am on the Village Green of South Royalton, Vermont, on Saturday, May 18, 2013. More than 300 students are expected to be conferred juris doctor (JD), master of laws (LLM), and master’s degrees at the graduation ceremony.

“Randy Hertz is an untiring, nationally recognized advocate for clinical legal education who has made an exemplary commitment to the poor and minorities,” said Marc Mihaly, President and Dean of Vermont Law School. “In addition to embodying the spirit of VLS with his dedication to the disadvantaged and underserved, Professor Hertz played a key role with the American Bar Association’s MacCrate Report, which called for dramatic changes in the way that legal education is delivered and helped spark a national dialogue on this important topic.”

Randy Hertz serves as a vice dean, professor of clinical law, and director of clinical and advocacy programs at New York University (NYU) Law School. Before joining the NYU faculty, he worked at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, in the juvenile, criminal, appellate and special litigation divisions. He is the co-author of “Trial Manual for Defense Attorneys in Juvenile Court," and "Federal Habeas Corpus Law and Practice." Hertz is an editor-in-chief of the NYU Journal, Clinical Law Review, and the Chair-Elect of the Council of the ABA's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. He is the recipient of the American Bar Association's Livingston Hall award for advocacy in the juvenile field; the Association of American Law School's William Pincus Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Legal Education; and the NYU Award for Distinguished Teaching by a University Professor.

Professor Paulo Affonso Leme Machado will receive an honorary juris doctor degree from Vermont Law School. Known as the “Father of Brazilian Environmental Law,” Professor Machado is one of the most influential environmental attorneys in the history of Brazil and throughout much of Latin America and South America. Professor Machado was the first public prosecutor in Brazil to champion environmental causes in a country with no public interest bar, and established the rights of environmental protection as defensible and legal entities in Brazilian law. After the fall of the military dictatorship that governed Brazil until 1985, Professor Machado became the principle author of the environmental sections of the new Brazilian constitution that guaranteed the rights to a clean environment to individuals, and the rights of nature. Professor Machado was a key architect in the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio Summit) and a key speaker in the recent Rio+20 Conference. He is the recipient of 45 awards and honorary degrees, author of 22 books, 34 book chapters in Brazilian publications, 32 book chapters in books published outside Brazil, and a total of 109 articles.

Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell will receive an honorary juris doctor from VLS. A native and resident of Burlington, VT, Sorrell is the current and longest serving Attorney General in the history of the state of Vermont, having served as Vermont’s Attorney General since 1997. Sorrell is considered a national leader among state attorney generals, and is well known for this work on issues involving tobacco litigation and other issues, including childhood obesity. Sorrell received his undergraduate degree (magna cum laude) from the University of Notre Dame and his juris doctor from Cornell Law School. Before becoming attorney general, he served in private and public practice, and as Vermont’s secretary of administration. Sorrell served as the President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) from June of 2004 to June of 2005. Prior to his presidential year, he served as the chair of the NAAG Tobacco Committee and co-chair of its Consumer Protection Committee. In June of 2003 he was chosen by his fellow attorneys general to receive NAAG’s Kelley-Wyman Award, given annually to the “Outstanding Attorney General” who has done the most to further the goals of the nation’s attorneys general. In 2008 the American Legacy Foundation endowed in his name an annual lecture on Tobacco Issues. In 2009, the Vermont Medical Society recognized Sorrell as its "Citizen of the Year" and for 2010, the National Humane Society recognized him for Humane Law Enforcement.

More information about Commencement can be found here.

VLS Launches Center for Legal Innovation

Vermont Law School — 24 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST

South Royalton, VT—A Vermont Law School (VLS) faculty member known for cross-cutting, interdisciplinary work has established the Center for Legal Innovation and is collaborating with several organizations on its work—including Exari, Google, and the Office of Financial Research at the U.S. Department of Treasury.

“We are helping create a future where innovation and entrepreneurial energy redefine legal education, the practice of law, and law itself,” said Oliver Goodenough, who is a professor of law at VLS and the center’s founding Director. “Through the Center, we have established a free space in which to re-envision what law can be, untethered from a fixation on what law now is.”

Three engagements over the last year help to explain the Center’s activities. With Exari—a Boston-based company focused on document assembly and contract management software—Goodenough and his colleague, Jeanne Eicks ’96, have been providing product research and development support. VLS students are working directly on these projects, which have been underway for more than a year.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for VLS students to learn first-hand how the law and lawyering is changing,” said Eicks. “It has led to externship opportunities for students and at least one job for a member of the Class of 2013.”

In addition to Exari, the Center recently received a Google Research Award to explore new ways in which organizations—including businesses, non-profits, and hybrid organizations such as B-corps—can be governed in a digital age.

Professor Goodenough will utilize the grant to support his work on automating the formation and governance of organizations fundamentally. The aim is to rethink, in light of digital tools and platform, what an organization is and does.

“The law is shaped by the technology that supports it,” said Goodenough. “One hundred years ago, we developed the case method because of a technological innovation of the time—the spread of cheap, mechanized printing—that subsequently influenced the way we argue about law in court, how we approach scholarship, and the very conceptual foundation of the American justice system. I am very excited to ask basic questions about the elements and logic of organizational governance in light of the pervasive presence of digital technology.”

The grant will enable Goodenough, through the Center for Legal Innovation at VLS, to award an LLM Fellowship later this year to support research and publication, as well as collaborations with businesses, non-profits, hybrid organizations, secretary of state offices, and elected officials interested in enabling these new rules and structures to be developed.

“I believe there is significant economic opportunity and creativity to be unleashed when rules and laws exist in ways that reflect actually how we work today,” Goodenough said.

With the Office of Financial Research (OFR) at the U.S. Department of Treasury, Goodenough is working to create a financial instrument library as part of work related to the Dodd-Frank Act. The OFR is an Office within Treasury established by Congress to serve the Financial Stability Oversight Council, its member agencies, and the public by improving the quality, transparency, and accessibility of financial data and information; by conducting and sponsoring research related to financial stability; and by promoting best practices in risk management.

Goodenough has taught at Vermont Law School since 1992, and currently teaches courses on Digital Drafting, Representing Entrepreneurial Business, Intellectual Property, and Property. In addition, he is a faculty fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, an Adjunct Professor at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, and a fellow at the Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research.

CONTACT:
Peter Glenshaw, Director of Communications
Vermont Law School
office: 802-831-1318
cell: 603-738-8487
pglenshaw@vermontlaw.edu

Vermont Law School Signs Articulation Agreement with Wesleyan University

Vermont Law School — 08 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—April 8, 2013

CONTACT:
Peter Glenshaw, Director of Communications, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1318, cell: 603-738-8487, home: 603-795-4764, pglenshaw@vermontlaw.edu
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SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—Vermont Law School and Wesleyan University announced today that they have signed an articulation agreement that will enable graduates from Wesleyan’s College of the Environment who meet certain academic standards to be guaranteed admission to Vermont Law School’s JD, JD/Master’s or Master’s degree programs.

President Michael S. Roth of Wesleyan University signed the agreement on Wednesday, April 3rd, and President and Dean Marc Mihaly of Vermont Law School signed the agreement this week.

“We are delighted to sign this agreement with Wesleyan University and look forward to welcoming qualified graduates from its College of the Environment to the master’s and the JD degrees offered at Vermont Law School,” said Dean Mihaly. “Students from Wesleyan fit the profile of our most successful students—they are smart and committed to making a difference in their communities and, indeed, in the world.”

U.S.News & World Report recently ranked Vermont Law School as the #1 environmental law school in the nation for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year. Vermont Law School has been ranked #1 or #2 in the U.S. News rankings for environmental law every year since 1991, and it has been ranked number one for 16 of those 23 years.

“We’re excited to provide this option for students in the College of the Environment to take their interdisciplinary exploration of environmental issues to the next level through advanced study of the law, policy and regulation,” said Roth. “The COE was conceived of as a place where scholars can think about translating their research into action in the public sphere. Vermont Law School offers superb programs in environmental law and policy. Earning a JD or Master’s degree there certainly will empower our graduates to make an even greater difference in the world.”

“In my mind, Vermont Law School is the premier school for environmental law in the country,” remarked Barry Chernoff, director of College of the Environment and Robert Schumann Professor of Environmental Studies. “Pursuing further study in environmental policy, regulation and law will enable our students to influence critical environmental issues facing our country—and the world—over the next century.”

Under the agreement, graduates of Wesleyan’s College of the Environment will be guaranteed admission, with a waiver of all application fees, into Vermont Law School’s JD, Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), or Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL) programs. Qualified applicants must complete all requirements to earn a Bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan; complete a minimum of 15 credits for a JD, or 16 credits for a Master’s, at Wesleyan; have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher; earn an LSAT score of 150 or higher for the JD; and present a letter of recommendation from the director of the College of the Environment. The agreement applies to those who have graduated from Wesleyan within four years.

College of the Environment students are especially well-prepared to pursue this type of work after graduation, said Chernoff, because Wesleyan requires them to do their primary scholarship in a particular discipline, and then examine environmental issues from multiple lenses for the Environmental Studies linked major. Majors are also required to complete a capstone project on an environmental topic, principally from the perspective of their primary major, which offers good practice in real world environmental research. The emphasis on critical thinking from an interdisciplinary perspective, which takes into account the viewpoints of all stakeholders, gives “our students a great basis for doing environmental policy work in the future,” Chernoff said. He added that a significant number of COE graduates currently go on to earn law degrees. Current students he consulted about a partnership with Vermont Law School gave universally positive feedback.

Vermont Law Review to Examine Future of Lawyers and Legal Profession

Vermont Law School — 03 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—April 3, 2013

CONTACT: Peter Glenshaw, Director of Communications, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1318, cell: 603-738-8487, home: 603-795-4764, pglenshaw@vermontlaw.edu

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SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—Vermont Law Review will host a symposium on Friday, April 5^th, 2013, that examines one of the most compelling issues in legal education today-the future of lawyers and the legal profession.

Participants in the symposium include the following:

Paul Reiber, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
Phil Malone, Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School
Harold Eaton, Presiding Superior Court Judge for Orange County and Windsor County, Vermont
Deborah Jillson, President of eDiscovery Division, Daegis
Pavani Reddy, Director of Customer Discovery and Innovation, LexisNexis
David Mears '91, Vermont Commissioner of Environmental Conservation and former director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Legal Clinic at Vermont Law School
Kevin Colangelo '94, co-founder of one leading legal outsourcing firms, Pangea3, and currently the Managing Partner at Yuson & Irvine LLC
Bob Paolini, Executive Director of the Vermont Bar Association
Margaret Barry, Associate Dean for Clinical and Experiential Programs, Vermont Law School
Oliver Goodenough, Professor of Law and Director, Center for Legal Innovation, Vermont Law School
Marc Mihaly, President & Dean of Vermont Law School

"Every year, the Vermont Law Review hosts two conferences aimed at addressing some of the most pressing legal issues of the day," said Peter Keays '13 and Editor-in-Chief of Vermont Law Review. "The future of the legal profession is a critical issue, and we are eager to foster a discussion on such a relevant and timely topic. We are delighted to have such a strong group of panelists gathered for this symposium."

The symposium will be held from 12pm - 5pm on Friday, April 5, 2013, in Chase Center at Vermont Law School. The event is free and open to the public. The event coincides with Family Visiting Day, which enables parents and family members of current students to attend classes, meet professors, and learn more about Vermont Law School.

Vermont Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by Vermont Law School students in consultation with the faculty and administration of Vermont Law School. Its main objectives are to present readers with timely, topical information concerning the legal profession and legal scholarship, and to afford Vermont Law Review members an educational experience, which will hone their skills in research, writing, legal analysis, and leadership.

Vermont Law School will authorize four (4) hours of Vermont CLE credit for this event for $15. Payment is requested by check or cash at the symposium. Please email lawreview@vermontlaw.edu to indicate your interest in attending the event.

Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, has the top-ranked environmental law program and one of the top-ranked clinical training programs in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; two Master's Degrees (Master of Environmental Law and Policy, and Master of Energy Regulation and Law), and three post-JD degrees—LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, and LLM in Environmental Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, the South Royalton Legal Clinic, and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. For more information, visit www.vermontlaw.edu.

Food Talk Radio comes to VLS

Vermont Law School — 01 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST

"Food Talk Radio"—A 30-minute radio show has been launched by the Vermont Law School (VLS) Center for Agriculture and Food systems and Vermont Law students who are passionate about food and agriculture issues.

Produced by VLS students in cooperation with Royalton Community Radio, "Food Talk Radio" episodes are available online (www.facebook.com/cafscenter) and cover topics of both local and national interest concerning food, agriculture, policy, and the law.

The first episode covers the following topics:

Emily Lyons '14 on the Farm Bill;

Interview with the owners of the hot local eatery in South Royalton, Vermont—The Worthy Burger;

A debate on labeling genetically modified foods;

Interview with Vermont farmer and former Vermont state representative, David Ainsworth; and an

Interview with VLS President and Dean Marc Mihaly on VLS's role in training next generation of legal experts in food and agriculture.

"I'm thrilled with the creativity of this first episode," said Laurie Ristino, Director of the Center for Food and Agriculture Systems at Vermont Law School. "There is so much to discuss both nationally and locally in Vermont about the role of law in food and agriculture. Food Talk Radio is a dynamic forum for bringing together people interested in these issues."

Scholar and Social Entrepreneur to Lead Environmental Law Center

Vermont Law School — 18 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 18, 2013

CONTACT:
Peter Glenshaw, Director of Communications, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1318, cell: 603-738-8487, home: 603-795-4764, pglenshaw@vermontlaw.edu
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SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—A water law scholar who began her career by founding and leading a non-profit environmental law firm has been appointed as the new director of Vermont Law School’s Environmental Law Center (ELC). Melissa Scanlan is currently the Water Law and Policy Scholar at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She will assume leadership of the ELC in June 2013.

“Melissa Scanlan brings a robust background as a scholar, activist, and social entrepreneur,” said President and Dean Marc Mihaly. “I am incredibly excited about what she will do for the students and faculty of Vermont Law School as the new director of the ELC,” he said.

Scanlan received her JD degree and her MS degree in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California at Berkeley. She received her BA in World Politics from the Catholic University of America.

After graduating from Berkeley in 1999, Scanlan received two prestigious fellowships: an Equal Justice Works Fellowship, which mobilizes the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice, and an Echoing Green Fellowship, which supports emerging global social entrepreneurs with seed funding. Scanlan used these fellowships to launch Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA), the first non-profit environmental law center in Wisconsin. Under Scanlan’s leadership MEA grew into a thriving firm, with offices in two cities, providing legal and technical assistance to grassroots groups working for clean air, water, and government accountability.

After serving as MEA’s founder, executive director, and senior counsel, she was a lead consultant in the creation of the Center for Water Policy in 2011. The Center, which was launched with a $2.6M endowment, is an interdisciplinary water policy think tank within the new School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Selected as a Wisconsin Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2006, 2007, and 2008, Scanlan has represented clients in high impact lawsuits and shaped public policy in areas ranging from the Great Lakes Compact and water supply issues to enforcement and implementation of the Clean Water Act. She currently serves on the Board of the Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Sierra Club’s National Litigation Committee.

Scanlan’s scholarship focuses on the public trust doctrine, trans-boundary water agreements, the intersection of law and science, and empirical research about water management.

“I am thrilled to join Vermont Law School and the Environmental Law Center, which has been a leader in environmental scholarship and advocacy for more than 35 years,” Scanlan said. “Under the leadership of Marc Mihaly and John Echeverria, the ELC established leading centers on issues such as energy and the environment, agriculture and food systems, and environmental governance in China. I welcome the challenge to further the reach of the ELC and educate the next generation of environmental change makers.”

For the past two years, Professor John Echeverria has served as the Acting Director of the ELC. He will be returning to the VLS faculty following a sabbatical leave during the 2013–14 academic year.

“I am extraordinarily grateful for John’s service to the ELC for the past two years,” said Mihaly. “He has worked tirelessly to lead its operation while also continuing to teach, research, and publish. We look forward to welcoming him back after a well-deserved sabbatical.”

Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, has been ranked by U.S. News as the #1 environmental law school in the nation for an unprecedented five consecutive years, and has been ranked #1 or #2 in the U.S. News rankings for environmental law every year since 1991. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service; two Master’s Degrees (Master of Environmental Law and Policy, and Master of Energy Regulation and Law), and three post-JD degrees—LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers), LLM in Energy Law, and LLM in Environmental Law. The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center, the South Royalton Legal Clinic, and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. For more information, visit www.vermontlaw.edu

Public Risk, Private Profit; Ratepayer Cost, Utility Imprudence

Vermont Law School — 14 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EST

REPORT: FL, SC AND GA RATEPAYERS TO FOOT BILL FOR $20 BILLION IN EXCESS COSTS IF NUCLEAR REACTOR PROJECTS ARE NOT STOPPED

Ratepayer-Unfriendly “Advance Cost Recovery” Financing Schemes Are Keeping “Uneconomical” Reactor Projects Alive; Warning Sounded for IA, UT, MO and Other States Toying With Advanced Cost Recovery Financing.

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 14, 2013—Saddled with an “advance cost recovery” financing arrangement that allows the nuclear industry to make them pay in advance for the construction of new reactors, electricity ratepayers in South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, are faced with a stark choice today: Either “eat” roughly $6 billion already invested in costly new nuclear reactors or shell out even more when the region’s increasingly “uneconomical” reactor projects pile up $20 billion or more in excess costs.

That is the main conclusion of “Public Risk, Private Profit, Ratepayer Cost, Utility Imprudence,” a major new report by economic analyst Mark Cooper of the Vermont Law School Institute for Energy and the Environment. (The report is available online at http://216.30.191.148/vlsreport and http://www.vermontlaw.edu/Academics/Environmental_Law_Center/Institutes_and_Initiatives/News.htm.)

Cooper also concludes that the dire prospects ahead for ratepayers in the Southeast U.S. should send a clear warning to ratepayers and lawmakers in other states—including Iowa, Missouri and Utah—that have toyed with adopting “advance recovery financing” (sometimes called “construction work in progress” or CWIP financing) to erect traditional large-scale nuclear reactors and so-called “small modular reactors,” which recently received the Golden Fleece Award from Taxpayers for Common Sense.

In the wake of rising cost overruns at the Vogtle nuclear reactor project in Georgia, skyrocketing cost estimates for the Levy reactors in Florida, and the shuttering of the problem-plagued Crystal River reactor site, the Cooper study scrutinizes the economics of two Southeast U.S. reactors -- the V.C. Summer project in South Carolina and the proposed Levy reactor project in Florida. In both cases, the ratepayers of the utilities building the reactors are at significant peril of footing the bill for tens of billions of dollars in excess costs if the reactor projects proceed.

Report author Mark Cooper said: “For ratepayers, this is a real pick-your-poison situation: Either pull the plug now and ‘eat’ an average cost per reactor of one or two billion dollars already sunk into each reactor … or let the reactors proceed and pay $10 billion or more per project in excess costs over the life of the reactors. In the face of escalating nuclear construction costs, cheap natural gas, rising competition from increasingly inexpensive wind and other renewables, falling consumer demand, and a heightened focus on energy efficiency, the economics of these new nuclear reactor projects could not be more abysmal for ratepayers. The fact that advance cost recovery for nuclear reactors shifts the risk of construction from stockholders to ratepayers is the one and only thing that is keeping these uneconomical reactor projects alive today.”

Peter A. Bradford, adjunct professor at the Vermont Law School, a former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and a former utility commission chair in New York and Maine, said: “The claim that having customers pay for power plants years before they generate electricity somehow saves customers money is completely false. In most cases, customers lose money under these rate-setting policies, which might more accurately be called ‘advanced cost enhancement’ rather than ‘advanced cost recovery.’ Only in a best case scenario—which does not exist in the U.S. today—do customers have a chance of breaking even. They will never—absolutely never—come out ahead.”

Key conclusions of the Cooper report include the following:

“Advance cost recovery” financing is driving new reactors, not marketplace economics. “The critically important role of advanced cost recovery … in creating the new nuclear fiasco is demonstrated by the behavior of utilities. All of the projects for which engineering, production, and construction (EPC) have been signed involve guaranteed advanced cost recovery. Three-quarters of the states where advanced cost recovery existed quickly saw an EPC contract signed. Not one of the projects proposed in a state without advanced costs recovery has moved to the EPC phase.”
New nuclear reactors will impose tens of billions of dollars in excess costs on their ratepayers. “The exact amount (of the excess costs) will vary depending on the assumptions made about the construction costs, the discount rate (cost of capital), the projected cost of gas, and the cost and availability of other alternatives. The best estimate of the excess costs that will be borne by South Carolina ratepayers and the South Carolina economy is in the range of $10 billion. With future cost overruns and adjusting for the discount rate, the Levy reactors in Florida would have a similar level of impact. Other states implementing an advanced cost recovery statute today would likely face even larger excessive costs.”
The time to protect ratepayers is now. “Time is of the essence in conducting prudence review of these massive construction projects since the statutes guarantee cost recovery and costs mount quickly. Although the estimated costs for reactors in the Southeast are in the range of $60-$70 billion today, less than $6 billion has been spent to date. The excessive costs of completing the reactors far exceed the sunk costs at present, which means they should be cancelled. However, as more and more is spent, under the perverse logic and incentives of advanced cost recovery those sunk costs become a burden that ratepayers will have to shoulder for decades.”
New nuclear reactors are unable to deliver power at an economical price. “The facts on the ground that have created this economic fiasco for ratepayers include: nuclear cost overruns; declining natural gas prices; the falling cost of other alternatives like wind and solar; slowing demand growth; and climate change policy that is emphasizing targeted incentives and performance standards for low carbon resources, rather than hefty carbon costs.
Advance cost recovery is an inherently anti-ratepayer approach. “Advance cost recovery destroys the consumer protection that lies at the heart of utility regulation, as a 2012 analysis prepared by the staff of the Iowa Utilities Board concluded. In a comprehensive assessment of a proposed advanced cost recovery statute in that state, which was ultimately rejected by legislators, the staff found several problems with the financing scheme, including the fact that advanced cost recovery alters the most fundamental principle of rate-setting by shifting the risk of construction so dramatically that the resulting scheme of cost recovery virtually eliminates stockholder risk in the investment.”

CONTACT: Will Harwood, (703) 276-3255 or wharwood@hastingsgroup.com; and Alex Frank, (703) 276-3264 or afrank@hastingsgroup.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the Web at http://216.30.191.148/vlsreport and http://www.vermontlaw.edu/Academics/Environmental_Law_Center/Institutes_and_Initiatives/News.htm as of 5 p.m. EDT on March 14, 2013. The Cooper report and a related news release are available at the same URLs.

Read the full report
Listen to the report

Vermont Law School Ranked Number One in Environmental Law for Fifth Consecutive Year

Vermont Law School — 12 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—The U.S.News & World Report has released its rankings for the Best Graduate Schools for 2014, and has ranked Vermont Law School as the #1 environmental law school in the nation for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year.

Vermont Law School has been ranked #1 or #2 in the U.S. News rankings for environmental law every year since 1991, and it has been ranked number one for 16 of those 23 years.

"This ranking reaffirms that VLS is a school with national impact on one of the most important issues of our time," said President and Dean Marc Mihaly. "I am extremely proud of the entire VLS community for their hard work and commitment to our environmental curriculum, clinics, and institutes."

"VLS offers the largest and most environmental diverse curriculum in the nation," said acting director of the Environmental Law Center, Professor John Echeverria. "Whether it's agriculture, energy, water, land use, climate change, China, and now Myanmar, VLS is deeply engaged in teaching, research, and advocacy in each of these areas. We are grateful for the continued recognition from U.S. News, and look forward to continuing to make a difference in the lives of our students, community, and the world," he said.

U.S. News also cited VLS in its advice to students regarding "4 Factors" to weigh along with the best law school rankings.

For more information on the U.S. News rankings regarding Vermont Law School, please visit here: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/environmental-law-rankings.

CONTACT: Peter Glenshaw, Director of Communications, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1318, cell: 603-738-8487, home: 603-795-4764, pglenshaw@vermontlaw.edu

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VLS joins Chinese pollution activist in DC

Vermont Law School — 04 Mar 2013 17:00:00 EST

South Royalton, VT—Vermont Law School (VLS) announced that it will host a reception next week in Washington, D.C., with one of China’s most distinguished environmental activists and legal scholars, Professor Wang Canfa.

In collaboration with the VLS Alumni Association, the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law, and the VLS Admissions Office, the reception is an opportunity for the entire VLS community—including prospective and admitted students, alumni, parents, and friends of Vermont Law School. VLS President and Dean Marc Mihaly will join Professor Wang at the reception.

Professor Wang Canfa is a faculty member with the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, and the Chairman of the Branch on Environmental Law of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences. He is also an expert on environmental litigation.

Professor Wang established China’s leading environmental law practice, the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, in 1998. He has helped tens of thousands of ordinary citizens use legal means to force polluting factories and unresponsive local officials to follow the law. In addition, he has presided over or taken part in the drafting and discussion of many Chinese laws and regulations on environmental protection.

Professor Wang was elected as Green China Person of the Year in 2005 and was honored by Time Magazine in 2007 as one of its World Heroes of the Environment. He is also one of the three awardees for The 13th Nikkei Asia Prize in 2008.

The U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law at VLS has been working with Professor Wang Canfa and the Huanzhu law firm—China’s first environmental public interest law firm—since 2011. The goal of this effort has been to provide legal assistance to indigent pollution victims, give them access to the justice system, promoting environmental governance through the use of courts.

In December 2012, VLS received a renewal grant from a private US foundation for $50,000 to teach legal professionals at the Huanzhu law firm about best practices in public interest environmental litigation in an effort to improve the likelihood that pollution and public health related cases will be brought by NGOs, legal clinics and civil society in china. Since January 2011, the Huanzhu law firm has opened over 100 cases and provided legal assistance to over 600 pollution victims.

The reception will be held from 5:30-7:30pm on Monday, March 11, 2013, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Ronald Reagan Building (Sixth Floor Dining Room, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20004).

An RSVP is required. Please register online or call 802-831-1312.

Summer Media Fellows 2013

Vermont Law School — 26 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST

South Royalton, VT -- Vermont Law School and its Environmental Law Center is pleased to announce the following recipients of Summer Media Fellowships for 2013:

Tim Wheeler, a journalist with the Baltimore Sun since 1985 and past president of the Society of Environmental Journalists, has covered science, medicine, and the environment, most recently investigating hydraulic fracturing.
Jeremy Jacobs, a legal reporter at Greenwire with a 2,800 followers on Twitter, has covered air standards, EPA's Superfund and Brownfields programs, and a broad range of public health issues ranging from nuclear power to toxic substances.
Lisa Palmer, recipient of a Knight Fellowship, has written for The New York Times, Slate Magazine, and Scientific American. She is currently writing on the far-reaching effects of law and policy issues behind climate change and energy.

Each Summer Media Fellow will attend a two-week Summer Session course and deliver a "Hot Topics" lecture. Each fellow was selected based on work history and samples, commitment to covering environmental law, and their potential for increasing understanding of environmental law and policy issues nationwide.

Former Summer Media Fellows include Richard Harris, National Public Radio; Beth Daley, Boston Globe; Mark Schapiro, Center for Investigative Reporting; Seth Borenstein, Associated Press; and Kate Galbraith, Texas Tribune.

The VLS Summer Media Fellowships have been made possible since 2002 by a generous grant from the Johnson Family Foundation.

VLS Students Win National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

Vermont Law School — 24 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST

South Royalton, VT- Vermont Law School (VLS) announced today its student team secured first place in a prestigious national competition for environmental law --the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (NELMCC) held at Pace Law School in White Plains, NY from February 21-23, 2013.

The VLS team of Josh Leckey '13, Emily Dupraz '13, and Ryan Kane '13 (pictured left-right) argued for the fictional New Union Wildlife Federation, a citizens group that brought a Clean Water Act case to enforce a wetlands violation. The VLS team also won the David Sive award for Best Overall Brief at the competition, and Ryan Kane'13 won Best Oralist for the second preliminary round.

"This victory testifies to the strength of the VLS student body and the quality of our faculty," said Marc Mihaly, VLS President and Dean. "I am very proud of Josh, Emily, and Ryan for their remarkable accomplishment, and thank their faculty coaches -- Pat Parenteau and Laura Murphy -- for their dedication to our students."

The National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace Law School, now in its 25^th year, is recognized as the preeminent environmental law moot (or simulated court proceeding) in the United States. The competition tests skills in appellate brief writing and oral advocacy on issues drawn from real cases, and provides experience in environmental litigation first hand. The competition at Pace draws more than 200 students from across the United States and Canada and 200 attorneys who serve as judges for three days of oral arguments to create a rigorous academic experience.

The competition is distinctive in that each team must argue on behalf of three different parties - the government, a public interest group, and a member of the regulated industry - in successive rounds over a three day period. Student teams write and file their briefs for their respective parties in early December and come to the Pace campus in February for the oral phase of the Competition.

The VLS team was coached by Patrick Parenteau, Professor of Law and Senior Counsel to the VLS Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC), with significant assistance from Laura Murphy, Assistant Professor of Law and Associate Director of the ENRLC.

VLS defeated Lewis & Clark Law School and Appalachian School of Law in the final round. Other law schools competing in the competition include Georgetown University, New York University, University of California Berkeley, Texas Tech University, Baylor University, and the University of Illinois.

A low-resolution video of the final round can be found here.

VLS Opens New Fitness Center

Vermont Law School — 15 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST

South Royalton, VT -- Vermont Law School held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday to celebrate the grand opening of its new fitness center for students, faculty, and staff. The project is the culmination of student efforts that begin in 2008 and involved significant work by the VLS Class of 2011 to secure a contemporary gym on campus.

Lori Campbell (Facilities Manager), Marc Mihaly (President & Dean), Rae Kinkead ’13 (President, VLS Student Bar Association), and Shirley Jefferson (Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Diversity) cut the ribbon to open the new VLS Fitness Center

The 4,100-foot, one-story fitness center includes a spinning and yoga studio, as well as an exercise room with a mix of free weights as well as cardiovascular and weight training machines, including new treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes for spinning. The facilities also include men's and women's locker rooms with showers and restrooms, and storage for yoga mats and clothing.

In addition, equipment from the VLS student gear shed -which includes kayaks, canoes, tents, fishing poles, mountain climbing equipment, cross country skis, poles, and boots, and ice skates -- has been relocated to a new storage facility adjacent to the fitness center.

In remarks made to students attending the opening ceremony, President and Dean Marc Mihaly commented on the commitment shown by VLS students to make this gym possible. "This gym represents a very unusual effort. VLS students from the Class of 2011 took it upon themselves in 2008 to address an issue knowing they would graduate before the gym could be built. Their initiative says a lot about the character of VLS and its student community."

Shirley Jefferson (Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Diversity) receives instruction on how to use the new stair climbing machine from Dennis O’Neil of GymSource

The fitness center has a contemporary, environmentally sustainable design compatible with the historic architecture of South Royalton and Vermont Law School.

Naturally sited in the slope of a hill to take advantage of constant soil temperatures, the VLS fitness center is highly energy efficient and uses low-maintenance materials with a natural feeling. The roof, walls, and high-performance windows are extensively insulated, and the southern roof has the potential for photovoltaics. The interior design features bamboo flooring, high-efficiency lighting, and natural cross-ventilation. Best management practices for storm-water runoff, including permeable pavement and rain gardens, have been followed. Large windows with a high R-value exist throughout the building and provide a view of the White River.

Gymopening – spinning. The spinning and yoga studio at the VLS Fitness Center

The VLS fitness center was designed by the nationally renowned firm Eck, MacNeely Architects of Boston and built by E.F. Wall & Associates of Barre, VT, with David Laurin of White River Junction serving as the architect and owner representative on the project.

In addition to President and Dean Marc Mihaly, speakers at the ribbon cutting included Shirley Jefferson (Associate Dean for Student Affairs & Diversity), Rae Kinkead '13, (President, VLS Student Bar Association), and Jeremiah Eck, of Eck, MacNeely Architects. Joining the grand-opening by phone was Jeff Shields, former President and Dean of Vermont Law School.

The grand opening also included demonstrations of the new fitness center equipment by Dennis O'Neil of GymSource.

Drone Strikes, Targeted Killings to be Examined at VLS Conference

Vermont Law School — 13 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST

On the heels of the Senate confirmation hearing for CIA nominee John O. Brennan, which marked the first extensive public discussion on the use of drones for targeted killing , Vermont Law School (VLS) announced today a major conference to address drone strikes, targeted killing, and other elements of modern warfare.

Confirmed speakers include Vicki Divoll, a former general counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and former deputy legal adviser to the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, who wrote the widely-read op-ed in the New York Times last month ("Who Says You Can Kill Americans, Mr. President?").

Another confirmed panelist is Jennifer Daskal, the former counsel at the Department of Justice and Human Rights Watch, who made headlines last month when she published an op-ed in The New York Times entitled "Don't Close Guantanamo."

Entitled "Reaching Critical Mass: International and U.S. Law in the Wake of Modern Exigencies," the conference will be held Friday, March 22, 2013, from 9am - 5:30pm, in the Jonathan B. Chase Community Center, Vermont Law School.

The conference will explore the balance between protecting national security, observing international law, and preserving human rights and civil liberties. Topics to be addressed include the legality of the targeted killing of U.S. citizens, the future of modern warfare, and cyber security.

The conference schedule can be found here, and registration is available here. The conference is free to students and faculty from any institution, and is open to the public for a modest registration fee. CLE credit will be available.

Joining Daskal and Divoll will be a VLS graduate, Mr. Gabor Rona (Class of 1978), who is the International Legal Director of Human Rights First. Other confirmed speakers include the following individuals:

Professor John O. McGinnis, George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law at Northwestern Law School, and past winner of Paul Bator award given by the Federalist Society to an outstanding academic under 40;
Doug Bandow, Senior Fellow at the CATO Institute, a former special assistant to President Reagan and the former editor of the political magazine, Inquiry;
Professor Michael W. Lewis, Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law, a veteran of Operation Desert Shield as a Navy pilot, and a widely-cited author in judicial decisions and media outlets on the legality of drone strikes;
Jamil N. Jaffer, who currently serves as Republican Chief Counsel and Senior Advisor to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the George Mason University School of Law, where he teaches a seminar on surveillance law.
Jody Prescott COL. (Ret.), U.S. Army; and Senior Fellow, West Point Center for the Rule of Law;
Chris Jenks, Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Methodist University, and former chief legal advisor to the Brigade Combat Team in Mosul, Iraq;
Naz Modirzadeh, Senior Fellow, HLS-Brookings Project on Law and Security, Harvard Law School whose most recent publication in the Harvard Human Rights Journal is entitled "Taking Islamic Law Seriously: INGOs and the Battle for Muslim Hearts and Minds"; and
Robert Delahunty, Professor, University of St. Thomas School of Law and former Deputy General Counsel at the White House Office of Homeland Security in 2002-2003.

Two student organizations at VLS -- the Federalist Society and International Law Society - are serving as the co-organizers of this conference, which will bring international human rights and humanitarian law experts, architects of U.S. national security and counter-terrorism policy, government officials, and constitutional law scholars to discuss one of the most pressing issues facing the legal profession today.

"Each year, students at Vermont Law School get a chance to host an annual conference on a subject of their choosing. Known as the 'Solutions Conference,' it is emblematic of the hands-on opportunities VLS students experience here every day," said Marc Mihaly, VLS President and Dean. "I am especially proud of this year's conference in terms of the topic and quality of the speakers. This is an extremely complex issue that is not only making headlines nationally, but represents a thoughtful collaboration between student groups that often have very different views on issues."

The Solutions Conference is sponsored each year by the VLS Student Bar Association.

For more information, please contact: Federalist Society President, Richard Sala or International Law Society Co-Chair, Molly Gray: SolutionsConference@vermontlaw.edu

VLS Director of Communications: Peter Glenshaw, 802-831-1318, pglenshaw@vermontlaw.edu

VLS Students Attend LegalTech 2013 in NYC

Vermont Law School — 10 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST

More than a half-dozen Vermont Law School (VLS) students traveled to New York City in late January to attend the LegalTech 2013, an important technology event held annually that now attracts more than 12,000 attendees.

Joining the students were two VLS faculty members, Oliver Goodenough and Rebecca Purdom.

According to Professor Goodenough, who directs the Center for Legal Innovation at Vermont Law School, "Two years ago, VLS appeared to be the only law school in attendance at LegalTech. This year, it seemed we were the only law school bringing a class of students to attend this fascinating event."

"Legal Tech showed me where the legal profession is going," said Kate Thomas '13. "As a soon-to-be practitioner, I will need to assess traditional methods of keeping client files and client confidentiality, and adapt to new ways our society keeps this information. Just knowing there is a legal tech industry to help practitioners do that is encouraging."

Many of the VLS students who went to LegalTech 2013 are registered in Goodenough's Digital Drafting class this semester. That course focuses on how new technologies affect legal practice, including the automation of legal drafting contracts, data and e-discovery, and virtual practice.

"It was incredible to see the energy and vitality at LegalTech," said Purdom, who also serves as the director of Distance Learning at VLS. "It was also great to meet with firms such as Exari and Lexis-Nexis that are partnering with VLS on coursework and research today."

"Through our Center for Legal Innovation, we are committed to ensuring that VLS students learn how the practice of law is changing and equipping them with the practical experience and skills to be relevant practitioners in the future," said Goodenough. "This trip was part of that learning experience."

Public Lecture on Land Use Planners And Climate Change

Vermont Law School — 06 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST

As part of an annual lecture series, Vermont Law School will host a nationally distinguished land use planner, Robert. L. Liberty from Portland State University, to deliver a lecture on the critical role that land use planner play in addressing climate change.

Entitled "Rising to the Land Use Challenge: How Planners and Regulators Can Help Sustain Our Civilization," the lecture will be given on Thursday, February, 7, 2013, at 5:30pm, in the Jonathon B. Chase Community Center, Vermont Law School.

"In this country many land use planners have the training, skills and knowledge to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy, to restate the necessity of the regulation of the use of land and to play a leadership role in preparing our nation and our world for the changes that we must make to sustain our civilization," Liberty said.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Mr. Liberty is the Director of the Urban Sustainability Accelerator at Portland State University, a graduate of Harvard Law School, and a former Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He received his BA in Political Science from the University of Oregon Honors College, and a Masters in Modern History from Oxford University.

According to the LOEBlog, the Urban Sustainability Accelerator was established to help smaller and mid-sized urban areas implement sustainability projects.

We will be different from many other sustainability assistance programs because we focus on helping cities move their proposals from concept to reality rather than on education or adoption, and we provide assistance and support for a year (or more). Since our aims require not only technical assistance but also strategic advice to overcome political and administrative challenges, we will include the private and nonprofit sectors in the hard work of implementation. In addition, we will emphasize the creation of a learning cohort among the six to eight urban areas that will participate each year.

Mr. Liberty's lecture is being delivered as the 9th Annual Norman Williams Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Planning and the Law. The Norman Williams Distinguished Lecture recognizes the contributions made by Norman Williams, who came to Vermont Law School shortly after its founding after a long and distinguished career in public service and teaching, particularly in the area of land use planning. Professor Williams played a key role in founding Vermont Law School's Environmental Law Center.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association.

President & Dean Mihaly’s Response to New York Times Story

Vermont Law School — 31 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST

I would like to share some thoughts regarding today's story in the New York Times.

It repeats what we have been saying at Vermont Law School for months: all law schools should get smaller. VLS is doing it sooner than many and with intentionality so we can concentrate on our future -making an excellent school even better.

Vermont Law School is being more public about this process than most schools. That is why the media has and probably will continue to include VLS in these stories, so it is important to understand what we are really doing.

We aim to get smaller on a voluntary basis. Almost all of the recent staff reductions have occurred voluntarily.

Vermont Law School has been smaller in the past, and we expect it may get somewhat smaller again. Many believe that a smaller school provides more personal attention to students.

There is much to be excited about the future of Vermont Law School. We have been an innovator in legal education and will continue to lead in making changes in the JD curriculum so that our graduates secure satisfying jobs. Within nine months of their graduation, three-quarters of the class of 2011 secured jobs that required the JD or where the JD was an advantage.

In addition, unlike most law schools, we not only offer a master's degree program, but are also poised to launch a second master's program in Energy Law & Regulation (MERL) this year. Our distance learning program, which offers both a master's degree and an LLM, is thriving. Our sixth cohort just began their classes and that cohort is oversubscribed, and our first class from the distance learning program just graduated.

Finally, it's important to remember that Vermont Law School is and always will be a different school. Let me close by sharing what I expressed on the occasion of my inauguration in October 2012 - that Vermont Law School is here for people who want to change the world.

"The United States is filled with law schools, arguably too many. Does the world need this law school, here in the hills of Vermont?

I propose that the answer is 'Yes.' The world does need this law school. We are not like other law schools, and our uniqueness is a core identity that we must nurture and will serve us well. I think everyone in this tent knows how we are unique. We are different from other schools because of the people who choose to come here, both students and faculty. Vermont Law attracts people who want to change the world, not to fit into it."

VLS Clinic Wins Lengthy Fight Over LNG Terminal in Maine

Vermont Law School — 30 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST

A seven-year battle over a proposal to build a liquefied natural gas terminal (LNG) in Maine, led by Vermont Law School's Environmental and Natural Resources Legal Clinic (ENRLC), has resulted in an unqualified victory for the ENRLC and its clients, members of the Passamaquoddy tribe.

"This is a great success for our clients and for the ENRLC" said Doug Ruley, Director of the ENRLC. "We won with persistence, hard work, and an unwavering commitment to protecting the water, land, and air upon which we all depend."

The case began in 2005 when the ENRLC filed suit on behalf of Passamaquoddy tribal members challenging a decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to approve a lease to a private company for construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal on a site with great historic and spiritual significance. The proposed facility also threatened endangered right whales, whose critical habitat is directly in the path of the proposed shipping lane for tankers carrying the liquefied natural gas. The case was supported by the Educational Foundation of America and VLS Trustee Sheppard Guryan.

The case wound a lengthy path through the federal courts, including two hearings before the First Circuit of Appeals, after which the matter was referred to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA). While the appeal was pending, the Passamaquoddy Tribal Council voted to withdraw its support for the project and the BIA decided to terminate the long-term lease.

However, to make sure the project could not be revived, the ENRLC requested that the IBIA formally vacate the BIA's initial approval of the lease. On January 25, 2013 the IBIA granted the clinic's request and issued an order vacating the BIA's approval of the lease, bringing the case --at long last-to a successful conclusion.

"Many hands contributed to this success, including the VLS student clinicians who labored over countless briefs," said Patrick Parenteau, Professor of Law and Senior Counsel to the ENRLC, who filed the case and successfully argued the initial appeal to the First Circuit. Other individuals at the ENRLC who played significant roles in the case include the following:

Justin Kolber '07, the ENRLC's first fellow and currently an Assistant Attorney General in Vermont, who drafted the briefs and participated in the first argument before the First Circuit.

Teresa Clemmer, a former staff attorney and acting director of the clinic, who took over the case, argued the second round before the First Circuit and filed the appeal to the IBIA.

Monica Litzelman, ENRLC paralegal and office manager, who managed the voluminous records that had to be kept and made sure all of the filings were made on time and in full compliance with all of the court rules

Laura Murphy, ENRLC staff attorney, who wrote the brief that convinced the IBIA to vacate the lease, which ended the case conclusively.

Hanna Recap of the Entergy/Vermont Yankee Oral Arguments in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Vermont Law School — 14 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST

A Recap of the Entergy/Vermont Yankee Oral Arguments in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

by Cheryl Hanna
Professor of Law
Vermont Law School

It isn't often that you get to watch two of the best constitutional lawyers in the country argue a case of such importance. Today's case in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals was excellent, and no matter whether you're for or against Vermont Yankee, you had to admire the skills of both David Frederick, who argued on behalf of Vermont, and Kathleen Sullivan, Entergy's lawyer. Two legal superstars. Two outstanding arguments. (Attorney General Bill Sorrell deserves credit for hiring Frederick. It may just turn out to be one of the best decisions he ever made.)

Predicting how the three-judge panel will decide, however, is not quite as easy as praising the lawyers. The judges were well prepared and asked insightful questions during the 30-minute argument, but, in the end, gave very little indication which arguments would prevail in this admittedly complex case.

Perhaps the best way to sum up the argument is that it was a battle between the past and the future. Frederick began with Pacific Gas and Electric, the 1983 case in which the United States Supreme Court held that the state of California was not preempted from regulating the economic aspects of a nuclear power facility. It was this precedent, coupled with federal law, that allowed Vermont to pass Act 160, what he termed a "process statute." Judge Garvan Murtha, Frederick argued, violated the holding of Pacific Gas because he cherry-picked the legislative record instead of looking to the language of the statute itself for the legislative intent. He quoted Chief Justice John Roberts about judges examining the legislative record: It is like being at a party. You look out and find your friends.

Frederick also made two additional arguments that were noteworthy. First, he made the point that Vermont had no affirmative duty whatsoever to relicense Vermont Yankee and that the company hadn't raised any due process arguments during litigation. This suggested to the court that Vermont could have decided any process by which to relicense Vermont Yankee, or no process at all.

Even more compelling (at least the chief judge) was the point that Vermont could be stuck with the bill of decommissioning the plant if Vermont Yankee declared bankruptcy and skipped town. That alone, Frederick argued, was enough of an economic interest to justify the state's actions.

The main strength, and weakness, of Frederick's argument was his reliance on Pacific Gas. The Pacific Gas case is old, Sullivan argued, and was decided when nuclear power plants sold their power directly to consumers. "PG&E came from a different era," claimed Sullivan. Vermont Yankee is a "merchant plant" that sells to the grid. If Vermont doesn't want power from us, then don't buy it. There was also the subtle implication that today's Supreme Court would be far more skeptical of what happened in Vermont when it was attempting to shutter a federally regulated power plant than was the Court that decided Pacific Gas. To that end, she quoted Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who, while on the Second Circuit, indicated that states can't claim one reason for regulation to mask another preempted one.

Sullivan pointed repeatedly to the record, which shows Vermont's party was only full of safety-minded friends, calling it a "cherry orchard" of statements that should lead any reasonable person to the conclusion that the state was motivated if primarily, but exclusively, over radiological safety.

And what about the concern over Vermonters footing the bill if Vermont Yankee skipped town? One answer: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which already has significant oversight here. That too is about events that haven't yet happened.

Sullivan then made the extremely important point that the court could rule "as applied" just on the narrow issues without having to make a broad ruling. She gave the court a modest way out, and one that might ultimately persuade the court when faced with a decision that could otherwise have wide-reaching implications.

The state should be happy that the bench at least took seriously their argument that Judge Murtha should not have ruled as he did. Whether the gravitas and intellect of Frederick is enough to convince them in the face of overwhelming evidence that the legislature was primarily motivated by safety is harder to call. The state still bears the burden, and the facts and (in my opinion) the law still favor Entergy. If the state loses, it won't be because it was out-lawyered. It will be because, in the end, a federal court was reluctant to shutter a federally licensed nuclear power plant on the basis of this particular legislative history. That has as much as do with judicial conservatism as it does with nuclear power.

Entergy v. Shumlin: Vermont Law Expert Available to Comment

Vermont Law School — 09 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—Constitutional law expert Cheryl Hanna, a professor at Vermont Law School, will be attending the oral arguments in Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC et al. v. Shumlin et al. before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City on Jan. 14, 2013, and is available for comment. She is also planning to write a post-argument analysis that will be available at www.vermontlaw.edu.

This case is an appeal from a January 2012 ruling by Federal District Court Judge Garvan Murtha in which he held that federal law preempted Vermont's attempts to shutter the plant. The decision said that state legislators were primarily motivated by safety concerns when passing legislation, an area under exclusive federal control. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a 20-year extension of Vermont Yankee's federal license, which was to expire Wednesday, March 21, 2012, but the state's lone reactor still hasn't received a permit from the Vermont Public Service Board. Vermont Yankee continues to operate pending both this appeal and a decision from the PSB.

An expert on the U.S. Supreme Court and constitutional law, Hanna is a frequent commentator for the media, including Vermont Public Radio and WCAX-TV 3 News. She has followed the Vermont Yankee litigation closely and written several blog posts on the litigation. Her faculty bio is available at http://www.vermontlaw.edu/Our_Faculty/Faculty_Directory/Cheryl_Hanna.htm and she can be reached via voice or text on her cell phone at 802-233-8818 or at her email channa@vermontlaw.edu.

##

CONTACT:
Carol Westberg, Director of Marketing and Communications
Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1309
cell: 603-381-5444
cwestberg@vermontlaw.edu

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Month of December

Vermont Law School — 02 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST

The Srasota Herald-Tribune spoke with Mark Cooper, senior research fellow at the IEE on the Crystal River Nuclear Plant on Dec. 31.
Smart Grid News quoted Project Leader Kevin Jones on Dec. 27 on VLS's updated national smart grid privacy policy.
King5 cited Professor Michael McCann on Dec. 27 on the process in the Sherman drug test.
Greenwire spoke with Dean Marc Mihaly and Professor Pat Parenteau on Dec. 20 about the school's new focus.
The Huffington Post featured Professor Jennifer Taub on Dec. 17 on Too Big to Prosecute banks and the HSBC money laundering settlement.
The Burlington Free Press spoke with Dean Marc Mihaly on Dec.14 on the sea changes in law and higher education.
Vermont Public Radio spoke with Professor Gus Speth on Dec. 11 about his Manifesto for a New Economy.

Vermont Law School to Support Environmental Reform in Myanmar

Vermont Law School — 11 Dec 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—Vermont Law School (VLS) announced today that it has received a one-year grant from the blue moon fund to support environmental governance training and education in Myanmar as the nation prepares for considerable foreign investment.

Coming on the heels of a historic visit by President Barack Obama, the $300,000 grant recognizes that the next phases of political and economic reform in Myanmar represent an opportunity to protect large areas of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot from the looming threat of development. Accordingly, the initial emphasis of the project is to provide key government officials, legislators, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and business leaders with a range of legal and policy tools that can be quickly adopted to provide broad scale protection of the country's key biodiversity areas.

The project is expected to begin in early 2013. It will focus on developing a comprehensive program that utilizes legal and policy tools to protect valuable natural resources. Preparing advice for members of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (the legislature of Myanmar) on integrating environmental considerations in foreign investment decisions is among the planned activities.

"This grant offers Vermont Law School a unique opportunity to expand its footprint into Southeast Asia," said Marc Mihaly, president and dean of VLS. "Our deep experience building capacity and developing environmental governance policies in China will allow us to make a constructive difference to this emerging and important nation."

Following a scoping mission earlier this year to Myanmar, members of the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law at VLS realized that their expertise and success in advancing the rule of law to protect China's environment could be applied to the fragile ecosystems of Myanmar. "We saw first-hand the need and opportunity for economic development, but also the impact it would have on Myanmar's environment," said Siu Tip Lam, Assistant Professor of Law and Program Director. "Our interest lies in assisting Myanmar's leaders to enact and enforce strong protections for Myanmar's valuable and abundant environmental resources in ways that enable the country's sustainable development."

In addition to assisting with the rapid adoption of strong environmental protections for Myanmar's natural resources, the project will help improve knowledge of, and skills in, environmental law among government officials, members of the judiciary, NGOs, business leaders and educators. The project will also aim to help create a broad environmental regulatory framework that will allow for both sound environmental management and the encouragement of sustainable investment opportunities.

Founded in 1973, VLS (www.vermontlaw.edu) became the top-ranked environmental law school in the United States by training its students to act as agents of change in pursuit of the VLS mission, "law for the community and the world." It currently has 56 full-time, 10 part-time and 75 adjunct faculty and some 735 students pursuing JD and other advanced degrees, including a Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) and an LLM in Environmental Law.

In 2006, with the support from the USAID, VLS launched the U.S.-China Partnership (www.vermontlaw.edu/china) to advance environmental governance and rule of law in China. In addition to receiving renewals of the USAID grant in 2009 and 2012, the U.S.-China Partnership is also currently administering two environmental advocacy programs in China funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Kunming.

Based in Charlottesville, VA, blue moon fund (www.bluemoonfund.org) was established in April 2002 by Diane Edgerton Miller and Patricia Jones Edgerton. Together they shared more than 70 years of experience in philanthropy and dedication to preserving the sustainable quality of life on our planet. blue moon fund emerged from the 2001 restructuring of the W. Alton Jones Foundation, which had been created in 1944 by Pat's father and Diane's grandfather, W. Alton Jones. Led by Diane, blue moon fund is continuing with a strategic, initiative-based philanthropy that helps improve the human relationship to the natural world. The blue moon fund is characterized by its holistic approach, its risk taking, its nimbleness, and its commitment to cutting-edge ideas in both programs and investments.

CONTACTS:
Carol Westberg, Director of Marketing and Communications, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1309, cell: 603-381-5444, cwestberg@vermontlaw.edu;

Martin Cosier, U.S.-China Partnership LLM Fellow,
cell: 802-565-0087, martincosier@gmail.com

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Vermont Law School Releases Updated National Smart Grid Privacy Policy to Empower Electric Customers

Vermont Law School — 10 Dec 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT—Putting electric customers first, Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment today presented an updated smart grid privacy policy designed to serve as a model for utility companies nationwide.

The policy is available at: www.VermontLaw.edu/smartgrid.

Under the policy, intended to protect consumers while supporting a national rollout of a smart electric grid, utility companies would ensure customer information is not disclosed to third parties except when the customer consents, disclosure is required to provide reliable electric service or disclosure is required by law, such as warrants or "sunshine" laws.

With increased focus on releasing data to third-party innovators through the Green Button Initiative and ongoing concerns about access to the data through the legal system, this updated version of the model privacy policy more specifically addresses these issues.

The policy is intended to regulate the information practices of electric utilities that are implementing new wireless technology in an effort to improve energy reliability, increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve the environment. But the technology also raises privacy concerns because smart meters provide real-time data on electricity use that may indicate how many people are in the house, what they are doing, what appliances are being used and other data that is valuable to advertisers and other companies.

Kevin Jones, VLS's smart grid project leader, said the privacy policy provides clarity on data privacy concerns and protects customer information from unauthorized disclosure, while granting customers access to their own information.

"This policy can be used in the existing form or can be altered to fit each utility's needs and local, state and federal laws," he said. "Our goal is to help develop a national model for consumer protection, while enabling broad adoption of smart grid technology. We welcome input on how we can improve this model policy going forward."

The privacy policy was developed to encompass nine key principles:

Make privacy the default setting.

Provide complete privacy protection.
Know the law regarding public disclosure in your state.
Only store/provide access to necessary information.
Obtain written consent before disclosing to most third parties.
Educate customers about the implications of sharing data with third parties.
Notify customers when data is disclosed.
Develop a plan for contingencies.
Make your privacy policy accessible to customers.

VLS's smart grid research project utilizes case study research to examine legal, regulatory and other policy changes that can best ensure smart grid implementation in the United States improves reliability, enhances consumer value and meets clean energy goals.

CONTACT:
Carol Westberg, Director of Marketing and Communications
Vermont Law School

office: 802-831-1309
cell: 603-381-5444
home: 603-643-1261
cwestberg@vermontlaw.edu

Kevin Jones, Smart Grid Project Leader
office: 802-831-1054
kbjones@vermontlaw.edu

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Month of November

Vermont Law School — 30 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

The Huffington Post carried an op-ed by Professor Jackie Gardina on Nov. 28 about civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans in the wake of Republican victories at the state level.
A number of media nationwide, including Vermont Public Radio (here and here), VTDigger, AP, National Law Journal, WCAX and ABA Journal, reported Nov. 26-29 on VLS's restructuring plan in the face of major changes in legal education and the legal profession.
The National Law Journal spoke Nov. 19 with Professor Jackie Gardina about affirmative action in law school admissions.
Vermont Public Radio talked to Professor Greg Johnson on Nov. 12 about gay marriage rights in the United States.
Greenwire spoke with Professor John Echeverria on Nov. 6 about two property rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Month of October

Vermont Law School — 30 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on Oct. 23 about a U.S. Supreme Court case between major seed manufacturer Monsanto and an Indiana farmer over genetically modified seeds.
Living on Earth talked with Professor Pat Parenteau on Oct. 17 about a citizens group planning to use the Clean Water Act to file suit over alleged environmental violations at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts.
The Associated Press spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on Oct. 16 about a case seeking to stop California's first-in-the-nation mandate requiring petroleum refiners and ethanol producers to make cleaner fuels for millions of cars and trucks in the state.
The Associated Press reported Oct. 9 on the appoinment of Laurie Ristino as the first director of VLS's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems.
In his Oct. 9 column in Sports Illustrated, Professor Michael McCann analyzed the sentencing of a former Penn State football coach convicted of child abuse.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on Oct. 8 about whether the world should increase its reliance on nuclear energy.
Greenwire talked to Professor John Echeverria on Oct. 4 about the U.S. Supreme Court's handling of a property rights case concerning Florida's attempts to restore and protect its beaches.
In his Oct. 2 column in Sports Illustrated, Professor Michael McCann discussed Ed O'Bannon's potentially billion dollar class action lawsuit against the NCAA.

Month of September

Vermont Law School — 30 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on Sept. 26 about the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming session.
Marketplace talked to Professor Michael McCann on Sept. 25 about a controversial call by replacement referees in the NFL.
Grist spoke with Professor Gus Speth on Sept. 17 about his new book titled "America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy".
In a Sept. 8 interview with NPR's "Only A Game" and his Sept. 7 column in Sports Illustrated, Professor Michael McCann discussed the lifting of the suspensions issued in the New Orleans Saints bounty controversy.
Reuters talked to Professor Martha Judy on Sept. 5 about the U.S. Justice Department's case against BP over the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill.
The Huffington Post carried an op-ed by professors Oliver Goodenough and Rebecca Purdom on Sept. 5 about the future of legal education.
The Associated Press talked to Professor John Echeverria on Sept. 1 about a legal setback for America's sagebrush rebellion.
In his Sept. 1 column in Sports Illustrated, Professor Michael McCann discussed Ed O'Bannon's potentially billion dollar class action lawsuit against the NCAA.

National Media Report on Vermont Law's Plan to Become Leaner, Stronger

Vermont Law School — 28 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's bold plan to restructure has drawn nationwide attention recently from the media and legal blogs as law schools and the legal profession seek to adapt to major changes in the job and higher education landscape.

Dean Marc Mihaly told news outlets that VLS is an institution that is confronting market and budget realities with creativity and foresight.

Over the next several months, the nation's top-ranked environmental law school plans to become leaner and stronger by transitioning to a smaller faculty and staff, reforming its curriculum, improving its core programs and creating new degrees, certificates and initiatives in growth areas, such as energy policy, sports law and distance learning.

"Sooner or later, I think everyone will have to face what we're facing right now," said Mihaly. "We're all facing the winds of sweeping change."

See the stories in Vermont Public Radio, VTDigger, AP, National Law Journal, WCAX and ABA Journal. Listen to VPR's story.

Vermont Law Students Provide Ideas, Energy As Non-Voting Board Members on Local Nonprofits

Vermont Law School — 12 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- In an unusual partnership, Vermont Law School students are serving as non-voting volunteer board advisors to Upper Valley nonprofit groups dealing with social justice, educational, environmental and other community issues.

The VLS Board Fellows program provides the nonprofits with fresh insight, energy and ideas from the students, while the students gain valuable experience in nonprofit management and governance and a deeper understanding of social issues.

Many business schools, including the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, have such programs, but VLS's is one of the few and one of the largest at law schools, said Associate Professor Betsy Schmidt, a nonprofit and social enterprise law expert who directs Vermont Law's Board Fellows program. Business schools also are ahead of law schools in offering nonprofit and social enterprise courses, but VLS currently has about 40 students in a growing number of classes dealing with law and policy issues in the fast growing field.

"Our Board Fellows program improves our relationship with the community and shows that Vermont Law continues to innovate and address market realities," Schmidt said. "Our expansion in this field positions us to be a major player in an emerging and exciting area of the law."

The students attend the organizations' board and committee meetings and complete a project that the board is undertaking. Project examples include helping with strategic plans, grant proposals and annual reports. The students cannot practice law or cast board votes but can discuss governance and other issues. The students spend from one semester to two years in their roles depending on the needs of the nonprofits and the students' schedules.

Currently, 19 students participate as Board Fellows at 11 nonprofits. A new class of Fellows will start in January, and the program will host a "meet and greet" for interested students and nonprofits on Dec. 3 to begin the application process.

The following students and nonprofit leaders are available to comment:

VLS student Jared Carpenter, jcarpenter@vermontlaw.edu
VLS student Norika Kida Betti, nkida@vermontlaw.edu
Rebecca Foulk, Health Hub and High Horses Therapeutic Center, Rebecca.foulk@gmail.com
Jeff Schuman, Friends of the Winooski, North Branch Nature Center, jefflynn.vt@gmail.com
Sheryl Tewksbury, Global Campuses, slt@globalcampuses.org, 802-274-2163

More information about the Board Fellows program and the upcoming "meet and greet" is available from Professor Schmidt at 802-831-1103 or bschmidt@vermontlaw.edu

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Solar Home Heating May Reduce Energy Poverty in Asia-Pacific Region, Vermont Law Study Shows

Vermont Law School — 09 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

Solar home systems can provide energy services to rural households in the Asia-Pacific region more cost effectively than extending national grids and without relying on polluting fuels such as kerosene, diesel and coal, according to a new study co-authored by Vermont Law School Visiting Associate Professor Benjamin Sovacool and published in Progress In Development Studies.

The study explored four recent solar home systems programs supported by the World Bank's Asia Sustainable and Alternative Energy Program in China, Laos, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea that budgeted $328.2 million to distribute a targeted 401,500 such systems to nomadic herders, fishers and teachers.

The study concluded: "These projects collectively demonstrate that energy poverty remains a reality in the Asia-Pacific region, but that solar home systems can play a significant role in advancing social development and environmental objectives when limited political will or funds are available for rural energy infrastructure or national on-grid electrification programmes."

Read the study's abstract.

Sen. Leahy to Receive Achievement Award From Vermont Law School

Vermont Law School — 09 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, will receive the 2012 annual Achievement Award from Vermont Law School's Washington, D.C., Alumni Association on Nov. 27 in the U.S. Capitol Building.

The award recognizes organizations and people who have demonstrated outstanding achievements as leaders, catalysts, and educators, particularly in the field of environmental policy.

Leahy is being recognized for his continued support of Vermont Law School, the VLS-based U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law and the Vermont-based Institute for Sustainable Communities for their promotion of environmental rule of law and advocacy in China. Leahy also was selected for his work on the 2008 Farm Bill and leadership in the organic agriculture movement, which has earned him the nickname "Father of Organics."

Previous award recipients include Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Lisa Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and most recently Jane Lubchenco, undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

NarcoLaw Blog: Federal Prosecutor Turned Law Professor Tackles “War on Drugs”

Vermont Law School — 08 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Michele Martinez Campbell, who as a federal prosecutor in New York City battled drug kingpins and traffickers before she joined academia, looks at U.S. narcotics law and policy in a scholarly way in her new NarcoLaw blog.

Martinez Campbell, now a criminal law professor at Vermont Law School and a crime novelist, questions current approaches to America's drug problem. In her first blog post, she discusses Tuesday's ballot initiatives that legalized recreational use of marijuana in Colorado and Washington.

"If the war on drugs is a failure, what are the consequences for narcotics law and policy?" she said. "What should we do instead? Legalize, educate, treat? What evidence is there that these strategies would be more effective than the prohibition approach we've been following? What would legalization even look like and what potential collateral consequences would it have?"

Check out NarcoLaw as Martinez Campbell and leading scholars and practitioners in law, medicine, sociology and other fields address these questions.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Illinois Utility’s Smart Grid Struggle Underscores Need For Clear Policies, Vermont Law School Study Shows

Vermont Law School — 01 Nov 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- A clash over Commonwealth Edison Co.'s plan to modernize its electrical grid underscores the need for clear cost recovery policies for utilities nationwide if the smart's grid's reliability and environmental benefits are to be realized, a new Vermont Law School study suggests.

Read the ComEd study. Kevin Jones, smart grid project leader for VLS's Institute for Energy and the Environment, is available to comment at 802-353-2334 or kbjones@vermontlaw.edu.

"While ComEd has successfully implemented a smart grid pilot and subsequently developed a full scale, smart grid implementation plan consistent with Illinois law, the ongoing controversy between the Illinois Commerce Commission, ComEd and the Illinois Legislature on cost recovery threatens further progress," Jones said. "As states such as California and Vermont have demonstrated, clear state policies will speed smart grid implementation. In Illinois, uncertainty over state cost recovery policy is delaying the benefits for ComEd customers and the environment."

Jones said ComEd's struggle to clarify cost recovery policy for its smart grid pilot programs have been dramatic and public, significantly impacting the perception of the company and the benefits of smart grid investments with both the Illinois news media and the public it serves.

"The utility has faced significant challenges in reaching a balanced cost recovery approach that ComEd, state regulators, the Illinois Legislature and the courts could all accept," Jones said. "ComEd's experience suggests that something as far-ranging in impact as smart grid deployment requires a solid policy foundation based on clear policy leadership from state legislators and regulators. When cost recovery is uncertain and subject to expensive regulatory lag, utilities may observe ComEd's experience and decide against making the types of investments required to achieve the full benefits of the smart grid."

Vermont Law is studying the legal, policy and regulatory hurdles to upgrading the U.S. electric system with smart grid technology, including case studies of six organizations across the country to recommend best practices that can be replicated nationwide: Commonwealth Edison, Central Vermont Public Service Company, Pecan Street Project, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Salt River Project and San Diego Gas and Electric.

Read Chicago Tribune coverage of the ComEd smart grid dispute. Read the IEE's previous case studies on the SRP and SMUD. Read more about VLS's Smart Grid Research Project.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

VLS Inaugurates New President and Dean Marc Mihaly

Vermont Law School — 29 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

At his inauguration Friday, Vermont Law School President and Dean Marc Mihaly pledged to continue VLS's tradition of teaching leadership, knowledge and morality, but also to expand its efforts to combine school and work, to offer diverse graduate degrees and to internationalize, so that students are better prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing legal landscape.

In an address titled "In a New World of Legal Education" delivered to a large audience on the South Royalton Green, Mihaly said technology and markets are changing forever the face of the practice of law. "The very same technology and markets will force changes in legal education. The current law school paradigm, after over a century, is reaching its end as a didactic and a business model. Accelerated by the recession, the demands for change are upon us, upon us now."

The new paradigm, Mihaly said, is already being practiced, in part, at VLS.

"What are these seeds of the future? Well, in fact, they're quite familiar precisely because they're part of the present: They are the experiments our faculty tries in class; the simulation exercises in our General Practice Program; they are our externships, the 80 students out working in semesters in practice; they are our clinics, our centers and institutes; and they are our international program, our policy masters degree, our specialized certificates; and, of course, our distance learning program.

"Are you disappointed, disappointed with my reduction of a grand vision for the graduate educational future to a mundane list of familiar programs and efforts? Well, that's the point--the future is here in front of us, distributed here at VLS. Our task is to look at these innovations not as isolated add-ons to a traditional core, but as early manifestations of a very different future graduate educational order.

"This is our future--combining school with work, diverse graduate degrees and internationalization. Our challenge is one of perception and of determination. We must perceive our early innovations as pieces of the future to be nurtured. We must determine to integrate them into our core and drive them with intentionality. And most of all, we must be leaders in this effort because the more we lead, we take risks and advocate change, the more our present and future students will identify with us, cleave to us and then change the world themselves."

The inauguration was preceded by a panel discussion of the future of legal education and followed by a reception in the Chase Center and Debevoise Hall.

Mihaly, one of the nation's leading environmental law attorneys, was a visiting professor at VLS in 2004-05 and joined the regular faculty in 2005. He served as the acting associate dean of environmental programs and director of the Environmental Law Center in 2005-06 and associate dean and director from 2007-12. An expert in land use, urban planning, and energy law and policy, he co-founded Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger, the nation's largest public interest environmental law firm, in San Francisco in 1980 and served as its managing partner for 17 years.

Read Mihaly's entire address.

Professor Michael Dworkin Named to VELCO Board

Vermont Law School — 26 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Professor Michael Dworkin recently was selected by the Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity's (VLITE) as one of three people to sit on the Vermont Electric Power Co. (VELCO) board.

As part of the merger earlier this year of the utilities Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service, state officials agreed to establish VLITE, a nonprofit public benefit corporation. Its main function is to choose three directors for the VELCO board and decide how to use dividends from its 38 percent ownership of VELCO stock to create projects that align with the Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan. The VLITE board represents the public's interest on the board, which oversees the maintenance of Vermont's transmission grid.

Dworkin founded VLS's Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) and is the former chair of the Vermont Public Service Board, a quasi-judicial body that oversees state utilities, as well as a former environmental litigator and small businessman. He received his BA degree, summa cum laude, from Middlebury College in 1975 and his JD degree, cum laude, from the Harvard Law School in 1978.

The IEE offers an advanced curriculum on energy and regulatory law, provides forums and conferences for professional education and issue development, publishes on environmental and energy issues and serves as a center for commissioned research on these topics.

Environmental Clinic Prevails in Natural Gas Pipeline Battle in Puerto Rico

Vermont Law School — 25 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic recently prevailed in its two-year battle against a proposed 92-mile natural gas pipeline that threatened fragile ecosystems in Puerto Rico.

Three months ago, the ENRLC submitted comments that demanded the denial of the Via Verde pipeline's application for a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit based on recent developments and new information. Late on Oct. 12, the Puerto Rican government withdrew its application for the permit and said it was pursuing other alternatives to supply natural gas to the power plants and other facilities that the $450 million pipeline was intended to serve.

"It's unusual for such significant proposals to be abandoned," said Associate Professor Doug Ruley, director of the ENRLC. " Although the government's statement was terse and likely was influenced by multiple factors, there is no doubt that a substantial factor was the unyielding opposition of our clients in Puerto Rico and the clinic's steady advocacy."

The ENRLC's work included an emergency petition to list the coqui llanero frog as endangered (the coqui was listed three weeks ago), a comprehensive Notice of Intent to Sue under the Endangered Species Act and numerous sets of lengthy and detailed comments to various agencies throughout the process. The coquí llanero was threatened with imminent extinction from the proposed pipeline, which would have damaged wetlands critical to the frog's only known habitat.

"We particularly congratulate Pat Parenteau (professor and senior counsel at the ENRLC), Teresa Clemmer (former acting ENRLC director), Michelle Walker (former ENRLC fellow) and all of the student-clinician teams for their tireless work on this case," Ruley said. "Via Verde exemplifies the benefits of clinical legal education. Our students immersed themselves in this project, our clients received high-quality representation and Puerto Rico no longer is threatened by this destructive pipeline."

The ENRLC served as co-counsel to the Environmental Law Clinics at the Inter American University School of Law and the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. They represented a coalition of community and conservation group and local residents that included the Citizens of the Karst, the Puerto Rican Ornithological Society, the Speleological Federation of Puerto Rico, the Vegabajeños Supporting Sustainable Environmental Development, the Sierra Club, the Utuadeño Committee Against the Gas and the Center for Biological Diversity.

"This ill-conceived project would have done enormous damage to Puerto Rico's priceless natural and cultural heritage, displaced hundreds of families in the path of the pipeline and compromised public health and safety across a wide swath of the island," Parenteau said. "Credit for this victory goes to a broad coalition of non-profit organizations, community leaders, scientists, lawyers and ordinary citizens who campaigned for over two years to bring the truth to light."

The pipeline, which provoked widespread opposition over environmental and safety concerns, would have bisected the island, running through populated areas as well as mountains, rainforests, natural reserves, karst regions, coastal areas and other sensitive areas inhabited by more than 40 species of endangered wildlife and plants, while providing no significant cost savings to the Puerto Rican people, the ENRLC said.

Watch a video about the ENRLC's work on the pipeline.

Vermont Law School to Host Vermont House Debate

Vermont Law School — 25 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- The Vermont Law School Student Bar Association will host a public debate between the candidates for the Vermont House of Representatives Windsor-Orange 1 seat at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 30, in Oakes 012.

Professor Mark Latham, vice dean for Academic Affairs, will moderate the debate between Democratic incumbent Sarah Buxton and Republican challenger David Ainsworth. The race is a rematch of the 2010 election when Buxton, a VLS alumnus, unseated the incumbent Ainsworth by one vote.

VLS does not endorse or oppose political candidates.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Presidential Debate: Vermont Law School Expert Available to Comment on Business Issues

Vermont Law School — 16 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School Professor Jennifer Taub is available to provide analysis of economic, business, finance and banking issues in tonight's presidential debate.

Taub can be reached on her cell phone at 917-833-6804.

She is an expert in financial reform, corporate governance and mutual fund regulation. Her forthcoming book titled "The Great Betrayal: How Washington Bailed Out Wall Street but Left Main Street Underwater" is under contract with Yale Press.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Michelle Sinnott '13 Promotes Dissection Alternatives to Local School Board

Vermont Law School — 16 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

Michelle Sinnott '13 recently addressed the Williston (Vermont) School Board on behalf of Green Mountain Animal Defenders in an effort to convince board members to switch to dissection alternatives instead of dissecting cats, frogs and earthworms in their science classes.

Sinnott said computer- and video-based models, 3-D plastic models and other models are free alternatives to dissecting real animals. Such alternatives are less expensive, more humane and less stressful on students, she said. Many prominent medical schools have switched to dissection alternatives, which studies show are more effective at teaching students than traditional dissection, she said.

The board decided to table the issue until February when it will make all of its curriculum decisions.

Watch Sinnott's presentation to the board, which starts at 5:26 in the video: click on play, then click on "Audience and Communications."

Vermont Law School to Inaugurate President and Dean Marc Mihaly

Vermont Law School — 15 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School President and Dean Marc Mihaly will discuss the future of legal education and VLS's initiatives to adapt to the changing legal landscape at his inauguration on Friday, Oct. 26.

The event will include a panel discussion of the "New World of Legal Education" at 1 p.m. in the Chase Community Center. The inauguration ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. on the South Royalton Town Green. A reception will follow in the Chase Center.

Mihaly, one of the nation's leading environmental attorneys, became VLS's eighth president and dean on Aug. 1. He was a visiting professor in 2004-05 and joined the regular faculty in 2005. He served as acting associate dean of environmental programs and director of the Environmental Law Center in 2005-06 and then as associate dean and director from 2007-12. He is an expert in land use, urban planning and energy law and policy.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Vermont Law School Names Senior USDA Attorney as First Director of Center for Agriculture and Food Systems

Vermont Law School — 10 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School announced Wednesday that Laurie Ristino, a senior attorney and administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has been selected as the first director of VLS's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems.

Ristino, who will also serve as an associate professor of law, was selected after a national search.

"As the nation's top-ranked environmental law school, we're excited to have Laurie join our team and are confident she will advance the Center's goals of advocating for community-based agriculture in Vermont, New England and across the United States," said President and Dean Marc Mihaly.

The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, which was created last year as a result of an anonymous gift, is developing a comprehensive program in agriculture and food policy. Its mission is to promote economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture and food systems through legal and policy research and scholarship; to provide public education and technical legal assistance; and to educate the next generation of scholars, practitioners and advocates.

Ristino is a senior counsel with the Office of the General Counsel at the USDA in Washington, D.C., where she advises the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Forest Service on a host of legal issues. A national expert in the conservation and preservation of American working lands, she has advised the USDA on conservation program implementation under the 2002 and 2008 farm bills and has been advising on the 2012 farm bill development. She also is a professorial lecturer in law at George Washington University Law School, where she teaches a course that explores the critical need to develop sustainable American food systems.

Ristino described her vision for the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems as serving three important roles: education, engagement, and advocacy. "Given Vermont Law School's location in a progressive agricultural state with access to leading thinkers in the environment and agriculture, the Center is in a unique position to provide service to the Vermont community, while contributing nationally to sustainable agriculture and food systems law and policy," she said. "This is the right time to be engaging in food and agriculture issues given the unprecedented public interest in this area and the undeniable need for safe and sustainable food for the world."

More information about the Center is available at http://www.vermontlaw.edu/cafs

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Professor Benjamin Sovacool writes in Science: Deploying Off-Grid Technology to Eradicate Energy Poverty

Vermont Law School — 05 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- A new article in Science by a Vermont Law School professor offers new ideas to make renewable electricity and heat available to low-income, rural households.

The article, published today and based on field research in 10 Asian countries, offers design principles to overcome barriers to deploying off-grid technology to eradicate energy poverty, said author Dr. Benjamin K. Sovacool, a visiting associate professor at Vermont Law School, where he manages the Energy Security and Justice Program at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.

"Rural energy users must be viewed not as passive consumers but as active participants in energy projects," Sovacool said. "None of these principles or this shift in focus is necessarily new. Yet, energy development practitioners may be too busy, too determined to push a particularly 'favorite' technology, or too proud to learn from each other and the academic literature to take them into account. In some cases, maldevelopment or negative impacts can occur if programs waste precious resources. Practitioners, and those interested in energy development, could start by shifting how they conceive of energy technology and program structure. No matter how dazzling and promising advances in energy science and technology may be, it will have an extremely limited effect in eradicating energy poverty unless programs take these principles into consideration."

Sovacool is available to comment at 802-831-1053 or sovacool@vt.edu

His research interests include the barriers to alternative sources of energy supply such as renewable electricity generators and distributed generation, the politics of large-scale energy infrastructure, designing public policy to improve energy security and access to electricity, and building adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change in least developed Asian countries.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Professor Jackie Gardina writes in Huffington Post - Whites Only, Heterosexuals Only: What's the Difference Again?

Vermont Law School — 02 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

In a recent commentary in The Huffington Post, Vermont Law School Professor Jackie Gardina criticized Washington Post columnist George Will for defending a New Mexico business being sued for refusing on religious grounds to photograph a commitment ceremony between two women.

"Will not only concludes that Elane Photography should have the right to discriminate based on sexual orientation, he goes on to chastise the affected couple for bringing suit," wrote Gardina, whose expertise includes gay and lesbian legal issues. "Even more, he suggests that 'perhaps advocates of gay rights should begin to restrain the bullies in their ranks.' Or to put a historical spin on it: if there is a lunch counter willing to serve you, why try to sit at one that finds you repugnant? At least Will didn't suggest that the couple be arrested for challenging the Huguenins' policy as thousands of civil rights protesters were for seeking the desegregation of public accommodations. Separate but equal lives on."

Read the full article, headlined "Whites Only, Heterosexuals Only: What's the Difference Again?" and published Oct.1, 2012, in The Huffington Post.

Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum: Vermont Law Expert Available to Comment

Vermont Law School — 01 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt.—Human rights expert Stephanie Farrior, a Vermont Law School professor and former legal director of Amnesty International, is available to comment on today's arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum.

The case, which tests whether U.S. courts can hold accountable those accused of violating human rights in foreign countries, involves a lawsuit filed by Nigerian nationals against European oil companies for aiding the Nigerian military in killing and torturing civilians who protested oil exploration in Nigeria.

Farrior is director of Vermont Law's International and Comparative Law Programs and a co-founder of the Center for Justice and Accountability, which helps survivors of torture and other severe human rights abuses hold the perpetrators accountable through the Alien Tort Statute and other laws. Her faculty bio: http://www.vermontlaw.edu/Our_Faculty/Faculty_Directory/Stephanie_Farrior.htm

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Abigail Barnes '14 co-authors Atlantic article -- Tainted: Why Gay Men Still Can't Donate Blood

Vermont Law School — 01 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST

Abigail Barnes '14 recently co-authored a commentary in the Atlantic headlined "Tainted: Why Gay Men Still Can't Donate Blood."

Barnes is a research associate at the Institute for Energy and the Environment and a junior research fellow at the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law at Vermont Law School.

In her article, Barnes quotes VLS Professor Greg Johnson and mentions VLS's efforts to draw attention to the issue.

"This year, a committee at Vermont Law School organized a petition and awareness campaign in conjunction with its blood drive; the committee gathered 140 signatures to send to the FDA advocating for repeal of the ban," the article said. "The lesson these efforts teach us is clear: the FDA policy is unconstitutional and should be overturned. According to VLS Professor of Law Greg Johnson, 'VLS has long been a leader in defending the rights of the LGBT community. Modern detection techniques make the FDA's lifetime ban over-inclusive. The ban is grounded in discrimination, not science. VLS should join Middlebury College and others in leading the fight to repeal this illogical ban.'"

Read the Atlantic article, which was published Oct. 1, 2012.

U.S. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Lauds VLS Initiative to Improve Nation's Food System

Vermont Law School — 28 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST

Agriculture is hip—from rural cornfields and college campuses to Capitol Hill cocktail parties and committee hearings.

That was the word Friday from Kathleen Merrigan, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who told Vermont Law School's inaugural Conference on Agriculture and Food Systems that public interest in farming and food will continue to grow as Americans confront the challenge of feeding themselves without polluting their air, waters and landscape.

"Ag is back," Merrigan told about 250 students, faculty, visiting scholars, farmers, food producers, regulators, federal and state government officials, non-profit advocates and others in a keynote address via live video feed in the Chase Community Center.

"I always joke that in the old days I used to go to a party and people would say, 'What do you do for work,' and I would say, 'I work in agriculture,' and I'd be left in the corner somewhere with my gin and tonic," she recently told The New York Times. "Now I say I work in agriculture and I'm the belle of the ball."

The day-long conference, which was organized by the Vermont Law Review, spotlighted the VLS Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, which was launched last year to train the next generation of legal advocates to add desperately needed resources to the communities and organizations working to address the complexities posed by local, sustainable, community-based agriculture.

The conference included panel discussions on agriculture and water quality, public health issues related to food production and consumption, public regulation of genetically modified organisms, sustainable animal agriculture, the future of federal farm policy, and Vermont agriculture as prototype for the nation.

Merrigan congratulated VLS and Dean Marc Mihaly for creating the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems. "It's the kind of group that's needed to dig into these critical food issues," she said, adding that VLS students should anticipate growth in the number of law and policy jobs in agriculture as the nation's food production system tries to adapt to climate change, to sustain small- and medium-size farmers, to reduce farm pollution runoff and to provide access to healthy food for all Americans.

Merrigan oversees the day-to-day operation of the USDA and spearheads the agency's $149 billion budget. She is second in command at the agency, handling issues from farm subsidies to food consumers, production and safety. An environmental planner, she authored the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and supports conservation and sustainable land use, community gardens, marketing strategies between consumers and local farmers and promoting food education in schools. She managed the USDA's "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" effort to highlight the connection between farmers and consumers and to support local and regional food systems that increase economic opportunities in rural America.

"We need to encourage healthy eating, to develop local and regional food systems that meet demand, to create jobs and to innovate on the long-term policy side in land use decisions, food labeling and other key areas," Merrigan said.

A major problem is the nation's shortage of young people going into farming and ranching, where better access is needed to land, capital and credit, she said. "We need to repopulate our working lands," she added.

The most pressing issue, however, is passage of the Farm Bill, which expired Oct. 1 and is needed to reauthorize laws, policies and funding for the nation's agriculture system. The bill's expiration stopped dairy supports Sept. 30 and makes crop subsidies uncertain, but government funding continues through March 2013 for food stamps, nutrition programs and other key programs. After the Nov. 6 election, Congress is slated to resume working on the farm bill. The Senate has passed a version, but the House of Representatives has failed to take action.

"There's huge uncertainty until the Farm Bill is settled," Merrigan said.

New Video Highlights U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law

Vermont Law School — 24 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST

The U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law at Vermont Law School recently posted a new video highlighting its accomplishments in helping China to address the unprecedented environmental and public health problems that have accompanied the nation's rapid economic expansion.

Watch the video.

China needs trained lawyers and policy-makers who can enforce and implement environmental laws and regulations as well as instructors who can train the next generation of environmental advocates. Since 2006, the U.S.-China Partnership has trained thousands of Chinese lawyers, government officials and educators, giving them the skills and academic infrastructure needed to solve environmental and energy challenges in China through the rule of law. The U.S.-China Partnership has made a notable impact in building the institutional capacity of its Chinese partners, assisting the development of Chinese environmental law and creating environmental leaders. Some are now in key positions at government agencies, including the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the judiciary.

“Is There Still a War on Terror?” Asks Human Rights Activist Gabor Rona ’78

Vermont Law School — 20 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST

Gabor Rona '78, the international legal director of Human Rights First, returned Sept. 13 to Vermont Law School, where he met with students, faculty, staff and the public to discuss "the most challenging legal topics of our time: human rights and counterterrorism."

At the invitation of the VLS International Law Society, Rona delivered a speech titled "Is There Still a War on Terror? The Intersections of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in the Fight Against Terrorism." He urged attendees to consider whether Americans have abandoned the legal contours of the war on terror as set out by the Bush administration for "practices that are consistent with our international legal obligations."

From targeted killings to U.S. detention policy, Rona outlined areas where the United States continues to fall short in applying the appropriate legal frameworks. On the use of drones, the problem lies, he said, "in taking traditional concepts of targetability applicable in traditional wars between states where 'membership' in the armed forces is clear and to today's nontraditional conflicts where the distinctions between civilian and fighter are less clear."

On U.S. detention policy, Rona reminded the audience of the continued challenges faced by detainees in U.S. custody at Guantanamo and in Afghanistan. "In Bagram [Afghanistan], where there is no habeas, I witnessed what passes for due process," he said. "Detainees have no counsel, do not see the evidence, cannot realistically call witnesses and their fate is decided by the same authorities responsible for their capture and detention.

"Some states bristle at the idea of treating terrorism as war rather than crime," he said. "They dispute the broad claims of the U.S. that it can apply the less protective framework of the Law of Armed Conflict to its battle against terrorism rather than the more protective framework of Human Rights Law. I have a pretty simple idea of who's right. I think you can have wars against proper nouns but not common nouns. Germany and Japan can surrender and promise not to do it again. Terrorism can not. So, you can't have a war against terrorism, but you can have a war in which terrorism is a feature."

Rona urged VLS students to consider the entirety of U.S. counterterrorism policy and the rise of the place of the individual as a subject and object of public international law. During his visit, he also met with students to provide career advice, encouraging them to remain engaged in current events, consider humanitarian aid work or other pathways to international legal professions, take time to learn which lawyers or organizations are doing what and approach opportunities with the enthusiasm.

Today, as a leading international lawyer, Rona advises Human Rights First on international law, coordinates international human rights litigation and represents the organization with governments, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, the media, and the public on matters of international human rights and international humanitarian law. Rona was previously a legal advisor at the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva.

National Experts to Explore Agriculture, Food Systems at VLS

Vermont Law School — 17 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Kathleen Merrigan, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department's chief policy manager for promoting local and regional food systems, will give the keynote address at Vermont Law School's inaugural Conference on Agriculture and Food Systems on Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. The event, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., is free and open to the public.

The conference will bring together national experts to address the major legal and policy issues related to agriculture and food systems. It will feature speakers with diverse specialties and points of view on food and public health, sustainable animal agriculture, public regulation of genetically modified organisms, agriculture and water quality, localizing food and the future of agriculture production nationally and in Vermont.

The conference also will highlight VLS's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, which was established last year to train the next generation of legal advocates to help communities and organizations address the complexities posed by local, sustainable, community-based agriculture.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Month of August

Vermont Law School — 10 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST

WCAX talked to Professor Cheryl Hanna on Aug. 29 about the outcome of Vermont's Democratic primary race for attorney general.
Vermont Public Radio and the Burlington Free Press spoke with Assistant Professor Don Kreis and Professor Michael Dworkin, respectively, on Aug. 27 and Aug. 29 about the merger between Vermont's two biggest utilities, Green Mountain Power and Central Vermont Public Service Corp.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to Professor Brian Porto on Aug. 26 about television's financial impact on college football and basketball.
CNN International and Reuters, whose story was picked up by media worldwide, spoke with Professor Michael McCann on Aug. 24 about the United States Anti-Doping Agency's decision to strip cyclist Lance Armstrong of his record seven Tour de France victories.
WCAX talked to Professor Cheryl Hanna on Aug. 23 and Aug. 30 about new DNA evidence that won a convicted killer a new trial.
The Associated Press, whose story was carried by news outlets nationwide, spoke to Professor Michael Dworkin on Aug. 21 and Aug. 23 about confusion over Marcellus Shale production data that Chesapeake Energy Corp. said it submitted to a natural gas database in Pennsylvania.
The Washington Blade spoke to Jonah Richmond '14 on Aug. 23 about U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's keynote speech at the LGBT Bar Association's annual Lavender Law Conference.
China Daily USA included the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law at VLS in an Aug. 17 report on China-related activities in the United States.
In a Vermont Public Radio commentary on Aug. 14, Assistant Professor Don Kreis discussed Vermont's local boards of civil authority and property tax appeals.
Next American City's Forefront spoke with Professor John Echeverria on Aug. 12 about cities' search for new ways to pay for ever-rising infrastructure costs.
Greenwire talked to Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on Aug. 10 about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to freeze nuclear plant licensing decisions while tackling the nation's nuclear waste storage problems.
The Valley News on Aug. 6 profiled new Dean Marc Mihaly and reported on the South Royalton Legal Clinic's partnership with the Upper Valley Haven to provide free legal services to the needy. The partnership is funded by a donation from the Fiertz family in honor of Beverly Fowle Fiertz '86.
The Tampa Bay Times spoke with Mark Cooper on Aug. 5 about $200 million in upgrades planned at the idle Crystal River nuclear power plant in Florida. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
In his Aug. 3 column in Sports Illustrated/SI.com, Professor Michael McCann discussed the fight over jurisdiction in cyclist Lance Armstrong's doping case.
The Associated Press, whose story was carried by CBS News, the Huffington Post, Yahoo! News and other media nationwide, talked to Professor Michael McCann on Aug. 3 about the plans of Joe Paterno's family to appeal the NCAA's sanctions against Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.
Seven Days spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on Aug. 1 and Aug. 8 about Vermont's Democratic primary race for attorney general.

Human Rights Advocate to Discuss War on Terror

Vermont Law School — 07 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Gabor Rona '78, International Legal Director of Human Rights First, will discuss the war on terror at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 13, in the Yates Room of Debevoise Hall at Vermont Law School. The event is free and open to the public.

Rona's talk, "Is There Still a War on Terror? The Intersections of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in the Fight Against Terrorism," will include the conflict in Syria, drone warfare, waterboarding and other interrogation techniques, the tenth anniversary of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and other issues.

Rona, whose talk is hosted by Vermont Law's International Law Society, advises Human Rights First on international law and coordinates international human rights litigation. He also teaches at Columbia Law School.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Professors Goodenough, Purdom in Huffington Post: Reimagining Legal Education

Vermont Law School — 06 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST

In a commentary titled "Reimagining Legal Education" in The Huffington Post, Vermont Law School professors Oliver Goodenough and Rebecca Purdom discuss how law schools are navigating the perfect storm of change sweeping the legal landscape, including technological advance, shrinking job prospects, escalating tuition and costs, regulatory change and heightened competition.

"As we recreate legal education in the current context of challenge and change, we will be most successful if we don't get too hung up on the old labels and divisions of labor. We probably need the same things to happen (content delivery, framing, memorization, practice), but we don't need them to happen in the old way or in the old order. We need to be willing to move the pieces around, turning the classroom inside out and upside down, so that new instruction approaches don't simply parallel old style learning, but rather that new models evolve that meet our ultimate goals even more effectively, with improvements in both outcomes and price. The freedom -- and the necessity -- to imagine is there, and law schools and other participants in legal education that embrace the opportunity are the ones likely to prosper in the decades ahead."

Read the full story published Sept. 5, 2012, in The Huffington Post.

Vermont Law School Receives $1.5 Million Grant to Create “Legal Ecosystem” in Southwest China

Vermont Law School — 06 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. State Department to support a three-year project designed to improve environmental and public health in China.

"The result will be increased citizen participation and progress on a scale that will have meaningful impact on southwest China's burgeoning environmental issues," said Professor Jason Czarnezki, faculty director of the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law at Vermont Law.

The U.S.-China Partnership will work with Southwest Forestry University in Kunming, Yunnan Province, to create a "legal ecosystem" that includes an environmental and biodiversity law clinic to serve nongovernmental organizations, communities and underserved citizens. The school will host workshops to educate environmental leaders, lawyers and citizens on legal avenues to address environmental and public health issues.

"In addition, the law clinic, through a deepened understanding of the communities' needs and the experience of handling cases, will improve advocacy for changes in the law in consultation with local environmental protection agencies," Czarnezki said. "The program also will train government officials and judges to improve enforcement and implementation of environmental laws as it will be a collaborative effort seeking to build bridges between different sectors of the Chinese environmental law community."

The project's goal is help legal advocates, citizen groups, NGOs and government agencies to act individually and together within Yunnan Province and to create a model for advancing environmental governance for the entire region.

Vermont's Congressional delegation - U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, Sen. Patrick Leahy and Sen. Bernie Sanders - supported Vermont Law's grant proposal to the State Department. "This project will empower China's citizens to participate in and use legal avenues to address local environmental issues and to strengthen their communities," Welch said. "Vermont Law School continues to positively and practically influence the impact of the law on the environment in China."

Vermont Law School is a leader among U.S. law schools working on environmental governance in China, whose severe pollution affects global climate change and air quality and public health in the United States. Since 2006, the U.S.-China Partnership has trained thousands of Chinese lawyers, government officials and educators, giving them the skills and academic infrastructure needed to solve environmental and energy challenges in China through the rule of law.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Professor Gus Speth Releases Third Book in "American Crisis" Series

Vermont Law School — 31 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EST

In his new book "America the Possible - Manifesto for a New Economy," Vermont Law School Professor Gus Speth looks at the troubles in which the United States now finds itself, charts a course through the despair and envisions what he calls "America the Possible."

In this third volume of his award-winning "American Crisis" series, Speth identifies a dozen features of the American political economy where transformative change is essential, and he explains how system change can come to America.

Excerpt from the preface:

"Like most Americans, I love this country. I love its boundless energy and spirited people, its natural beauty, its creativity in so many fields, its many gifts to the world, and the freedom and opportunity it has given me and others to write books like this one&mdasph;which is why on August 20, 2011, I became a jailbird.

"Along with sixty-five others, I was arrested in front of the White House protesting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, all 1,700 miles of it intended to carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast to satisfy our country's insatiable thirst for oil. Our modest act of nonviolent civil disobedience landed us in the central cellblock of the District of Columbia jail for two nights.

"Some protesters were acting to stop the desecration of the North American land. My motivation was climate change: after more than thirty years of unsuccessfully advocating for government action to protect our planet's climate, I found myself at the end of my proverbial rope. Civil disobedience was my way of saying that America's economic and political system had failed us all. Having served as President Jimmy Carter's White House environmental adviser, helping to found two of our country's major environmental groups, leading the United Nations' largest program for international development, and serving as dean of Yale's environment school, I was once dubbed the 'ultimate insider' by TIME magazine. But my conclusion in August was and still is that working inside the system is insufficient. We have to step outside America's broken system of political economy and begin the difficult job of transforming it. As the slogan goes, 'system change, not climate change.'

"This book tells the story of how system change can come to America. At its heart is a vision of an attractive, pleasant, and successful America that is still within our power to realize by mid-century. In this America the Possible, our country will have rejoined the leading nations in realizing social justice and well-being, in building peace and real global security, and in sustaining our planet's environmental assets both domestically and globally. We will have reclaimed our democracy from what were once quite properly called the 'moneyed interests.' And we will have seen a deep transformation in our country's dominant values and culture.

"Now that is all very nice, you might be thinking, but how do we get there? I will endeavor in this book to chart a course to an America the Possible—a course from today's decline to tomorrow's rebirth..."

For a schedule of Speth's speaking events about the book, go to: http://americathepossiblethebook.com/events/

Speth joined the faculty at VLS in 2010 after a decade as dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Previously, he was administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Prior to his service at the U.N., he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute, professor of law at Georgetown University, chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality (Carter Administration) and senior attorney and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Month of July

Vermont Law School — 31 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EST

Reuters talked to Professor Michael McCann on July 31 about Lance Armstrong being stripped of his record seven Tour de France wins and handed a lifetime ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Vermont Public Radio spoke to incoming Dean Marc Mihaly on July 31 about the challenges and opportunities facing VLS and other law schools.
Vermont Public Radio talked to Associate Professor Michele Martinez-Campbell on July 27 about gun laws and gun rights in the wake of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo.
Reuters spoke with Professor Michael McCann on July 25 about an antitrust class action settlement in which Electronic Arts agreed to pay $27 million and give up the right to certain exclusive licenses.
The New York Times, CNN, Syracuse Post-Standard, Los Angeles Times, Inside Higher Ed, Missoulian and other media talked to Professor Michael McCann on July 23 about the NCAA sanctions against Penn State for its cover up of child sexual abuse.
The New York Times and Bloomberg News spoke with Professor Michael McCann on July 17-18 about possible NCAA penalties against Penn State over the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse case.
WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on July 16 about how the U.S. Supreme Court's recent rulings affect Vermonters.
Cox Newspapers talked to Mark Cooper on July 14 about the delays and cost increases at the nation's first two nuclear reactor projects to be built in 30 years. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
In his July 12 column in Sports Illustrated/SI.com and interviews with Bloomberg News, the Los Angeles Times and other media, Professor Michael McCann analyzed the Freeh report on the child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State.
The National Journal spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on July 11 about a nonproliferation activist's request that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission open a final board hearing to the public before approving a license for the nation's first commercial laser-enrichment facility.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to Professor Michael McCann on July 10 about the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal.
The Tampa Bay Times spoke with Mark Cooper on July 8 about the merger between Progress Energy and Duke Energy to form the nation's biggest power company. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
CBS News, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Huffington Post, Montreal Gazette, El Nuevo Dia (Puerto Rico), Auckland Stuff (New Zealand) and other media carried an Associated Press story July 5 quoting Professor Michael McCann on a federal judge's dismissal of cyclist Lance Armstrong's lawsuit against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. McCann also wrote about the issue in his July 9 column in Sports Illustrated/SI.com.
Vermont Public Radio spoke to Professor Pat Parenteau on July 3 about a permit the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant needs to release hot water into the Connecticut River.
Common Dreams reported July 2 on the upcoming release of Professor Gus Speth's book "America the Possible - Manifesto for a New Economy".

VLS Student Accepts Sierra Club Award

Vermont Law School — 10 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EST

VLS student Ben Mack (left) with Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune

Vermont Law School student Ben Mack JD '14 MELP '11 recently accepted the Sierra Club's Environmental Alliance Award on behalf of the club's Vermont Chapter for the partnerships it has formed with Vermont's labor unions, Abenaki Tribe and other environmental groups.

The Vermont chapter received a standing ovation at the Modern Day Muir Award Ceremony in San Francisco after Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune highlighted the chapter's accomplishments over the past year.

"The Vermont chapter has built powerful partnerships with Native American tribes, organized labor, farmers and other environmental organizations," Brune said. "The result: Vermont's governor proposed a $1.2 million increase in the Vermont Housing and Conservation Fund for the coming year. In the fall of 2011, the coalition assembled 1,500 Vermonters in front of the statehouse—the largest environmental rally in the history of the state. The Vermont chapter has also had success with initiatives promoting renewable energy generation. Partnering with unions and other environmental organizations, they have pushed the governor to call for 90 percent renewable energy by 2050, the Vermont Senate introducing bill that would result in 90 percent renewables by 2025 and the Vermont House introducing bill that would result in 80 percent renewables by 2025."

The Vermont chapter formed the partnerships as part of its "Our Forests, Our Future" campaign, which aims to link large conservation areas in the Northeast with wildlife corridors through town and tribal forests. The campaign also resulted in the largest weekday rally in Montpelier's history with more than 2,000 participants at the "Put People and the Planet First" rally on May 1.

At the Sierra Club, Mack serves as the Council of Club Leaders delegate and communication chair for the Vermont chapter. He has been a member of the Sierra Club for several years, and his goal this year is to get more Vermont Law School students to join the Vermont chapter's conservation efforts.

New Yorker Cartoonist Draws Former Dean Shields

Vermont Law School — 01 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EST

Jeff Shields, who retired July 31 after eight years as president and dean of Vermont Law School, left his mark on VLS in many ways, from its academic programs, buildings and faculty to its national reputation.

New Yorker cartoonist Ed Koren (left) with former VLS Dean Jeff Shields.

But Shields' presence will be felt long after his departure in another way: Noted cartoonist and Vermont resident Ed Koren captured Shields in a portrait that was recently hung in the Cornell Library's newspaper room.

Koren has been an illustrator of children's books and political cartoons for five decades, most notably in The New Yorker, where his hairy, endearing characters are noted for their wit and social commentary.

In his iconic, whimsical style, Koren drew Shields in his trademark bow tie and hiking boots, carrying his distinctive walking stick and wearing a tweed suit as he leads first-year students on a hike to Kent's Ledge during Orientation, a tradition that Shields established at VLS.

In June, marking the 50th anniversary of Koren's debut in The New Yorker, where his work now totals 1,043 cartoons and 28 covers, the magazine said "his images and captions are both inimitable and unfungible.... The Koren prototype is a figure made endearing by a fearlessly honest embrace of emotion, poetry, earnest foolishness, and foolish earnestness."

Koren's portrait of Shields was given by Dr. Michael and Susan Epstein and Dr. Mark and Nikki Shields.

Dean Mihaly Discusses Future of VLS, Legal Education with Vermont Public Radio

Vermont Law School — 01 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EST

In an interview with Vermont Public Radio, Vermont Law School President and Dean Marc Mihaly, who took office on Aug. 1, discusses the opportunities and challenges facing Vermont Law School and legal education as a whole.

Mihaly, one of the nation's leading environmental law attorneys, says he is excited about his new position, which follows seven years as director of VLS's Environmental Law Center, the top-ranked environmental law program in the nation. Before coming to VLS, Mihaly co-founded what has become the nation's largest public interest environmental law firm, Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger in San Francisco in 1980, and served as its managing partner for 17 years.

VLS has made a number of reforms in recent years to adapt to the changing legal job market that awaits its graduates, including expanding its clinical training program and broadening its expertise in international law, dispute resolution, agriculture, sports law and other fields. Mihaly says his top priorities at VLS include making additional innovative changes to the curriculum, reducing costs and adopting other major reforms in the way the school operates and prepares its students for careers in law, policy and other fields.

Listen to the VPR story, which aired July 31, 2012.

Professor McCann Examines Fallout from Penn State Sexual Abuse Scandal

Vermont Law School — 27 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Professor Michael McCann has been providing the national media with insight into the legal fallout from the Freeh report on the child molestation scandal and cover up at Penn State.

Among the media he spoke with were The New York Times, NPR, MSNBC,
CNN, Sports Illustrated, Bloomberg News, Los Angeles Times and Reuters.

McCann, one of the nation's top sports law experts, is director of VLS's Sports Law Institute, Sports Illustrated's legal analyst, "Sports Law" columnist on SI.com (CNNSI) and an on-air legal analyst for NBA TV.

VLS’s New Dean to Focus on Innovation, Affordability Amidst Changing Legal Landscape

Vermont Law School — 27 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. --Marc Mihaly, Vermont Law School's new dean and president, will start work on Aug. 1 with a focus on adopting innovative changes and holding down costs in an effort to help the school and its graduates succeed in the changing legal landscape.

Mihaly is available to meet with the media to discuss his vision for VLS.

He assumes VLS's top post at a time of unprecedented transition in legal higher education and the legal job market. VLS is the nation's top-ranked environmental law school, and many of its alumni pursue careers nationwide and globally in environmental stewardship, social justice and public service.

"Law schools don't know what will happen and some of them are 'dead schools walking,'" said Mihaly, who previously was director of VLS's Environmental Law Center. "I don't think success will look anything like the present. All these changes have been a long time coming and the recession just accelerated the process. But VLS can do this -- we're small, nimble, able to move more quickly than other schools. I believe VLS will benefit from being a national leader in adapting our curriculum, expanding our Distance Learning program and rethinking what we teach, who we teach, our educational products and what our graduates can do with their degrees."

The Board of Trustees announced March 12 the appointment of Mihaly as VLS's eighth president and dean, effective August 1. He will succeed Jeff Shields, who will retire July 31 after eight years as president and dean.

Mihaly, one of the nation's leading environmental law attorneys, was a visiting professor in 2004-05 and joined the regular Vermont Law School faculty in 2005. An expert in the areas of land use, urban planning and energy law and policy, Mihaly received his BA degree from Harvard College and, after service in the Peace Corps, received his JD degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, where he was editor in chief of the Ecology Law Quarterly. He then served with the environmental unit of the California Attorney General's Office and with the San Mateo County Legal Aid Society.

Mihaly cofounded Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger (San Francisco) in 1980 and served as its managing partner for 17 years. His practice included three decades of trial and appellate litigation practice on behalf of governments and community-based organizations on environmental issues. He developed the firm's low-income housing practice, initiated the energy practice and focused on all aspects of growth limitation. He has provided advice and counsel to state, regional and local governments as well as specialized environmental agencies on all aspects of environmental law. His work has included the design of sophisticated regulatory regimes to regulate development and to secure public benefits through private development. He advises environmental regulators on government law issues relating to the form and structure of their regulatory programs.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School

Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Fiertz Family Donates 100,000 Dollars to VLS for Poverty Law Services

Vermont Law School — 16 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

Alden Fiertz has given $100,000 to strengthen the social justice partnership between Vermont Law School's South Royalton Legal Clinic (SRLC) and the Upper Valley Haven, which provide a range of legal, housing, food and other services to needy families.

The two institutions have had an informal partnership for years, but the Fiertz family's donation will allow the SRLC to expand its free legal services for people in poverty.

Fiertz made the donation in memory of his wife, Beverly Fowle Fiertz '86, who received her JD degree when she was 55, making her VLS's oldest graduate at the time. She worked as a student clinician at the SRLC and, after graduation, for Vermont Legal Aid before opening a law practice in South Woodstock with a focus on serving low-income victims of domestic abuse. She died at age 78 in 2010.

Dean Jeff Shields and Professor Maryann Zavez, a SRLC staff attorney, said the Fiertz family's donation will help the clinic and its staff attorneys and student clinicians to better represent families who can't afford a lawyer.

"The partnership between the SRLC and the Haven gives law students an opportunity to understand ever more quickly and directly the array of issues facing people in poverty and to develop ever more sharply the skills and knowledge to improve lives," Zavez said.

"This generous gift will improve access to justice for many Vermonters who need assistance with issues such as children's rights, immigration, family law, housing, welfare and unemployment, health care, Social Security, consumer protection, bankruptcy, contracts, wills, and statutory civil rights," Shields said.

"Bev was struck by the limited access to justice for many in poverty in this country, so she went to law school to be able to make a difference," said Sara Kobylenski, the executive director of the Haven, which is in White River Junction.

After his wife's death, Alden Fiertz began to work with the Haven around the issues that were important in her life -- community, social justice, legal services for people in poverty and expressive arts for inner growth. The social justice focus led to an informal partnership between the SRLC and the Haven, where Alden Fiertz sponsors the Beverly Fowle Fiertz Community Center. Also known as Bev's House, it will be open to the public for a dedication ceremony from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 5. Shields will participate in the event.

"The SRLC and the Haven have had an informal connection for years, but this new, formal partnership will give the Haven access to legal consultation and representation for more people in poverty in our shared geography," Kobylenski said.

The SRLC, along with VLS's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, provide millions of dollars annually in free legal services to individuals, families and community groups. The clinics are housed in the school's new Center for Legal Services in South Royalton. Under the guidance of experienced staff attorneys, SRLC student clinicians represent clients in state and federal court and administrative hearings. They develop court cases from start to finish, from interviewing and counseling clients; conducting negotiation, research, case and statutory analysis, and discovery; to writing briefs and motions, preparing the case, and presenting at trial.

Vermont Law School Raises Record 18.4 Million in Capital Campaign

Vermont Law School — 09 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School President and Dean Jeff Shields and Matt Rizzo, executive director of VLS's Office of Institutional Advancement, on Tuesday announced the successful completion of the largest capital campaign in the school's history.

Center for Legal Services

The three-year campaign, which ended June 30, raised $18.4 million, surpassing the goal of $15 million by more than 20 percent. The money will contribute to a wide range of projects, many directly supporting VLS's top-ranked environmental program and its top-tier clinical programs. Funding came from nearly 3,000 supporters, including Vermont's congressional delegation --U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch -- who were instrumental in making the campaign a success.

"I am heartened by the breadth of support we received during this campaign," said Shields. "This was a team effort on behalf of Vermont Law School by many people who recognize what we do for the state of Vermont, for our students and for the advancement of the rule of law at home and abroad. We received terrific help from alumni, parents, friends, the bar, students, foundations, faculty, institutional supports and our congressional delegation. I especially want to single out Jimmy Hanson, our Board capital campaign chair, and Ed Mattes, the chair of our Board, for their first-rate leadership of a Board that unanimously participated in this campaign. Matt Rizzo led a top-notch team in Institutional Advancement, and I am also grateful for the hard work of our campaign co-director, Dorothy Heinrichs. Our campus leadership on this campaign was crucial to its success."

President and Dean Jeff Shields

The campaign was launched by a key gift from Trustee Fran Yates that helped purchase the former Freck's department store in South Royalton. The building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was renamed the Center for Legal Services and was renovated with the strict environmental standards for which VLS is known. The Center is one of the largest buildings on the 16-building campus and houses the South Royalton Legal Clinic (SRLC), the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC), other clinical programs and the school's book store.

Professor Margaret Barry, associate dean for Clinical and Experiential Programs, said: "Now we have an exceptional clinical education space for our excellent clinical programs." Clinical work in the building will include immigration law, family law and general poverty law through the South Royalton Legal Clinic, and environmental law through the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic.

Shields said Sen. Leahy helped to secure key federal funding for the SRLC and the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law, which is strengthening environmental rule of law in China through cooperative programs with several of China's top law schools. Sen. Sanders also secured key federal funding for VLS's clinical programs, and Rep. Welch was instrumental in obtaining funding for the Institute for Energy and the Environment to provide legal and policy analysis of smart grid technology, said Shields.

Professor Margaret Barry

The campaign also secured several million dollars for general support and endowment. "To raise this amount of money in these very difficult financial times is quite amazing," said Board Chairman Edward C. Mattes, Jr. '83. "It required a very broad effort with all hands on deck. Clearly, there is tremendous recognition of the importance of the work of the law school."

The campaign was chaired by Trustee James E. Hanson '83, who led the process of setting environmental programs, campus infrastructure, clinical opportunities and student aid as the campaign's priorities. "For a school of this size and age to exceed its very ambitious fundraising goal in what was a terrible time to be raising money is quite remarkable," said Hanson, a New Jersey real estate finance and management executive. "I am most excited about the opportunities this effort provides our students -- more robust programs, more scholarship money, wonderful new buildings.

Professor Marc Mihaly,
incoming Dean and President

Shields will retire Aug. 1 and teach law next year at Cambridge University.VLS's incoming president and dean, Professor Marc Mihaly, said: "It is wonderful to start my deanship at a time when such a large part of the VLS community has tangibly expressed its support for what is going on here. We will put these resources to good use as VLS continues to lead the way in so many areas of legal education and research."

Campaign facts:

Funds raised: $18.4 million
Participation by Trustees: 100 percent
Number of alumni making gifts: 1,745
Parents making gifts: 923
Foundations making gifts: 52

Professor Jackie Gardina Argues for Same-Sex Marriage in Huffington Post

Vermont Law School — 09 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

In a July 9 commentary headlined "License to Marry" in The Huffington Post, Vermont Law School Professor Jackie Gardina challenges opponents of marriage equality who argue that marriage is the foundation of human society and allowing same-sex couples to wed would cause that foundation to crumble.

"For all the grand statements about the importance of marriage to our society, the state does very little to regulate those who can enter heterosexual unions," writes Gardina, whose expertise includes sexual orientation and gender identity issues.. "It doesn't matter how long the couple has known each other, whether they intend to have children or whether there is a history of violence. To be sure, some states do have age requirements and some place restrictions on intra-familial unions -- like those between first cousins -- but other than that, there seems to be no real limits. A man and woman can marry and 55 hours later have the marriage annulled, a la Britney Spears and Jason Alexander. Heterosexual couples are allowed to marry and divorce multiple times without limitation. One of my favorite signs at a marriage equality rally read, 'Elizabeth Taylor had 8 husbands, my brother wants just 1.' Even Ted Bundy, a convicted serial killer, married a former co-worker, Carol Ann Boone, during the death penalty phase of his trial....

"In November, four states will vote on marriage equality and it is likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Opponents will try to articulate how allowing same-sex couples to marry will destroy the foundation of our society. But I don't see it. Apparently to be part of the foundation, you only need to know your name, your address, your birthday and where your parents were born. I think I'm ready."

Read the full article.

Month of June

Vermont Law School — 05 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Public Radio, WCAX , Burlington Free Press, Valley News, WPTZ, FOX44/ABC22 and other media spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on June 29 about the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on President Obama's health care overhaul law.
Greenwire talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on June 27 about a federal appeals court ruling that unanimously upheld the U.S. EPA's landmark greenhouse gas regulations.
Seven Days on June 27 profiled Peggy Larson '88, a veterinarian and lawyer, and her fight against animal cruelty.
CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on June 26 about the federal government's use of polygraph tests in an effort to stop information leaks.
NPR talked to Professor Cheryl Hanna on June 26 about privacy concerns over license plate readers used by police.
Vermont Public Radio talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on June 26 about the legal fight over the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on June 22 about justifiable homicide and a case where a Texas man beat to death a man who was molesting his young daughter.
The Burlington Free Press spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on June 22 about the death of a man hit by a stun gun fired by a Vermont State trooper.
The Huffington Post carried a commentary by Professor Jackie Gardina on June 21 about marriage equality.
The New York Times spoke with Professor Michael McCann on June 20 about safety risks in football and potential rule changes at all levels of the game.
Vermont Public Radio aired a commentary by Associate Professor Brian Porto on June 18 about the intersection of sports and politics.
WCAX talked to Professor Cheryl Hanna on June 15 about the attorney general's race in Vermont.
The Hindu (India) had a June 15 op-ed about the costs of nuclear power that included Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford.
CNN , CNN International, Fox News, Agence France-Presse and Al Jazeera spoke with Professor Michael McCann June 13-15 about doping allegations against cyclist Lance Armstrong.
E&E Daily talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on June 13 about Republican efforts to use the Farm bill to dismantle EPA regulations.
Sports Illustrated included Professor Michael McCann in a June 13 story about the NBA lottery.
In his June 12 and June 18 columns in Sports Illustrated and NPR/WBUR's "Only A Game", Newsday, Yahoo! Sports Radio, NESN, WEEI Sports Radio, Texas Monthly and other media, Professor Michael McCann discussed the criminal perjury case and defamation suit against former baseball pitcher Roger Clemens.
Vermont Public Radio aired a commentary by Professor Cheryl Hanna on June 12 about balancing work and family.
FOX44/ABC22 talked to Associate Professor Michele Martinez Campbell on June 11 about allegations that "sugar daddy" dating services are prostitution.
NPR/WBUR's "Only A Game",The Washington Post and MSNBC spoke with Professor Michael McCann June 6-9 about a consolidated lawsuit by retired NFL players who claim the league withheld information related to head trauma suffered while playing the game.
The New Haven Register (Conn.) talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on June 8 about a federal court ruling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's rules on spent nuclear fuel storage.
Inside Climate News spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on June 8 about a lawsuit to force New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to rejoin RGGI.
FOX44/ABC22 and WPTZ talked with Professor Cheryl Hanna on June 5 about justifiable homicide and whether a Vermont homeowner involved in a deadly home invasion would be charged.
FOX44/ABC22 spoke with Associate Professor Michele Martinez Campbell on June 5 about medical marijuana dispensaries in Vermont.
In his June 4, June 20 and June 22 columns in Sports Illustrated (which were cited in The New York Times), a June 9 story in Bloomberg News, June 7 and June 8 interviews on MSNBC, ESPN Radio, CBS Radio in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, WEEI Sports Radio and other media, Professor Michael McCann discussed the child sex abuse case against former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky.
The National Law Journal included VLS in a June 4 story about experiential legal education and curricula reform.
The Kiplinger Letter spoke with smart grid project leader Kevin Jones on June 4 about the economics of solar and wind power.
The Burlington Free Press talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on June 4 about the legal dispute over the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
The Concord Monitor on June 3 spoke with John Cramer, director of media relations, about a New Hampshire House member who resigned after admitting he fabricated an internship while attending the University of New Hampshire Law School.
CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on June 2 and June 8 about the "bath salts" street drug, which combines chemicals from legal drugs.
The June issue of Business People Vermont profiled President and Dean Jeff Shields, who is retiring.
The June issue of the American Bar Association's Energy Commitees Newsletter had an article by Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford that concludes costs, not safety concerns, have been the primary obstacle to new nuclear plant construction in the United States.

Rio Conference Favors Economic Development Over Environmental Justice, International Law Experts Say

Vermont Law School — 29 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

Speaking at Vermont Law School where they recently spent two weeks at the Environmental Law Center's Summer Session, two of the world's most renowned international environmental law experts expressed their disappointment with the recent the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

(Left to right) Professors Stephanie Farrior, Dinah Shelton and Edith Brown Weiss

Georgetown Law Professor Edith Brown Weiss and George Washington Law Professor Dinah Shelton said the summit's 283-paragraph agreement focuses on economic development and job creation without sufficient attention to environmental concerns, such as climate change, pollution and loss of habitat that result from unsustainable development.

Shelton, who has been at the forefront in developing a rights-based approach to international environmental law and was on campus to teach Human Rights and the Environment, said the conference's final document, called "The Future We Want," includes almost nothing on corporate responsibility, human rights, indigenous peoples or environmental justice.

Weiss, Vermont Law School's Distinguished International Environmental Law Scholar in Residence, contrasted the positive leadership role that national governments played at the historic Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 with their weak performance at Rio+20.

"It was a tremendous missed opportunity," Weiss said.

Notably, the summit reflected the growing capacity of grassroots organizations and state and local governments to take economic and environmental action without the approval of national governments, said Weiss and Shelton, whose visit to VLS was overseen by Professor Stephanie Farrior, VLS's director of International and Comparative Law Programs.

"The reaction to Rio (in terms of motivating and empowering NGOs and local governments) could be more important than the Rio summit itself," Shelton said.

Professor Cheryl Hanna Explains Supreme Court Health Law Ruling

Vermont Law School — 29 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Professor Cheryl Hanna provided Vermont Public Radio and other media with insight into the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision on President Obama's health care overhaul law.

Listen to VPR. Watch WCAX. Read the Valley News.

"Everyone of us is going to be either paying a penalty, now called a tax, or having health insurance," said Hanna, a nationally recognized expert on constitutional law, the U.S. Supreme Court and women and the law.

The original Affordable Care Act required states to expand their Medicaid coverage. If states chose not to do that, the law would take away all of their Medicaid funding, but the Supreme Court did not agree.

"And there the court said no, that states still have the right to refuse to expand under Medicaid but would still not be at risk of losing all of their funds," Hanna said.

Professor Jackie Gardina Calls for Marriage Equality in Huffington Post Op-Ed

Vermont Law School — 22 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

The Huffington Post recently carried an op-ed article headlined "Marriage Equality, State Power and the Bible" by Vermont Law School Professor Jackie Gardina.

"President Obama's recent statement that he supports marriage equality along with the federal appeals court's recent decisions that Prop 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act are unconstitutional appear to be gains for the gay and lesbian community," she wrote.

"But neither the president nor the courts stated that gays and lesbians have a fundamental right to marry -- something that the U.S. Supreme Court says exists for heterosexual couples. Rather, both cited a state's power to regulate domestic relations within its borders. That's a problem. Once marriage equality is put to a vote -- as it was recently in North Carolina and will be again in Washington, Minnesota and Maryland -- the churches become lobbyist and the Bible becomes the foundation for oppression."

Read the full article.

Electricity Use Drops, Customer Satisfaction Rises In Major Utilities’ Smart Grid Programs, Vermont Law School Studies Show

Vermont Law School — 19 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Electricity customers are using less power and seeing other benefits under smart grid programs adopted by two of the nation's largest public power utilities, according to study results released today by Vermont Law School's national smart grid research project.

The VLS Institute for Energy and the Environment's (IEE) case studies of the Salt River Project (SRP) in the Phoenix area and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) suggest:

• Clear policies speed smart grid results: SRP and SMUD both demonstrate that strong internal policy leadership facilitates effective smart grid implementation. While implementation has been criticized in some regions as benefiting the utilities, the leadership of SMUD and SRP, as well as other publicly owned power utilities, suggests there are strong benefits for customers. Additionally, California and other states with clear policies are moving steadily toward their goals rather than getting bogged down in debate over what the goals should be.

• Smarter technology clears the way for more efficient electric usage, which can lead to environmental improvement: The SRP's success with time-of-use rates and customer pre-pay service offers clear promise for voluntary dynamic pricing that is enhanced by smart technology. SRP's pre-pay program experience-giving customers timely information about their electric usage and letting them control their consumption-has resulted in satisfied customers and a 12 percent drop in power use. SMUD's pioneering leadership in clean technology is enhanced by the integration with smarter technology at the customer meter and throughout the distribution system, which opens new opportunities for increasing customer value.

"SRP and SMUD are unique public power utilities with rooted histories that are making aggressive steps to modernize its electric system," said Kevin Jones, the IEE's smart grid project leader. "Like other utilities that are today's leaders in smart grid implementation, these efforts in many ways still mark a starting point, rather than an ending point in establishing a truly smart grid."

The IEE's final report is due later this year on case studies of six diverse utilities across the country in order to recommend best practices that can be replicated nationwide: Commonwealth Edison, Central Vermont Public Service Company, Pecan Street Project, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Salt River Project and San Diego Gas and Electric. The IEE is studying the legal, policy and regulatory hurdles to upgrading the U.S. electric system with smart grid technology. The federal government has awarded $3.4 billion in stimulus funds to utilities and other entities, making the smart grid a key part of the U.S. clean energy agenda.

The IEE's research is designed to help understand which laws and policies will best ensure that a smart grid improves electric reliability, enhances customer value and helps meet the nation's clean energy goals. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that fully implementing a smart electric grid nationwide will cost $1.3 trillion to $2 trillion, with benefits likely exceeding costs by a factor of three or more. Research from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimates that with full implementation of a smart electric grid by 2030, U.S. energy consumption and carbon emissions could be reduced by 12 percent.

Read the IEE's case studies on the SRP and SMUD. Read more about VLS's Smart Grid Research Project.

Jones is available to comment at 802-353-2334 or kbjones@vermontlaw.edu.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Chinese Judges to Study Environmental Law at VLS

Vermont Law School — 13 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

South Royalton is different from New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, but the little village and the big cities do share one trait -- they're often the four places that Chinese lawyers, judges and law students visit when they come to the United States to learn about environmental rule of law.

Drawing them to South Royalton, the only town in the nation with a law school but a population so small that there's no traffic light, is Vermont Law School's U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law. VLS, the top-ranked environmental law school in the United States, is the leading American law school working on environmental governance in China. Since 2007, VLS and its U.S. and Chinese partner institutions have trained thousands of Chinese judges, lawyers, prosecutors, government officials, scholars and law students.

Under a pilot program started last year in China, the VLS Partnership, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and two Chinese organizations are overhauling the way Chinese judges are educated and trained in environmental rule of law. The goals are to empower judges, so they're better prepared to resolve significant environmental disputes and apply pollution laws that are widely ignored by companies that foul the country's air, land and water; and to help the National Judges College of Supreme People's Court to create its first environmental law curriculum. The college is the China's training institution for the courts.

As part of the environmental adjudication training project, the VLS Partnership is organizing a four-week study tour for a group of Chinese judges in the U.S. starting July 23. Sixteen senior judges, instructors from the National Judges Colleges and a leading environmental lawyer will travel to South Royalton and other Vermont locations, New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco to study American environmental law and environmental adjudication.

The delegation members will engage in intensive training led by Judge Merideth Wright, former Chief Judge of Vermont Environmental Court, the only specialized environmental court in the U.S. They will also meet with American judges, prosecutors, government officials, NGOs and leading scholars specialized in environmental law.

VLS Selects New Summer Media Fellows

Vermont Law School — 13 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

Journalists from the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and High Country News have been selected as Vermont Law School's 2012 Summer Media Fellows.

The three are the latest to participate in VLS's Summer Media Fellowships, a highly selective program for online, print and broadcast journalists from the U.S. and overseas who have shown leadership in covering the environment, natural resources, energy, legal affairs, public health and other environment-related issues.

This summer, Tony Barboza, a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, will study Earth Law. Jason Dearen, an environment reporter for the Associated Press in San Francisco, will study Comparative U.S.-China Environmental Law. Jodi Peterson, managing editor of High Country News, will study International Trade and the Environment.

The purpose of the Fellowships program is to sharpen journalists' skills through professional development, so they can advance public understanding of environmental and natural resource issues and the laws and policies that affect our lives and the natural world.

Former fellows include some of the nation's top environment reporters, including NPR's Richard Harris, the AP's Seth Borenstein and Dina Cappiello, the Boston Globe's Beth Daley and the VoiceOfSanDiego's Rob Davis.

"It was a great relief -- and a pleasure -- to spend two entire weeks simply digging into one subject," Harris said. "I was able to build considerable depth in a topic that is likely to gain prominence on the public agenda. I feel much better prepared to report knowledgeably on the topic (Arctic oil exploration). And I also seized the chance to wander into offices and engage people throughout the law school. A first-rate experience."

Professor Michael McCann Analyzes Sandusky, Clemens, NFL Concussions Legal Battles

Vermont Law School — 13 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Professor Michael McCann has been busy lately providing the national media with insight into two major trials and a lawsuit in the world of sports.

McCann, one of the nation's top sports law experts, discussed the start of the child sexual abuse trial of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky in his Sports Illustrated column and in interviews with Bloomberg News, MSNBC and other news outlets.

MCann also analyzed the trial of former baseball great Roger Clemens, where a jury is deliberating whether he lied to Congress about taking performance-enhancing drugs, in his Sports Illustrated column.

In addition, McCann spoke with The Washington Post, NPR/WBUR's "Only A Game" and MSNBC about lawsuits filed by retired NFL players claiming the league withheld information related to concussions and other head trauma suffered while playing the game.

Jerry Sandusky Trial: VLS Expert Michael McCann Expert Available to Comment

Vermont Law School — 04 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School Professor Michael McCann is available to provide insight on the child molestation trial of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. Jury selection begins Tuesday.

McCann, one of the nation's top sports law experts, can be reached at (cell) 617-875-6132 or mmccann@vermontlaw.edu

McCann's Sports Illustrated column today provides a primer on the Sandusky trial.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Month of May

Vermont Law School — 04 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST

The Burlington Free Press talked to professors Cheryl Hanna, Jackie Gardina and Greg Johnson, who also talked to the Valley News, on May 31 about a federal appeals court decision that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional.
The Associated Press, whose story was carried by MSNBC, Vermont Public Radio, WCAX and other media, and the Valley News reported May 31 on the death of one of VLS's campus rabbits, which a veterinarian and police called a case of animal cruelty.
The Tampa Bay Times, whose story was picked up by Bloomberg Businessweek and other media, spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on May 29 about the costs to customers for a proposed nuclear plant in Florida.
In his May 23 column in Sports Illustrated, Professor Michael McCann explored whether the NFL and its teams secretly imposed a salary cap of $123 million in the uncapped 2010 NFL season.
Reuters, whose story was run by CNBC, MSN Money, Japan Today and other media, and The Wall Street Journal, spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on May 21 about the resignation of Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Burlington Free Press and WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on May 21-23 about a proposed law to protect patients and staff from protesters at Burlington's reproductive care clinics.
In his May 1, May 15 and May 21 columns in Sports Illustrated and a May 18 interview with Yahoo! Sports Radio, Professor Michael McCann discussed the federal steroids trial of former baseball star Roger Clemens.
The Associated Press, whose story ran in the Huffington Post, Bloomberg Businessweek, Guardian, Yahoo! New Zealand and hundreds of other media outlets, talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on May 17 about a disputed proposal to build two wind turbines just inside the U.S. border with Canada.
In his May 17 column in Sports Illustrated, Professor Michael McCann analyzed New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma's lawsuit against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell over the Saints' bounty system. McCann also talked to WWL New Orleans, Balitmore WNST, CBS Houston, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CBS Radio Pittsburgh affiliate 93-7 The FAN.
WCAX reported May 16 on the ribbon cutting for VLS's Center for Legal Services.
WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on May 16 about traffic accidents and the rules of the road.
Inside Higher Ed talked to Professor Michael McCann on May 16 about a proposed college football playoff system.
WCAX spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on May 15 about a Vermont Supreme Court ruling that the city of Montpelier does not have the authority from the state to restrict public recreation at its drinking water supply.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and the Morning Call spoke to Professor Michael McCann on May 14 about the University of Pittsburgh's lawsuit against the Big East Conference seeking to leave for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Valley News spoke with Associate Professor Michele Martinez Campbell on May 10 about whether evidence of infidelity can downgrade a murder charge to manslaughter.
Greenwire talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on May 9 about whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should have required the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to obtain Clean Water Act certification before the agency approved a 20-year license extension.
The New York Times spoke with Professor Michael McCann on May 9 about a legal dispute between professional exhibition basketball teams.
The Charlotte Observer talked to Mark Cooper on May 9 about proposed state legislation that would allow Duke Energy to more easily pass costs of a new nuclear plant to N.C. customers. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
The National Law Journal mentioned VLS's Distance Learning program in a May 9 story about the growing number of law schools offering fully online master's degrees in specialized areas.
The Valley News talked to Professor Susan Apel on May 4 about the VLS-Dartmouth MedLaw Seminar, which explores the legal and social complexities of assisted reproductive technologies.
The Tampa Bay Times, whose story was picked up the Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) and other media outlets, spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on May 3 about the costs of small modular nuclear reactors.
The Burlington Free Press spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on May 1 about the public release of information by the Vermont State Police on a fatal shooting.

Op-Ed by Professor Oliver Goodenough: If You Don't Tax the Wealthy Enough, They Get Lazy

Vermont Law School — 31 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Professor Oliver Goodenough, who also is a Faculty Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, wrote the following commentary.

A few weeks ago, I spent some time in the village "watering hole," decompressing a bit with some friends over a beer or two. It was a little later in the evening, when philosophy has replaced thirst in our thinking and when we understand that everything we say to each other is remarkably wise and penetrating. I describe the scene not because it was noteworthy in itself - just the opposite - but because that evening, illuminated from within by the warm glow of hops and barley, one of my friends uttered a truth so profound, that now, weeks later and dead sober, I still feel the need to share it with the world.

"If you don't tax the wealthy enough," he declared slowly to his amber handful, and, incidentally, to the rest of the company, "they get lazy."

And, in that little nutshell, he had nailed it. The problem with the American economy is that our wealthy have gotten lazy. They're supposed to be our job creators, after all, but how are they doin'? Not so good. And why is that, they tell us? "Because taxes are too high."

"Well," I say to the top 1 percent in return, "Excu-u-u-se me. We've cut your taxes to the lowest rates in nearly a century. It's been that way for a decade. And all we got was this lousy recession. You rich folk must be lazy. You don't need more tax cuts; you need a kick in the behind. You need things to be a little tougher, so that you get motivated and go out and work a little harder to have two Cadillacs, a private island and a NASCAR team. Instead of the IRS taking 13.9 percent of your earnings, as it recently did to your spokesman Mitt, we should treat you like the middle class and do something radical, like asking for 20 percent or even 25 percent. With a little of that motivation, you might get off your well-padded backsides at the Maidstone Club, put down the Pouilly-Fumé and actually get busy and hire a few more people to help make that extra money you feel you need. Works for the rest of us."

The statistics are on the side of this insight. Let me admit that you probably can tax the rich too much for the good of society - the 95 percent bracket satirized by the Beatles in their great song "Taxman" clearly put a crimp in economic growth in the UK. Some of Margaret Thatcher's corrective medicine was in order. But you can also tax them too little. The state of our economy since the Bush cuts made federal income tax a relative flea-bite for many of our wealthy has been mixed at best. And a lazy, under-motivated performance from our job-creating rich is as good a reason as any for why this may be so.

We should stop coddling our job creators. Forget about lowering their taxes. Whack them a little harder on April 15, so that they get up off their duffs and do their job. Higher rates worked during the Eisenhower administration and even during the Reagan administration. The lazy rich clearly need a wake-up call, and enacting a decent minimum level of taxation would be a great way to set the alarm for them.

And when they've done their work, the 1 percent are welcome to join the rest of us at the bar to try to persuade us that "trickle down" isn't just what a good brew does when you sip slowly, and that the "Laffer Curve" isn't a way of rating jokes. But only if they buy a round. Otherwise, its class warfare all the way.

Op-Ed by Professor Jackie Gardina: Educating Effective Lawyers

Vermont Law School — 31 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Professor Jackie Gardina co-wrote the following commentary with Professor Ngai Pindell, associate dean for Academic Affairs at the William S. Boyd School of Law at University of Las Vegas, Nevada. They are co-presidents of the Society of American Law Teachers (SALT), which works to advance diversity, social justice, innovative teaching methodologies and legal representation to underserved people and communities.

The California State Bar is considering whether to impose a practical skills requirement for admission. Not surprisingly, many local law schools are opposed to the idea, suggesting that such a mandate is both unnecessary and unwise. But the California Bar is not alone in encouraging law schools to provide students with a broader range of experiences and measurable skills before graduation. For decades, law schools have had access to reports and studies that show that the traditional curriculum is outdated. Unfortunately, law schools have been slow to respond.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Council on Legal Education, the accrediting body for law schools, has the opportunity to mandate a change in legal education and require law schools to provide students with identifiable skills and experiences. For more than two years, the ABA Council of Legal Education Standards Review Committee has been drafting proposed changes to the law school accreditation standards. One hotly debate change involves a mandate that law schools identify student learning outcomes, assess student progress in achieving them and evaluate their educational programs in light of student achievement of those outcomes.

Unfortunately, the ABA seems content to maintain the status quo. In response to pressure from some law professors, deans and administrators, the Standards Review Committee has identified only a very limited set of mandated skills - essentially naming only the skills that have been taught for the last 100 years at virtually all law schools. The ABA is missing a critical opportunity to ensure that law schools fulfill their obligation to educate students in the wide range of skills and values effective lawyers require.

If those in charge of setting the minimum standards with which law schools must comply fail to require law schools to teach a wider range of lawyering skills, they should not be surprised by the continuing criticism that law schools are failing to prepare students for the practice of law. Nor should they be surprised if state bar associations step in.

VLS Experts Available to Comment on DOMA Court Ruling

Vermont Law School — 31 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School has faculty experts available to comment on today's federal appeals court ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples.

• Professor Cheryl Hanna, a constitutional law expert: (Cell) 802-233-8818 or channa@vermontlaw.edu
• Professor Greg Johnson, whose expertise includes gay and lesbian legal issues: (Office) 802-831-1284 or gjohnson@vermontlaw.edu
• Professor Jackie Gardina, an expert in gay and lesbian legal issues: (Office) 802- 831-1272 or jgardina@vermontlaw.edu

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

"Be Problem Solvers," Speakers Urge VLS Graduates

Vermont Law School — 22 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's newest alumni should dedicate themselves to being problem solvers who serve the public good in a rapidly changing world, two prominent speakers told members of the class of 2012 during VLS's 37th commencement weekend.

"Challenge laws and conventions that are outmoded, seek out the blank spots, be creative in your problem solving efforts," Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber said during his keynote speech at commencement on Saturday.

More than 600 students received Juris Doctor or master's degrees during the ceremony on the South Royalton town green.

Mark Tercek, the president and chief executive officer of The Nature Conservancy, offered similar advice during his talk the day before commencement about new strategies in conservation and ways that VLS graduates can play a role in protecting the environment and the human race. Tercek reviewed the state of conservation broadly, saying many parts of the global ecosystem were declining despite decades of effort to reduce pollution, wildlife and habitat destruction and climate change. "The environmental movement needs new people, new ideas and new energy," he said. "We need to think differently, bold and big." View the lecture (YouTube).

Conservation efforts have been hurt by a public perception that protecting nature is elitist rather than critical to humans' well being and economic growth, Tercek said. "Nature is valuable, not just wonderful."

He discussed the Conservancy's new approaches, including preserving the headwaters and watershed of rivers that supply drinking water in Latin America rather than building expensive water filtration plants downstream. Other projects include persuading Iowans to allow their floodplains to absorb floodwaters rather than relying on levees that actually worsen flooding; the Conservancy's partnerships with Dow Chemical, Coca-Cola and other companies to promote cooperation between scientists, engineers and other key players; and a Conservancy internship program that recruits young, urban, lower-income minorities into conservation careers.

At commencement, Reiber got a chuckle from the crowd when he started by saying: "Next to swearing in new lawyers, this is my new favorite thing to do." But he also spoke about the tough job market that awaits new lawyers, saying failure and adversity were valuable to any successful career and that the key was to persevere. He said the justice system needs more lawyers to represent people who can't afford representation, especially in family court. He urged the graduates to use "practical wisdom and good judgment" whether they practice law or work in other fields.

Jeff Shields, who will retire July 31 after eight years as VLS's dean and president, was recognized for his leadership and community building. During his tenure, VLS launched the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law, the Institute for Energy and the Environment, the Distance Learning program and other initiatives; strengthened the faculty by hiring nationally prominent teachers and lawyers; renovated Debevoise Hall, created the Center for Legal Services and completed other building and infrastructure projects; expanded the Career Services and Institutional Advancement offices, dual degrees program, clinical and experiental program and other programs; raised an average of $4 million a year; and undertook other initiatives that strengthened the school.

Alice Ranson '12 received the Learned Hand Award for academic excellence, Erin Wyatt '12 received the Alumni Association Award for contribution to the school and Jess Wilkerson '12 received the Maximilian W. Kempner Award for exhibiting civility, integrity and other attributes of VLS's fifth dean.

Honorary degrees were awarded to Reiber, Tercek and Edwin Colodny, a former VLS trustee, former president and CEO of US Airways, former interim president of the University of Vermont and former interim CEO of Fletcher Allen Health Care.

New Clinical Building to Improve Free Legal Services for Public

Vermont Law School — 21 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School cut the ribbon Friday on its new Center for Legal Services, an historic landmark that underwent a $3.5 million renovation to create a vibrant new home for VLS's largest pro bono clinics.

The 14,700-square-foot facility will enable the South Royalton Legal Clinic (SRLC) and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC) to serve clients more effectively and provide an optimal learning environment for students. The larger space will also allow the clinics to add staff attorneys, student clinicians and cases in coming years. The clinics provide millions of dollars in free legal services each year in the name of environmental stewardship, social justice and public interest.

"This building represents the can-do spirit of Vermont Law School," retiring Dean and President Jeff Shields told the large crowd at the ribbon cutting ceremony, which included Gov. Peter Shumlin, Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber and representatives of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch.

The project was prompted by the American Bar Association's requirement that VLS improve the SRLC's physical space, but it expanded into a strategic initiative to bring the SRLC and the ENRLC under one roof. Barrister's Book Shop will join the clinics this summer in the newly renovated building at 190 Chelsea St., which was formerly Freck's Department Store.

"The ABA said we needed to downsize our clinical programs because the current buildings were insufficient, so we took this decrepit but historic building and turned it into a first-rate clinical facility," said Shields, whos thanked the nearly 500 donors who contributed to the project, including VLS Trustee Fran Yates and Joel Faxon '04, a partner at Stratton Faxon.

Shumlin thanked VLS for representing low-income residents and community groups who can't afford legal representation, saying the clinics' services were crucial to the "fabric of family" and to having a clean environment. The governor also thanked Shields and his wife Genie for their efforts during his eight years as dean and president of VLS. "You are responsible for this accomplishment," he said. "This building is affirmation that this school cherishes the place it's in and gives back everyday selflessly, which is the job of lawyers."

Reiber said the Center for Legal Services represents VLS's commitment to the legal profession's code of ethics and professionalism, "which are one of the most difficult things to teach. I applaud Vermont Law School and Dean Shields."

Faxon echoed the comments of the other speakers, saying the center will "provide the public with the right to access to the courts and the right to be heard."

VLS's clinical programs are overseen by two of the country's top clinical educators. Professor Margaret Barry, past president of the Clinical Legal Education Association, is the acting associate dean for Clinical and Experiential Programs, and Professor Christine Cimini, former head of clinical programs at Denver University Sturm School of Law, is the director of Semester in Practice and Externship Programs.

VLS's clinical program--ranked 23rd among law schools nationwide by U.S.News & World Report--stands out from others in several ways. Few law schools have an environmental law clinic, and even fewer have a land use clinic. The VLS poverty law clinic allows students in-depth work in immigration, child welfare, domestic relations, public benefits and prison projects. The environmental clinic, one of the largest in the country in terms of students enrolled, offers rare and ready access to top environmental experts on the faculty.

Gone Fishin': Prof. Parenteau Analyzes Court Ruling on Recreationists' Access to Reservoir

Vermont Law School — 16 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Professor Pat Parenteau talked to WCAX recently about the Vermont Supreme Court's recent ruling that the city of Montpelier does not currently have the authority from the state to restrict public recreation at its drinking water supply.

Watch the story.

"One of the ironies here is that the city of Montpelier is liable for delivering water to its customers that is in any way impaired by the activities that occur in Berlin Pond and yet Montpelier doesn't have the authority to protect and prevent that kind of harm from occurring," said Parenteau, whose expertise includes water resources and public lands.

Parenteau said city officials have two options -- the first, going to the state Water Resources Panel and persuading them that Berlin Pond will be harmed by recreation, something they have been unable to do in the past.

"The other option would be to go to the Legislature and get a clear delegated authority to amend the charter for the city of Montpelier to directly regulate activities at Berlin Pond," he said.

Prof. McCann Breaks Down Roger Clemens Trial in Sports Illustrated

Vermont Law School — 16 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Roger Clemens may have to testify if his chief accuser hits a home run on the witness stand in the former baseball star's trial over whether he lied about using steroids and human growth hormone, Vermont Law School Professor Michael McCann wrote in his latest column in Sports Illustrated.

Read the full column at SI.com.

McCann, a nationally recognized expert in sports law, antitrust, and law and economics, is director of VLS's Sports Law Institute, Sports Illustrated's legal analyst, "Sports Law" columnist on SI.com (CNNSI) and an on-air legal analyst for NBA TV.

"More than four years since he and Roger Clemens gave contradictory testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Brian McNamee appeared before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton over the last two days to answer questions from government prosecutors. In doing so, he provided the most pivotal testimony yet in U.S. v. Clemens. McNamee also set the table for a contentious showdown with Clemens' lawyers as they cross-examine him late this afternoon and into tomorrow....

"If McNamee excels during cross-examination, Clemens' legal team may have no choice but to call Clemens to the stand and ask him to rebut McNamee's account. It would be a risky maneuver, since Clemens would have to also face cross-examination. His bravado and often inflexible choice of words could doom him when facing crafty questions from prosecutors. But not letting Clemens testify could also be major blunder and would be highlighted in the event he is convicted. McNamee's testimony on cross-examination, in other words, could be the trial's game changer.

"The government can still obtain a conviction of Clemens without the jury fully believing McNamee. In addition to perjury and false statement counts, Clemens is also defending against a count for obstruction of Congress. The charge refers to impeding and interfering with a Congressional investigation. It is plausible that jurors could reason that the government did not prove that Clemens knowingly lied under oath, but nonetheless showed that Clemens' interactions with the investigation were sufficiently misleading or distortive to warrant an obstruction conviction. While Clemens would face a maximum of five years in prison for such a conviction, Judge Walton could decline to impose any prison time and instead impose probation, community service and house arrest -- just like that assigned to Barry Bonds, who was likewise convicted on obstruction charges."

Six VLS Students Named Schweitzer Fellows

Vermont Law School — 16 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship announced today that six Vermont Law School students are part its 2012-13 class of New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows.

The 29 graduate students will spend the next year learning to address the social factors that impact health, developing lifelong leadership skills and living physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer's message of service. Joining approximately 220 other 2012-13 Schweitzer Fellows at 12 program sites throughout the U.S., the New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows will partner with local community-based organizations to develop and implement yearlong, mentored service projects that improve the health and well-being of underserved people -- all on top of their regular academic responsibilities.

The 2012-13 VLS Schweitzer Fellows, who join a long list of previous Fellows from Vermont Law School, are:

• Daniel Liebowitz and Ariel Solaski, who will launch a LPFM radio station for Royalton, Vermont, and surrounding towns with programming that emphasizes community health and well-being. The radio station will serve as a platform for community members of all ages and interests to collaborate, share knowledge, and engage in discussion.

• Stephanie Peters, who will work to grow the client and volunteer base and raise community visibility for Rutland Volunteer Garden Service, a program launched by Schweitzer Fellow Kate Thomas '13 that pairs teens and seniors to provide gardening help and promote cross-generation connections.

• Robin Seila, who will implement yoga and meditation programming for senior citizens and cancer patients at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

• Karen White, who will partner with Have Justice-Will Travel, which was founded by Schweitzer Fellow Wynona Ward '98, to help provide legal assistance for victims of domestic violence.

• Natalie Wicklund, who will work with Safeline to educate high school students in the Upper Valley area about dating violence with the goal of reducing such instances.

Since 1996, VLS Schweitzer Fellows have each contributed at least 200 hours of service annually to community projects they create. The 2011-12 VLS Fellows were Theo Fetter ‘12, William Tucker ‘12, Sarah Mooney ‘13, Ida Nininger ‘13, Vikram Patel ‘13 and Kate Thomas ‘13. The 2010-11 VLS Fellows were Kelly Connolly ‘12, Renee Gregory ‘11, Maximilian Merrill ‘12, Allison Silverman ‘12 and Michelle Tarnelli ‘12.

Since 1996, the New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program has supported more than 350 Schweitzer Fellows in delivering nearly 70,000 hours of service. The program is funded entirely through charitable donations and grants. Sponsors include Vermont Law School, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation in New Hampshire, the Byrne Foundation, the Couch Family Foundation, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, the Grafton County Medical Society, Hypertherm, Inc., the Lintilhac Foundation, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, University of New Hampshire School of Law, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth and the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Founded in 1940 to support Dr. Albert Schweitzer's medical work in Africa, ASF is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop Leaders in Service: individuals who are dedicated and skilled in meeting the health needs of underserved communities and whose example influences and inspires others.

Vermont Law School Marks First Anniversary of Nation’s First Fully Online Environmental Master’s Program

Vermont Law School — 15 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School's distance learning program is thriving one year after starting to offer the nation's first fully online master's degrees in environmental law and policy.

VLS, the top-ranked environmental law school in the country, on May 16, 2011, kicked off the first fully online master's degree programs in U.S. environmental law for lawyers and non-lawyers working in the law, public policy and other fields in the United States and overseas.

Enrollment is growing for the online Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) and online LLM in Environmental Law for post-JD attorneys, which together have nearly 100 students, mostly from the United States, with a few from other countries. The program is designed for people who need to work while completing their graduate degree, but who want the same quality of education offered on campus, including in-depth and personal discussion between students and professors.

Distance learning serves the fastest-growing population of graduate students, and more law schools are offering master's degrees entirely online in specialized areas of law, such as the environment, taxation, health care, estate planning or business transactions.

"Our asynchronous, interactive program design incorporates the latest learning research," said Associate Professor Rebecca Purdom, VLS's director of Distance Learning and assistant dean of Environmental Programs. "Our program is simply more available to a wider array of students and professionals than the synchronous, video-based programs currently offered by most law schools."

VLS also is leading law schools in the development of the appropriate standards for distance education, said Purdom, who is chair of the Working Group for Distance Learning in Legal Education, which she coordinates with VLS Professor Oliver Goodenough and the Harvard Program for the Legal Profession. The American Bar Association currently allows up to 12 credits of distance education toward a Juris Doctor degree, but in July will consider a proposal to allow up to a full semester to be taken via distance learning toward a JD. The Working Group has submitted comments on the proposed change to the ABA and is creating a best practices guide for law schools about to embark on distance learning efforts. The Working Group has also developed a model law school distance learning policy.

"While times are tight and it's been challenging to take on a new investment, Vermont Law School should be proud and grateful that our leaders had the foresight to step into the brave new world of distance learning over the past year," Purdom said. "We're watching the mass-market introduction of these programs with interest, but we're confident that a selective, highly personal and interactive program design will ultimately win the day."

Purdom can be reached at 802-831-1217 or rpurdom@vermontlaw.edu

Learn more information about VLS's distance learning program.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Commencement Weekend Highlights to Include Opening of Center for Legal Services, Talk by Nature Conservancy President

Vermont Law School — 15 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School will mark its 37th annual commencement weekend May 18-19 with a talk by the head of the world's leading conservation group and the opening of a new legal clinics building to benefit needy families and the environment.

VLS will officially open the Center for Legal Services at 11:30 a.m., Friday, May 18 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that includes U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Gov. Peter Shumlin, Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber and other officials. The historic building at 190 Chelsea St. underwent a $3.5 million renovation to convert it into the new home for the South Royalton Legal Clinic and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. The two clinics provide millions of dollars of free legal services annually in the name of environmental stewardship, social justice and public interest.

Mark Tercek, the president and chief executive officer of The Nature Conservancy, will discuss new strategies needed in conservation and ways that VLS graduates can play a role in protecting the environment. His talk will be at 3:30 p.m., Friday, May 18 in the Chase Community Center. The Nature Conservancy is the world's leading conservation organization working around the world to save the lands and waters that sustain all life.

Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber will deliver the keynote speech at commencement at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 19 on the South Royalton town green. Honorary degrees will be awarded to Reiber, Tercek and Edwin Colodny, a former VLS trustee, former president and CEO of US Airways, former interim president of the University of Vermont and former interim CEO of Fletcher Allen Health Care.

The events are free and open to the public. More information is available at our Commencement pages.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

China Fellow Moser Discusses True Costs of Conservation

Vermont Law School — 08 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

A recent editorial by media personality John Stossel about the costs of environmental protection prompted a response in the Huffington Post from Adam Moser, a China Environment Fellow and Energy Law Fellow at Vermont Law School's U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law.

Moser rebutted Stossel's claims in a commentary on the Huffington Post's Green blog.

"I'm sure almost every country has someone like John Stossel -- a self-righteous media personality who depicts the world in black and white, and whose appeal, to a section of the population, lies precisely in his oversimplified take on what are very complex matters," Moser wrote.

"If Stossel thinks that environmentalists are making U.S. energy prices rise, his understanding of markets and world events is skewed beyond belief. I invite him to come to China, so that he might understand why global energy prices are rising. China will struggle with leaving a dirty economic model behind because it is always easier to preference short-term economic growth over investments in value creating conservation for the future. But at least China realizes there are real physical constraints to its landfills and to its fossil fueled growth. If it doesn't realize this, then American environmentalists should be the least of Stossel's concerns."

Moser, whose specialties are environmental energy law and policy in the United States and China, has a JD degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and a master of laws degree in environmental law and energy law from Vermont Law School.

Kaifala '13 Says Libya Should Bring Former Leaders to Justice

Vermont Law School — 08 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School student Joseph Kaifala '13 recently wrote a commentary titled "Libya - Not the International Court - Should Bring Former Leaders to Justice" in PolicyMic.

"The International Criminal Court (ICC) has charged three Libyans - Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, former honorary chairman of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, acting as de facto Prime Minister of Libya; Abdullah Al-Senussi, colonel in the Libyan Armed Forces and former head of the military intelligence; and the late Muammar Gaddafi, who served as head of state," Kaifala wrote. "The three were indicted for crimes against humanity committed during the Libyan Revolution in 2011.... Since the end of the revolution, the ICC has been trying to get the Libyan government to surrender the accused to the Court at The Hague, but the Libyan government has consistently refused to extradite....

"The Libyan government has emphasized its willingness to bring the accused to justice under national jurisdiction. The ICC should withdraw its warrants and let the Libyan criminal system render justice for the Libyan people. We cannot judge the alleged inadequacy of the Libyan justice system if we do not allow it to operate. The accused are charged with crimes committed against the Libyan people and they must be held accountable to Libyans where their government has expressed commitment to justice and national reconciliation."

Kaifala is executive director of the Jeneba Project, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving education for children in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. He was born in Sierra Leone and spent his early childhood in Liberia and Guinea. He speaks six languages and holds a master's degree in international relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Prof. Apel Explores "Newfangled Families"

Vermont Law School — 07 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

In a recent story headlined "Newfangled Families," the Valley News featured the MedLaw Seminar taught by Vermont Law School Professor Susan Apel, director of the General Practice Program, and Judy Stern, a professor at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine.

The seminar, which started in 1999, explores the legal and social complexities that can result when couples use assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to create a family.

The rate of ART procedures in the United States has doubled over the past decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Copntrol and Prevention. More than 1 percent of all infants born in the United States every year are conceived using ART. With rising rates of infertility and more couples desiring to have children outside the traditional male-female marriage structure, the prevalence of technology-assisted pregnancies is likely to increase.

"Stern and Apel connected after they realized each needed the expertise of the other," the Valley News reported. "Stern, the doctor, wanted to learn more about the potential legal issues involved in newfangled fertility procedures. And Apel, the professor, had received her training in family law before many of these procedures were even in existence.

"'I realized I was teaching this old-fashioned family law,' Apel said. 'I needed to understand more about the new technology. Most of these (legal) cases, with some exceptions, are dealt with on a state-by-state basis. You have 50 different jurisdictions that may be coming to different results... It's a difficult assignment for the courts. they're working with very little precendent from anywhere else.'"

Learn more about VLS's MedLaw Seminar and General Practice Program.

Prof. McCann Explores Truths, Myths about Roger Clemens Trial

Vermont Law School — 03 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

In his latest Sports Illustrated column, Vermont Law School Professor Michael McCann discusses myths and truths about the U.S. Justice Department's prosecution of former baseball star Roger Clemens and about the Congressional hearing on the clinical effects of HGH, vitamin B-12 and other performance-enhancing drugs and motivations for athletes to use them.

"As the Roger Clemens trial plods along, many are asking, in one form or another: Why did Congress waste millions of our tax dollars to investigate if a baseball player used steroids?" wrote McCann, one of the nation's leading sports law experts and the director of VLS's Sports Law Institute. He also is a legal analyst for Sports Illustrated and the "Sports Law" columnist on CNNSI (SI.com).

"It's a question that has been repeatedly asked since Clemens testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Feb. 13, 2008 and defiantly claimed that he had never used illegal steroids or Human Growth Hormone. The committee's doubts about Clemens' truthfulness led to an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, a nearly 16-month grand jury proceeding, perjury charges, a mistrial last summer and, finally, a new trial. All told, millions of tax dollars have been spent by the federal government investigating and prosecuting Clemens.

"The lingering belief that the Congressional hearings and subsequent developments were all a foolish use of government time and money has not gone away. Prospective jurors even admitted to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton that they felt the Congressional hearings were wasteful. One potential juror went so far to describe it as 'a little bit ridiculous' that Congress would investigate Clemens instead of numerous matters more crucial to the nation. As expected, attorneys for Clemens have tried to capitalize on this sentiment in their defense. They hope to persuade jurors to nullify the government's case on grounds that it never should have been brought to trial.

"While there are legitimate criticisms of the investigation and prosecution of Clemens, myths and falsehoods about the infamous Congressional hearing in 2008 have emerged and are worthy of correction. You may even come to believe Congress was right, or at least justified, in calling Clemens to testify."

Dean Shields Honored with State House Resolution

Vermont Law School — 30 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

The Vermont General Assembly recently honored retiring Vermont Law School President and Dean Jeff Shields and his wife Genie with a resolution recognizing their dedication to VLS and Vermont over the last eight years.

According to the resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Sarah Buxton '10:

"Whereas, Dean Shields' leadership ushered in a stronger, more globally inclusive environmental network of clinics, institutes, and courses and also established path-breaking partnerships with universities in China, and

"Whereas, his wife, Genie, created a support program (VLS Partners Group) for the men and women who dared to accompany their partners through law school, and the Shields hosted more than 600 events for various groups at their home, and

"Whereas, significant new academic programs begun during Dean Jeff Shields' years on the VLS campus have included the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law, the Institute for Energy and the Environment, and the Agricultural Law Center, and

"Whereas, major building projects during his tenure included the rehabilitation and expansion of the old South Royalton School, known as the Debevoise building, creation of a new Center for Legal Services, breaking ground for a new fitness center, and the opening of an outdoor classroom, now therefore be it

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That the General Assembly honors retiring Vermont Law School President Geoffrey B. Shields and his wife, Genie, for a remarkable period of educational growth, international outreach, physical improvements on campus, and the building of a stronger sense of school community..."

Read the full resolution.

Week of April 23

Vermont Law School — 30 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Orion Magazine had an article in its May/June issue by Professor Gus Speth, the second of a two-part series based on his book "America the Possible: Roadmap to a New Economy," which will be published in September.
Greenwire mentioned VLS's exchange program with McGill University in Montreal in an April 30 story about cross-border environmental law issues.
The Daily Record on April 30 profiled Kevin Tompsett '99, a lawyer with a love of mountain climbing.
The Burlington Free Press reported April 28 on the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law's symposium on managing floodwaters and other environmental impacts in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
The Burlington Free Press reported April 27 on Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., securing continued funding for VLS's U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law.
USA Today talked to Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on April 26 about an energy company's request for federal loan guarantees for a centrifuge project to turn uranium hexafluoride into enriched fuel for nuclear plants nationwide.
WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on April 25 about two bills in the Vermont Legislature that have raised legal questions--one concerning genetically-engineered food labeling and the other the Vermont Yankee tax bill.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch talked to Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on April 25 about the costs of small nuclear reactors.
The Des Moines Register spoke with Mark Cooper on April 23 about the costs of new nuclear power plants. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.

Sen. Leahy Wins $3.9 M for VLS, ISC to Continue Environmental Work in China

Vermont Law School — 27 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has rescued $3.9 million to continue the work of Vermont Law School's U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law and another pioneering Vermont organization that are helping to nurture the emergence of environmental advocacy in China.

Leahy, who chairs the Senate's committee on the budget for the State Department, foreign aid and other U.S. foreign operations, has secured about $15 million each year for several years to fund a competitive grant program for rule-of-law training in China, where the judiciary is often manipulated by corrupt officials and rapid economic growth has led to unprecedented environmental and public health problems. Under the Leahy-funded initiative, U.S. organizations devise and implement programs to partner with civic reform groups in China in fostering environmental advocacy and enforcement, in challenging official corruption and in protecting worker health and safety.

Vermont Law School and the Vermont-based Institute for Sustainable Communities have been among the program's participants, forming the U.S.-China Partnership For Environmental Law, based at the VLS campus in South Royalton. Since 2006 their program has trained thousands of Chinese lawyers, citizen advocates and educators, giving them the skills and academic infrastructure needed to solve mounting environmental and energy challenges through the rule of law. The program helps empower ordinary citizens in China by building legal training capacity for lawyers and civic organizations there in challenging government corruption, local pollution and threats to worker health and safety. Leahy notes that another benefit is that emergence of environmental and safety standards within China helps in leveling the economic playing field with American firms that operate within U.S. environmental and safety standards.

Read the full news release from Leahy's office.

Dapolito '12 Examines International Law Issues

Vermont Law School — 26 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School student Mollie Dapolito '12 recently published two articles in ILSA Quarterly about legal cases overseas.

The first article, titled "Pakistani Prime Minister Appears in Court on Comtempt Charges," was on pages 18-19. The second article, titled "Congress of the Phillippines Impeaches the Chief Justice of Phillippines Supreme Court," was on pages 21-22.

Read the articles.

Dapolito is a regular contributor to ILSA Quarterly, an academic magazine published by the International Law Student Association that features articles written by students, scholars and practitioners about timely issues of international law and related topics.

After Irene: VPR Reports on VJEL Symposium

Vermont Law School — 25 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Tropical Storm Irene may be past, but its impact on Vermont continues to reverberate as government officials, property owners, conversationists, anglers and others look for better ways to manage rivers and floodwaters in the Green Mountain state.

Vermont Public Radio reported on a recent symposium, titled "After Irene: Law and Policy Lessons for the Future," that was hosted by the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, a student-run online journal at Vermont Law School.

"Vermont rivers program manager Michael Kline says Irene represents a turning point in how the state and communities approach rivers," VPR reported. "Even so, Kline says 40 percent of the river repairs done after Irene actually increased the danger from flooding. Kline says only recently have officials begun questioning the decades long practice of dredging, widening and straightening rivers after floods. Following Irene, Kline says the state river engineers are working with towns to take a new approach to managing rivers to better prepare for future floods.

"'We are beginning to look at our flood response differently so that instead of creating the fire hose effect out of our rivers, we can find out where they can dissipate some of that flood flow, where they can expend some of that flood energy,' he says.

"The key to that is protecting floodplains and the idea of giving rivers the room they need to overflow. Kline says Vermont's rivers can no longer access 75 percent of the floodplain that borders them. That's largely because of development and the way rivers have been altered. Better local planning can protect existing floodplains and mitigation programs could help clear out developed areas."

Jones '12, VLS to Receive Top Awards from Vermont Association for Justice

Vermont Law School — 24 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School student Dee Jones '12 will receive the Martha Woodman Consumer Advocacy Award from the Vermont Association for Justice for her inspirational character and courageous challenge to the discriminatory practices of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, the VTAJ announced.

The award will be presented at the VTAJ's annual meeting on May 18, where the group also will present the Frank G. Mahady Public Service Award to Vermont Law School for its support of Jones during her VLS career and her litigation.

Jones, who is legally blind and has an auditory learning disability, won a preliminary injunction from a federal judge last year saying the Bar Examiners had to allow her to use a computer during the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, the legal ethics exam that all lawyers must take before they practice in most states.

The computer allows Jones, who hopes to practice disability law, to use two types of software that enlarge text, highlight words in different colors and read text aloud, so that she can fully comprehend the material.

Kaifala '13 Says Military Coups Still Haunt African Democracy

Vermont Law School — 23 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School student Joseph Kaifala '13 recently wrote a commentary titled "Military Coups Still Haunt African Democracy" in PolicyMic.

"Recent events in Africa reawakened a ghost many of us thought was exorcised at the end of the last millennium, but the past few weeks have shown that the spirit of military coup d'états has not yet been laid to rest," he wrote.

"There is no doubt that Mali, Guinea Bissau, and many other African countries need political change, but the African people should not settle for regression in governance. What we aspire to in the 21st century are governments of the people, by the people, and for the people. It is the people who hold the right to change their government, not the armed forces. The African people should remain adamant against reversing our humble achievements in democratic governance, and our regional organizations must stand by the will of the people, which is ballots not bullets."

Weeks of April 9, April 16

Vermont Law School — 23 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Public Radio reported April 20 on the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law's symposium on managing floodwaters and other environmental impacts in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
In The New York Times on April 17, in his Sports Illustrated column on April 16 and on CNN (here and here) on April 16, Professor Michael McCann discussed the steroids retrial case of former baseball star Roger Clemens.
The Missoulian (Montana) spoke with Adjunct Professor Jack Tuholske on April 16 about a potentially groundbreaking railroad lawsuit in California that could reverberate nationwide.
A Jakarta Post (Indonesia) commentary on fuel subsidies and energy sustainability on April 16 cited research byAssociate Professor Benjamin Sovacool.
The Times Argus/Herald had an article April 15 by VLS's smart grid team—Kevin Jones (smart grid project leader), Rebecca Wigg (smart grid fellow) and Allie Silverman '12 (research associate)—about the adoption of smart grid technology across Vermont.
Sports Illustrated had an April 13 article co-authored by Professor Michael McCann, with assistance from Jon Hamlin '10, about former University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino trying to sidestep school guidelines to hire his mistress as the team's player development coordinator.
New England Public Radio talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on April 13 about the proposed cleanup of the Housatonic River.
USA Today, whose story ran April 15, and the Associated Press, whose April 12 and April 16 stories ran in The Washington Post, FOX News, Politico, The Guardian (United Kingdom), ABC News, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, Globe and Mail (Toronto), ESPN, Univision and hundreds of other media worldwide, talked to Professor Michael McCann about the steroids retrial case of former baseball star Roger Clemens.

Week of April 2

Vermont Law School — 09 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch cited Mark Cooper's research in an April 8 editorial on the costs and safety of nuclear power. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
The Valley News reported April 8 on the Global Activism on LGBTI Issues conference hosted by the International and Comparative Law Program, Alliance, and International Law Society.
CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on April 7 about the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen-ager shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
ESPN-W spoke with Associate Professor Brian Porto on April 7 about myths associated with Title IX and on April 3 about the difficulties that women face in coaching college sports since the advent of Title IX.
George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley, a nationally respected lawyer and legal educator who handles high profile cases, praised Professor Cheryl Hanna's constitutional law students in his prominent blog after he gave a talk on morality and the law at VLS.

Sports Industry Leaders to Advise Sports Law Institute

Vermont Law School — 04 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's Sports Law Institute recently announced its Board of Advisors, which includes some of America's top sports industry leaders, and the start of a Blue Chips program designed to give students the core skills, hands-on experience and research opportunities needed to succeed in the sports world.

Among the luminaries on the SLI's board are Alan Milstein, one of the leading sports agents and litigators in the country; Jay Reisinger, attorney for Alex Rodriguez and other star baseball players; and B.J. Schecter, executive editor of Sports Illustrated and SI.com.

"We're honored that such an illustrious and dynamic group of people have stepped forward help to guide the Sports Law Institute and to provide opportunities for Vermont Law School's students," said Professor Michael McCann, director of the SLI and a nationally recognized expert in the fields of sports law, antitrust, and law and economics. He also is a legal analyst for Sports Illustrated and NBA TV and the sports law columnist for SI.com (CNNSI).

Blue Chips, which will start in fall 2012, is an innovative program that will provide students with real-world, practical skills in sports law. Those skills include the drafting of employment and endorsement contracts, foundational knowledge in sports litigation and arbitration, and application of NCAA regulations. It will also include assistance on helping students obtain internships and jobs in sports law.

The SLI also recently held a successful Ski, Snowboarding and Resort Law panel discussion. "The panel was highly informative, wide-ranging and a great introduction for our students to the kinds of legal issues that arise in the skiing and snowboarding industries," said Associate Professor Brian Porto, deputy director of the SLI whose most recent book is titled "The Supreme Court and the NCAA: The Case for Less Commercialism and More Due Process in College Sports."

The SLI's Advisory Board members are:

Jeff Benedict, award-winning investigative journalist, attorney and best-selling author.
Chris Brown, president of the Basketball and Entertainment Divisions of Orpehus Sports and Entertainment, whose clients include NBA players and music stars.
Christopher Callanan, founding partner of Stevenson McKenna & Callanan and a seasoned sports litigator and agent who has represented professional and Olympic athletes and sports agents.
Ralph Cindrich, sports agent and former NFL player who negotiated one of the landmark contracts in sports history that altered the salary hierarchy in the NFL.
Neil Cornrich, NFLPA-certified agent/attorney and president of NC Sports who represents a number of prominent NFL coaches and players.
Timothy Epstein, partner in Smith Amundsen where he is chair of the firm's Sports Law Group.
Daniel Fitzgerald, sports attorney at Brody Wilkinson who provides counsel to clients on legal issues in amateur, collegiate and professional athletics.
Robyn Glaser, senior adviser to the Kraft Sports Group.
Joshua Golka, sports attorney who provides counsel to athlete agents, athletes and others with a focus on the laws and regulations governing athlete agents.
Betsy Goff, sports attorney who previously was an executive at ABC and vice president of ESPN and IMG Legal.
Jimmy Golen, Associated Press sports writer and Yale Law School graduate who has extensive experience covering legal matters in sports.
Ken Gordon, senior director and assistant general counsel of ESPN.
John Harper, vice president consulting at Wasserman Media Group who previously managed business development and brand initiatives with Sony and Nike.
Jaimesen Heins, associate general counsel at Burton Snowboards.
Darren Heitner, attorney who focuses his legal practice on sports, entertainment and music litigation and transactional work.
Mark Hicks '06, associate director of High School Review at the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Terence High, NFLPA-certified agent and attorney who represents NFL and college coaches.
Donald Jackson, sports agent and attorney at The Sports Group whose clients include players and coaches.
Nate Jones, digital media and professional athlete marketing attorney at Goodwin Sports Management.
Rob Kaler 90', chief operating officer and general counsel of the U.S. Soccer Foundation and who previously litigated on behalf of the National Football League Players Association.
Jon King, partner in Hausfeld LLP and one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs in In re NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Licensing Litigation, a nationwide class action also known as the Ed O'Bannon and Sam Keller litigation.
Matthew Lane, sports attorney whose clients include Olympic athletes and professional runners.
Jason Levien, co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and an attorney and sports agent who represents professional athletes across the globe.
Lisa Masteralexis, department head and associate professor in the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a certified player agent with the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Edward Mattes '83, chairman of the Vermont Law School Board of Trustees, co-owner of the Ogden Raptors and Connecticut Tigers minor league affiliates and co-founder and CEO of Avant Garde Therapeutics and Technologies LLC.
Alan Milstein, co-managing shareholder of Sherman, Silverstein, Kohl, Rose & Podolsky, P.A., agent for star athletes and one of the leading sports litigators in the country.
James McCurdy, president of the Pioneer Baseball League, former minor league team owner and distinguished sports law professor and author.
Jim Munsey '84, president of Munsey Sports Management, a MLBPA certified agent whose clients include top Major League Baseball players.
James Murphy, MLBPA certified agent at TWC Sports who represents some of the top Major League Baseball players.
Eric Nyquist, vice president of Strategic Development of NASCAR and formerly executive vice president of the Chicago White Sox Enterprises and manager of Business Planning for the NFL.
Buster Olney, senior baseball writer for ESPN The Magazine and analyst for ESPN's Baseball Tonight.
Katherine Potter, sports attorney at Burns Levensonwho represents teams/stadiums in mergers/acquisitions and in tax matters.
Jay Reisinger, attorney for Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Sammy Sosa, Francisco Rodriguez and other big league players and a founding partner of Farreel & Reisigner, where he manages the sports law practice.
Ryan Rodenberg, assistant professor at Florida State University and formerly associate general counsel at Octagon who also worked at the ATP World Tour and Nike.
Joe Rosen, president of Baseball and Media Divisions of Orpheus Sports and Entertainment, which he co-founded, and an MLBPA certified agent.
B.J. Schecter, executive editor of Sports Illustrated and SI.com and a faculty member of the Columbia University School of Journalism.
John Shinn, MLBPA certified player agent and attorney.
Dan Silverman, director of compliance in the Department of Athletics at Yale University.
Greg Skidmore, litigation partner at Kirkland and Ellis and the founder and editor of Sports Law Blog.
Brian Socolow, chair of the sports practice at the national law firm of Loeb & Loeb LLP.
Debbie Spander, director of the Sports Lawyers Association and president of Spander Digital Sports & Entertainment.
Bryan Stroh, vice president and general counsel of the Pittsburgh Pirates and previously a partner at Katten Muchin, where he represented the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Oakland A's.
Sarah Eaton Stuart, associate general counsel of Reebok, where she is the senior lawyer responsible for global marketing and sports marketing.
Michael Wall, vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Bauer Performance Sports and previously general counsel of TD Garden and the Boston Bruins.
Andrew Weber '07, former general manager of the Connecticut Tigers and Oneonta Tigers.
Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated and SI.com columnist and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School who has covered every sport as well as legal matters relating to sports.
Mike Zarren, assistant general manger and legal counsel of the Boston Celtics who is considered one of the leading experts on role of analytics in basketball.
Warren Zola, assistant dean for Graduate Programs in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and the chair of Boston College's Professional Sports Counseling Panel.

Vermont Law School to Host LGBTI Conference

Vermont Law School — 02 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School's International and Comparative Law Program, Alliance, and International Law Society will host a conference on Saturday, April 7, to promote international advocacy to protect the human rights of LGBTI people.

The event, titled "A World of Change: Global Activism on LGBTI Issues," is free and open to the public. It starts at 9 a.m. in the Chase Community Center.

The conference will examine the early struggles in the movement and discuss the development of international legal standards; strategies on using U.N. human rights mechanisms; lessons learned on building a movement across the globe; and current challenges for future advocacy. Panels and group breakout sessions will provide opportunities to learn how to participate in campaigning on these issues today.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Week of March 26

Vermont Law School — 02 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST

CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on April 1 about the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen-ager shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
The Burlington Free Press had an op-ed column by Visiting Professor Robert Rachlin on March 31 about the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen-ager shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
The Brattleboro Reformer talked to Joe Cook '97 on March 31 about his interests in biking and the law.
U.S.News & World Report, the Daily Kos and other media reported March 30-31 on Mark Cooper's new study on the costs of nuclear power. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna and FOX44 with Associate Professor Michele Martinez Campbell on March 29 about the charges against a Vermont couple accused of murdering a teacher in Vermont.
In his Sports Illustrated column on March 28, Professor Michael McCann analyzed the proposed $2.15 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
E&ENews PM talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 28 about the EPA's new rules for limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants.
China Radio International spoke with Associate Professor Benjamin Sovacool on March 28 about the second Nuclear Security Summit.
The Burlington Free Press and other media reported March 27 on a rally organized by the Black Law Students Association to call attention to the death of Trayvon Martin.
WCAX talked to Associate Professor Michele Martinez Campbell on March 26 about self-defense laws and the death of Trayvon Martin.

Wynona Ward '98 Profiled in Documentary Film

Vermont Law School — 28 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

BYUtv aired a short documentary recently about Vermont Law School alumnus Wynona Ward '98 and the nonprofit legal group she founded, Have Justice--Will Travel, which advocates for battered, low-income women and children in Vermont.

Ward, 60, who grew up in poverty in rural Vermont where family violence was common, was working as a long-haul trucker when she decided to take her life in a different direction in 1996. She enrolled at VLS, was awarded a Schweitzer Fellowship and went on to found Have Justice--Will Travel after graduating in 1998.

Since then, the organization has provided free legal and social support to more than 10,000 women and children. Ward and her small staff visit victims of domestic violence in their homes, bridging the cultural, geographic and financial gaps that can separate victims and attorneys.

Watch the documentary, which includes VLS's South Royalton Legal Clinic and Staff Attorney and Assistant Professor Alex Banks.

Legal Panel to Explore Skiing, Snowboarding and Resort Law

Vermont Law School — 26 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School's Sports Law Institute will host a panel discussion on emerging legal issues in skiing, snowboarding and resort law in Vermont and nationwide at 12:45 p.m., Thursday, March 29 in the Chase Community Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Topics will include tort implications of participating in ski and snowboarding; the role of assumption of risk in personal injury litigation involving ski and snowboarding; new state laws that promote safety, such as requiring skiers and snowboarders under 18 to wear helmets; the structuring of licensing and related ski and snowboarding contracts; the impact of international law on multi-national ski, snowboarding and resort transactions; the impact of controversial new regulations promulgated by the International Ski Federation; the ways the law can improve underprivileged persons' access to ski and snowboarding; and how changes to the law might address the expected impact of climate change on the ski, snowboarding and resort industries.

Professor Michael McCann, director of the Sports Law Institute and one of the nation's leading sports law experts, will introduce the panel's speakers: VLS Associate Professor Brian Porto; Jaimesen Heins, associate general counsel at Burton Snowboards in Burlington; Andrew Maass, a Rutland attorney and the past president of the Association of Ski Defense Attorneys; and Parker Riehle, the president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Week of March 19

Vermont Law School — 26 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

The Tampa Bay Times spoke with Mark Cooper on March 25 about the costs of nuclear power. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal talked to Professor Michael McCann on March 25 about legal hurdles to moving the Memphis Grizzlies out of town.
CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on March 24 about the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen-ager shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 23 about a tweeting controversy over the Saints bounty scandal.
Greenwire and the El Paso Times talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 23 and March 19, respectively, about whether the dunes sagebrush lizard will be protected under the Endangered Species Act against the wishes of the oil and gas industry.
A Vermont Public Radio commentary on March 23 included Professor Peter Teachout, who had a role in making Vermont's constitution gender inclusive.
FOX Business spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 22 about the law and business implications of the trade of quarterback Tim Tebow to the New York Jets.
Vermont Public Radio talked to Professor Pat Parenteau and WCAX to Professor Cheryl Hanna on March 21-22 about the continuing legal and regulatory proceedings over the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
Vermont Public Radio aired a commentary by Professor Cheryl Hanna on March 21 about how changes in the law have shaped women's lives.
The Los Angeles Times talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 21 about a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that landowners are entitled to a hearing to challenge the government's threats to fine them for alleged Clean Water Act violations.
Seven Days spoke with professors Cheryl Hanna and Pat Parenteau on March 21 about the race for Vermont attorney general.
Yahoo! Sports Radio and the NFL Network talked to Professor Michael McCann on March 20-23 about the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal.
In his Sports Illustrated column and The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and other media on March 19-20, Professor Michael McCann discussed the settlement between the owners of the New York Mets and the trustee for victims of convicted felon Bernard Madoff.
The Associated Press spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on March 19 about orders from a federal judge and the Vermont Public Service Board that allow the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to keep operating.
BYUtv aired a short film on March 19 about Wynona Ward '98, founder of the nonprofit group Have Justice Will Travel, which advocates for battered women and children in rural Vermont.

Week of March 12

Vermont Law School — 19 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 17 about the clean up of toxic chemicals in the Fox River in Wisconsin.
NPR and Reuters spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 16 about the upcoming trial of the owners of the New York Mets who are accused of ignoring warnings that Bernard Madoff was running a fraud.
PolicyMic had a commentary March 16 byJoseph Kaifala '13 about International Criminal Court conviction of the Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga on charges of enlisting children in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
WCAX talked to Associate Professor Jennifer Taub on March 15 about the legal battle between the city of Burlington and Citibank over Burlington Telecom.
Vermont Public Radio spoke with Associate Professor Brian Porto on March 15 about his new book "The Supreme Court and the NCAA: The Case for Less Commercialism and More Due Process in College Sports."
The New York Times mentioned Professor Gus Speth in a March 14 story about the new head of the World Resources Institute, which Speth founded.
The Florida Current talked to Professor John Echeverria on March 14 about sea-level rise prompting legal disputes about property rights and land-use regulations along the coast.
Politico spoke with Professor Janet Milne on March 14 about oil industry subsidies or incentives that are in the limelight as gasoline prices rise.
WCAX talked to Professor Cheryl Hanna on March 13 about a new federal law that allows the Secret Service to decide whether people can protest near federal government events.
WCAX and other media reported March 13 on VLS being named the top environmental law school in the nation for the fourth consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report.
The National Law Journal, E&ENews, Associated Press, Burlington Free Press, Valley News and other media reported March 12-13 on the appointment of Professor Marc Mihaly as the new president and dean of VLS.

Week of March 5

Vermont Law School — 16 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

CNN and E&EDaily spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on March 8-10 about nuclear safety issues in the United States a year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
NPR's "Only A Game" talked to Professor Michael McCann on March 10 about the legal implications of the NFL's bounty scandal in which players were paid to injure other players.
Greenwire spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on March 9 about the controversy over form letters often used during environmental reviews conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Tampa Bay Times cited research by Mark Cooper in a March 9 story about Progress Energy's plan to build a nuclear power complex in Florida. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
Nature carried an article by Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on March 8 in which he said economics will be the deciding force in many nation's decisions to phase out nuclear power after the accident at Fukushima.
The Burlington Free Press reported March 8 on Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber being selected as the school's commencement speaker in May.
The Associated Press, whose story was carried by Yahoo! News, CNBC and other media nationwide, talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 7-8 about the latest legal wrangling as next week's deadline for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant approaches.
MSNBC talked to Mark Cooper on March 6 about cost and safety obstacles facing the U.S. nuclear industry a year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.
The Mail on Sunday (London) and Reuters, whose story was picked up worldwide, spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 5 about a federal judge's refusal to dismiss a $386 million lawsuit against the owners of the New York Mets by the trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud.
Reuters , The Wall Street Journal , NPR and 95.7 The Game (San Francisco) included Professor Michael McCann in March 5 stories about the NFL's "pay-for-pain" bounty scandal.

Vermont Yankee: Vermont Law School Experts Available to Comment on Deadline for Disputed Nuclear Plant

Vermont Law School — 15 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School has experts available to comment on legal issues as next week's deadline for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant approaches.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year approved a 20-year extension of Vermont Yankee's federal license, which was to expire Wednesday, March 21, but the state's lone reactor still hasn't received a permit from Vermont Public Service Board. Critics lost a federal lawsuit but have vowed to continue efforts to shut down the plant, although the board isn't expected to issue its decision for several months, and Vermont Yankee is expected to continue operating in the interim.

Available to comment are:
• Professor Pat Parenteau: 802.831.1305, pparenteau@vermontlaw.edu
• Professor Cheryl Hanna: 802.831.1282, channa@vermontlaw.edu
• Assistant Professor Don Kreis: 802.831.1374, dkreis@vermontlaw.edu
• Professor Michael Dworkin, 802.831.1319, mdworkin@vermontlaw.edu
The VLS experts are analyzing the case on the school's Vermont Yankee lawsuit faculty commentary blog.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Vermont Law Review Symposium to Explore Prison Privatization

Vermont Law School — 15 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- The Vermont Law Review will host a symposium on prison privatization from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23, at the Chase Community Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Most U.S. prisons are operated by the federal, state and local governments, but since the 1980s a growing number of correctional facilities are being run by private companies contracted by governmental agencies in an effort to reduce costs.

Seven percent of the nation's 1.5 million prisoners-the largest inmate population in the world-are held in dozens of privately run prisons across the country, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The symposium, titled "Prison Privatization: Optimizing Our Use of a Privatized Resource," will explore costs, quality, security, management and other issues involved in privately operated prisons.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Vermont Law School Ranked First in Environmental Law for Fourth Consecutive Year

Vermont Law School — 13 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- U.S.News & World Report has ranked Vermont Law School's environmental law program as the best in the nation for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. The 2013 Best Grad Schools rankings were released today.

VLS also placed among the nation's top programs for dispute resolution (rank 16th) and clinical training (rank 23rd).

"The entire VLS community is proud of this continued recognition of our environmental curriculum, clinics and institutes," said Professor John Echeverria, acting director of VLS's Environmental Law Center (ELC), which offers the largest selection of environmental law courses in the nation. "The dedication of our faculty, students, staff and alumni has made them global leaders in teaching, scholarship and professional achievement, and VLS's innovative programs continue to break new ground in legal education."

VLS has placed first 15 times and never placed lower than second since the U.S. News environmental specialty rankings began in 1991. VLS's top ranking this year marks the first time that a school has been ranked number one in the environmental specialty for four consecutive years. To develop its specialty rankings, U.S. News asked legal educators to identify the top programs.

"Vermont Law School is simply the strongest and best place for those considering environmental law as a career," said Dean Jeff Shields. "We have the largest and deepest environmental and energy law programs in the world."

VLS's Dispute Resolution Program, which wasn't ranked last year by U.S. News, has been a leader for more than 30 years in teaching the negotiation, mediation and arbitration skills that empower lawyers to create valuable solutions outside the courtroom for their clients.

VLS's Clinics and Experiential Programs, whose U.S. News ranking improved from 30th last year to 23rd this year, put theory into practice in a variety of ways - from on campus clinical work to externships in law firms, corporations, nonprofits, courts and government offices, at home and abroad.

"Our success as a place to learn law and policy is enhanced by our unique structure of clinics, institutes, centers and off-campus experiential programs," Shields said. "Our joint programs with Yale, Cambridge, Dartmouth, Renmin, Thunderbird and Cergy-Pontoise allow our students to use the world's greatest universities to supplement what they find on our campus. And our incredible alumni network at the World Bank, the United Nations, on Capitol Hill and at leading law firms and NGOs opens opportunities for our students and graduates that are compelling."

The ELC's multidisciplinary program in law, policy, economics, science and ethics attracts law and graduate students, lawyers, government officials, teachers, scientists, journalists and citizen activists. Since 1978, the ELC has trained environmental leaders in government, nonprofits, corporations and private practice in the United States and abroad. The ELC administers the Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) degree program for lawyers and non-lawyers and the Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, a post-Juris Doctor degree for experienced attorneys who seek to specialize.

Vermont Law School offers clinical, research and experiential environmental programs through the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, the Land Use Clinic, the Institute for Energy and the Environment, the Land Use Institute, the Environmental Tax Policy Institute, the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law and the Environmental Semester in Washington. The ELC's Summer Session offers a broad curriculum, a Visiting Distinguished Environmental Scholars program and a lecture series that features summer faculty members, distinguished summer scholars and summer media fellows speaking about current issues in their fields.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Nation’s Top-Ranked Environmental Law School Selects Environmental Leader as New President and Dean

Vermont Law School — 12 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

President and Dean, Marc Mihaly

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- The Vermont Law School Board of Trustees announced today the appointment of Marc Mihaly as VLS's eighth president and dean, effective August 1.

Mihaly, one of the nation's leading environmental lawyers, will succeed Jeff Shields, who will retire July 31 after eight years as president and dean of the nation's premier environmental law school. Mihaly currently serves as associate dean for VLS's Environmental Programs, director of the Environmental Law Center and professor of law.

Board Chairman Ed Mattes said Mihaly was chosen, after a thorough national search, because of his leadership skills, strategic vision and scholarly accomplishments.

"Marc is an inspiring leader who grasps the shifting legal landscape," Mattes said. "He comes with tremendous institutional knowledge, enabling VLS to react swiftly and strategically. As a proven entrepreneur, fundraiser and communicator, he will be well positioned to take advantage of new opportunities."

The school's offerings include dynamic JD and LLM degrees, a renowned masters program in Environmental Law and Policy, as well as international dual-degree programs. It also offers a wide range of experience-based and interdisciplinary learning and is a leader in the field of distance learning. VLS has a strong commitment to community, environmental stewardship and public service.

Mihaly said he is honored to be named as new president and dean of VLS. "I am looking forward to continued involvement in Vermont Law School and its mission to train lawyers and others to serve their clients and the public with high levels of professional knowledge and skill, moral integrity and humane vision," he said. "We also will continue efforts to deliver a program that is affordable to students and prepares them for employment and long careers."

Mihaly, who joined VLS in 2004, received his BA degree from Harvard College and his JD degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley. After service in the U.S. Peace Corps in Central America, he served with the environmental unit of the California Attorney General's Office and with the San Mateo County Legal Aid Society. In 1980, he co-founded Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger in San Francisco, one of the nation's leading public interest environmental law firms, and served as its managing partner for 17 years.

Mattes is available to comment at 914.661.2096. Mihaly is available to comment at 202.957.8432.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Brown '12 Elected Head of National Black Law Students Association

Vermont Law School — 12 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School student Kendra Brown '12 was recently elected national chair of the National Black Law Students Association.

Brown and the other nationally elected officers were sworn in by Judge Ann Claire Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The election results were announced March 10 at the conclusion of the NBLSA's 44th annual convention in Washington, D.C.

Brown, who for the past year served as chair of the NBLSA's Northeast Region, began her remarks by thanking God for sustaining her in her pursuits. She also thanked her parents, including her mother, who was in the audience.

Brown told NBLSA members and the organization's supporters that more work needs to be done in a number of areas, especially in strengthening the programming and opportunities available to BLSA and in pursuing advocacy at the national level during a presidential election year.

The NBLSA's national conventions bring together attorneys, policy makers, lawmakers and others for a discussion about the state of the legal profession for minorities. The NBLSA, whose board of directors is composed of elected students from law schools, is the nation's largest student-run organization representing nearly 6,000 minority law students from more than 200 chapters and affiliates throughout the United States and six other countries.

Brown has received numerous honors while at VLS, including a Vermont Law School Merit Scholarship, the NBLSA Sandy Brown Memorial Scholarship and the VLS David Firestone Scholarship for Campus Involvement.

Vermont Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments at Vermont Law School

Vermont Law School — 07 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- The Vermont Supreme Court will oral arguments in six cases starting at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28, in Oakes Hall in the high court's annual session at Vermont Law School.

The court will consider the following cases:

• In re Joint Petition of Green Mountain Power Corp. et al., 2011-277 & 2011-366/367, 9:30 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.: These consolidated cases concern Green Mountain Power Corp.'s development of a wind turbine project in Lowell, known as the Kingdom Community Wind Project. The Public Service Board (PSB) issued a certificate of public good (CPG) in May 2011, approving the project subject to certain conditions. The nearby towns of Craftsbury and Albany, along with a citizens group called Lowell Mountains Group, Inc., appeal the issuance of the CPG and related orders. The appellants allege that the PSB erred in numerous findings and rulings, including issues surrounding noise standards, habitat fragmentation and associated easements, economic considerations and the loss of natural communities. The appellants also argue that their due process rights were violated because the PSB did not hold a public hearing before issuing two orders (concerning habitat mitigation and the economic viability of the project) after it already issued the CPG. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources appears as an appellee only with respect to the question of whether the project will have an undue adverse effect on the natural environment.

• State v. Vuley, 20 11-087, 10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.: The defendant appeals his convictions for two counts of first-degree arson arising from repeated fires at his home in Colchester. The defendant claims that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that it could use the so-called "doctrine of chances," which holds that certain uncommon events are unlikely to occur repeatedly by accident, to find that he "willfully and maliciously" set the fires. He argues that this instruction violated his constitutional right to due process by allowing the jury to find that he possessed this state of mind in setting the fires based solely on the number of fires. He also argues that the trial court erred in denying his motions to sever the trials for each offense and to dismiss the charges, and that there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions.

• State v. Paro, 2011-184/185, 11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: The defendant, who has entered a conditional guilty plea to DUI, appeals the trial court's denial of her motion to suppress evidence obtained after a traffic stop. A Hartford police officer observed the defendant idling her Chevrolet pick-up truck in the parking lot of Northeast Foreign Cars in the middle of the night. Having been burglarized before, the business was on the Hartford Police Department's "directive patrol list." Mindful of these past crimes and thinking it strange that an American-made truck was idling at a foreign car repair shop at such an hour, the officer decided to investigate further. As the officer turned his cruiser around, defendant drove off. Based on these facts, the officer executed a traffic stop, after which the defendant was arrested for DUI. The defendant claims that the traffic stop was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution. She argues that the officer did not have "reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity" before making the stop, as required by both constitutions. As a result, she argues that the evidence obtained after the stop should be suppressed.

• State v. M.W., 2011-229, 1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.: Does a statute restricting competency evaluations of defendants violate the separation of powers doctrine by divesting trial judges of the power to order a competency evaluation at the Vermont State Hospital? The statute at issue, 13 V.S.A. § 4815(g)(1), provides that a court "shall not order" an inpatient examination unless a mental health professional determines that the person is in need of treatment. The defendant was arraigned and the judge ordered an outpatient competency evaluation, which determined that he may be suffering from a mental illness. While free on conditions of release, the defendant was arrested for illegal trespass. The court then ordered a mental health screening, which determined that he suffered from a medical condition, not a mental illness. Thus, because defendant was not a person "in need of treatment," the court did not send him to the state mental hospital, but set conditions of release and bail. The State's Attorney argues that the statute usurps the trial judge's authority. The Attorney General has intervened and argues that the interlocutory appeal should be dismissed as moot or as improvidently granted, and that the statutory restriction does not violate the separation of powers doctrine.

• Shattuck v. Peck, 2011-145, 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: This case involves an attempt to use the equitable powers of the court to divide property after a long-term romantic relationship. Appellant Victor Shattuck and appellee Donna Mae Peck were involved in a romantic relationship for more than 12 years. The parties were never married, but they lived together, shared expenses and coordinated estate planning. In the 1990s, they shared a residence on her property in Springfield. By 1999, Shattuck had purchased land in Cavendish. They agreed to transfer their respective properties to each other as joint tenants, each with a survivorship right. In 2005, the couple moved to a newly constructed home on the Cavendish property and began renting out the property in Springfield. They later became concerned that the rental income would adversely affect government benefits she was receiving on account of a disability. Accordingly, she quitclaimed both the Springfield and Cavendish property to Shattuck and he arranged financing to pay off the Springfield mortgage and refinance outstanding debt on the Cavendish property. Although the couple lived together as a family in Cavendish, the record indicates that Peck paid "rent." In 2007, both parties executed wills naming each other as residuary beneficiaries. In 2010, they broke off their relationship and Shattuck moved out of their shared residence in Cavendish. He later filed a complaint seeking her eviction from the property, a writ of possession and past due rents. She counterclaimed that the Cavendish property, as well as another property in Springfield, were the subject of a partnership between the parties. The Civil Division found Peck had failed to present sufficient evidence that either a partnership or constructive trust was created, and it resolved all issues in favor of Shattuck. Peck appeals.

• Columbia v. Lawton, 2011-151, 2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.: This case presents a constitutional question. In short: What rights does a man have who claims to be the biological father of a child when another man has already been legally declared the child's father pursuant to Vermont's parentage statute? A putative biological father brought an action to establish parentage over a 2-year-old child. However, a previous parentage order had already determined that a different man is the child's father. The section of the parentage statute on "standing" reads: "An action to establish parentage in cases where parentage has not been previously determined either by an action under this subchapter or by adoption, may be brought by a . . . person . . . alleging himself . . . to be the natural parent of a child." 15 V.S.A. § 302(a) (emphasis added). It was this section of the parentage statute that the trial court ruled precluded the present putative biological father from seeking to establish parentage (because parentage had already been established as to someone else). Both the mother and the putative biological father were pro se during the first round of arguments in this matter. The putative father argued that he received no notice of the earlier parentage action, and therefore had no opportunity to attempt to assert his rights to parentage. Recognizing the constitutional concerns that the case raised, the Court sought additional briefing from Court-appointed counsel.

Vermont Court Rules apply for media coverage.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235,jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Vermont’s Top Judge to Give VLS Commencement Speech

Vermont Law School — 07 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber will deliver the keynote speech on May 19 at Vermont Law School's 37th annual commencement.

The public is invited to attend the 10 a.m. event on the South Royalton town green.

Reiber, who graduated Suffolk Law School in 1974, served in private practice in Rutland and as a partner in the law firm Kenlan, Schweibert & Facey from 1986 until his appointment as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court in 2003. He was sworn in as Chief Justice in 2004.

Honorary degrees will be given to Reiber; Mark Tercek, president of the Nature Conservancy; and Edwin Colodny, a former VLS trustee, former president and CEO of US Airways, former interim president of the University of Vermont and former interim CEO of Fletcher Allen Health Care.

More information is available at our Commencement pages.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Week of Feb. 27

Vermont Law School — 05 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST

Orion Magazine had an article in its March/April issue by Professor Gus Speth titled "America the Possible: A Manifesto, From decline to rebirth." It was the first of a two-part series based on his forthcoming book "America the Possible: Roadmap to a New Economy," which Yale University Press will publish in September. Wisconsin Public Radio also talked to Speth about his research.
The Boston Globe on March 4 reviewed Associate Professor Brian Porto's new book titled ""The Supreme Court and the NCAA: The Case for Less Commercialism and More Due Process in College Sports."
In his Sports Illustrated column March 3, which was mentioned twice by The New York Times (here and here), Professor Michael McCann analyzed the potential legal fall out from the New Orleans Saints' bounty system. He also spoke to Atlanta 790 The Zone and SiriusXM NFL Network.
ESPN TrueHoop spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 3 about "building the modern athlete," including genetic testing, performance-enhancing drugs, sleep, and brain-training programs.
The New York Daily News talked to Professor Michael McCann on March 2 about legal accusations that a major video game company is exploiting college and professional athletes.
ESPN NBA Today interviewed Professor Michael McCann on March 2 about the legality and race implications of the NBA's age limit.
CCTV Center for Media & Democracy's Channel 17/Town Meeting Television spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on Feb. 29 about the legal dispute over the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
Yahoo! Sports talked to Professor Michael McCann about lawsuits filed by former NFL players that accuse the league of failing to protect them from brain trauma.
ClimateWire spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau for a Feb. 28 story about TransCanada's plans to build a southern segment of the contentious Keystone XL pipeline.
The Associated Press, whose story was carried by CNBC, Yahoo! Finance and other media, Vermont Public Radio and WAMC Northeast Public Radio spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on Feb. 27-29 about Entergy's appeal of a federal court decision in the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant legal fight.

Dapolito '12 Explores Yemen's Unrest

Vermont Law School — 02 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School student Mollie Dapolito '12 recently published an article in the ILSA Quarterly that explored antigovernment protests and other issues facing Yemen.

The article, titled "After Winter in Yemen, Comes an Arab Spring," appears on pages 23-24.

Yemen has been in turmoil since January 2011 when demonstrators called for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. His vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, was sworn in as president on Feb. 25 in an election in which he was the only candidate. Protesters remain on the streets, calling for reform of the impoverished nation's military and other institutions.

Published by the International Law Student Association, the ILSA Quarterly is an academic magazine that features articles written by students, scholars and practitioners concerning timely issues of international law and related topics.

The Economist, Other Media Cite Nuclear Studies by Energy Researcher Cooper

Vermont Law School — 01 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST

In a recent article on the nuclear power industry in the United States, The Economist cited a study by Mark Cooper that examined the financing of nuclear plants.

Cooper, who is senior research fellow for economic analysis at Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment, found that in constant dollars the cost of nuclear power roughly quintupled between the 1970s and the early 1990s. He also found that initial cost projections tended dramatically to underestimate actual costs, as the Vogtle experience would seem to bear out.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently approved its first-ever combined construction and operation licences to the Atlanta-based Southern Company to build two new reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. It was the first approval of the construction of a new nuclear reactor in the United States since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.

Also, the Des Moines Register, Seattle Times and other media recently talked to Cooper about his report titled "Nuclear Socialism Comes to the Heartland of America: Early Cost Recovery for New Nuclear Reactors in Iowa and The Return of Electricity Rate Shock."

Prof. Sovacool to Help Author IPCC Climate Change Report

Vermont Law School — 01 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Associate Professor Benjamin Sovacool has been invited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be a contributing author to its Working Group II, which deals with climate change adaptation, of the forthcoming Fifth Assessment chapter on "Rural Poverty and Livelihoods."

Sovacool is among thousands of scientists from all over the world who contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary basis as authors, contributors and reviewers.

The IPCC is currently organized into three Working Groups and a Task Force. The Working Group II assesses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, negative and positive consequences of climate change and options for adapting to it. It also considers the inter-relationship between vulnerability, adaptation and sustainable development.

The assessed information is considered by sectors (water resources, ecosystems, food and forests, coastal systems, industry, human health) and regions (Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Latin America, North America, Polar Regions, Small Islands).

The IPCC is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change, its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts and options for mitigation and adaptation. The IPCC has completed four full assessment reports, guidelines and methodologies, special reports and technical papers.

The IPCC reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. It does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters.

Weeks of Feb. 13-Feb. 20

Vermont Law School — 29 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

The Motley Fool talked to Mark Cooper on Feb. 24 about financing of nuclear power plants. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.

95.7 The Game (San Francisco) talked to Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 24 about National League MVP Ryan Braun winning his appeal of a positive steroid test result.

The New York Times spoke with Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 22 about the sports eligibility of college students who transfer to another school, including those who have received an undergraduate degree.

FierceEnergy spoke with Professor Michael Dworkin on Feb. 22 about cost allocation, resource planning and other issues facing the smart grid.

The Boston Herald talked to Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 21 about sexual assault allegations against two Boston University hockey players.

Vermont Public Radio, the Burlington Free Press, WPTZ (twice) and other media spoke with professors Pat Parenteau and Cheryl Hanna on Feb. 20-21 about Vermont's appeal of a federal court ruling that limits the state's authority over the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. WPTZ also spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford.

Vermont Public Radio, SNL Financial and other media talked to Kevin Jones, smart grid project leader, on Feb. 20-24 about the Institute for Energy and the Environment's research into the roll-out of smart grid technology by Central Vermont Public Service and six other utilities across the country.

The Economist cited Mark Cooper's research in a Feb. 18 story about the nuclear power industry and the costs of financing new nuclear plants. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.

The Orlando Sentinel spoke with Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 18 about whether the University of Central Florida may get a major discount on the tax it was supposed to pay for moving from Conference USA to the Big East.

NPR's "Only A Game" spoke with Associate Professor Brian Porto on Feb. 18 about his new book "The Supreme Court and the NCAA: The Case for Less Commercialism and More Due Process in College Sports."

Vermont Public Radio talked to Professor Cheryl Hanna on Feb. 17 about the Vermont Legislature's debate over whether to repeal a law that allows parents to skip vaccinating their children.

MassLive and other media spoke with Assistant Professor Laura Murphy, staff attorney with Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, on Feb. 17 about the impact of hot water discharges into the Connecticut River from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.

Asian Correspondent profiled Vermont Law School in a Feb. 16 story about leading environment programs for Asian students.

WCAX talked to Kat O'Neill '11 on Feb. 16 about the latest edition of the Legal Rights of Women in Vermont handbook.

The Burlington Free Press spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on Feb. 14 about a federal court hearing in Vermont that was held behind closed doors.

The Des Moines Register, Seattle Times and other media talked to Mark Cooper on Feb. 14 about his report titled "Nuclear Socialism Comes to the Heartland of America: Early Cost Recovery for New Nuclear Reactors in Iowa and The Return of Electricity Rate Shock." Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.

WNST Baltimore talked to Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 14 and Feb. 22 about the murder trial of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.

The Chronicle of Higher Education talked to Associate Professor Brian Porto on Feb. 13 about whether the NCAA treats athletes fairly in its eligibility and enforcement actions.

Human Rights Case in Supreme Court: Vermont Law School Expert Available to Comment

Vermont Law School — 28 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School Professor Stephanie Farrior, an international human rights expert and former legal director of Amnesty International, is available to comment on today's U.S. Supreme Court case involving Royal Dutch Shell Oil, which is accused of aiding and abetting the Nigerian government in committing atrocities in the 1990s.

Farrior can be reached at 802.831.1373 and sfarrior@vermontlaw.edu.

"This is one of the most important human rights cases before the Supreme Court in years," said Farrior, who oversaw Amnesty International's legal work during the Pinochet extradition hearings and helped to found the Center for Justice and Accountability, which helps survivors of torture and other severe human rights abuses hold their persecutors accountable.

At issue in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum is whether foreign nationals in the United States can sue corporations or other entities in U.S. courts under the Alien Tort Statute for alleged violations of human rights committed abroad. The case has potential ramifications for American and international law and for corporate responsibility for human rights around the globe.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

VLS Students Advance in National Animal Law Moot Court Competition

Vermont Law School — 27 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Four Vermont Law School students turned in stellar performances at the 9th annual National Animal Law Competitions (NALC), which were held Feb. 24-26 at the UCLA School of Law.

Monica Miller '12 and Meredith Crafton '12 advanced to the quarter finals of the moot court competition against Yale, the University of Chicago and Lewis & Clark.

Krystil Smith '13 and Michelle Sinnott '13 won the Best Brief Award for receiving the highest appellate brief score overall.

The VLS team was coached by Assistant Professor Pamela Vesilind.

More than 70 law students represented nearly 30 of America's best law schools at NALC this year. NALC is an inter-law school competition presented by the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark in collaboration with the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

NALC, which was hosted by Harvard Law School for the past eight years, provides law students from across the United States with an opportunity to develop knowledge in the field of animal law, while honing their written and oral advocacy skills. The event is composed of three separate competitions: Legislative Drafting & Lobbying Competition; Closing Argument Competition; and Appellate Moot Court Competition.

Marks Wins Award in National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

Vermont Law School — 27 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School students Matt Marks '12, Alex Sherertz '12 and Colin Hagan '12 performed well at the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition on Feb. 23-25 at Pace Law School.

Marks won Best Oralist in each of the three preliminary rounds, barely edging out his VLS teammates. The VLS team, which was coached by Professor Pat Parenteau, advanced to the quarterfinals.

"Matt, Alex and Colin were a class act that drew high praise from judges and competitors alike," Parenteau said. "It was an honor to work with them and VLS could not have had better representation in this high profile competition."

Since 1989, student advocates from across the United States and Canada have participated in the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, the preeminent environmental law moot in the United States. The competition tests skills in appellate brief writing and oral advocacy on issues drawn from real cases, providing experience in environmental litigation first hand. The competition draws more than 200 competitors from diverse law schools and 200 attorneys who serve as judges for three days of oral arguments.

Smart Grid Collaboration, Outreach Key to Reenergizing U.S., Vermont Law School Study Suggests

Vermont Law School — 20 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT -- Collaboration, clear policies and consumer outreach are fueling the successful implementation of Central Vermont Public Services' smart grid plan, according to results of the first case study in Vermont Law School's national smart grid research project.

CVPS, Vermont's largest investor owned utility, this month begins a year-long process of installing smart meters for its customers. According to VLS's case study results:

• Collaboration is arguably the most important lesson that the CVPS study provides. It has made developing and implementing CVPS SmartPower and other utilities' smart grid investments more efficient, cost-effective and technically sound.
• Since 2007, Vermont's Legislature and Public Service Board have been looking to develop smart grid infrastructure and dynamic rate options, which balances flexibility for investments in a rapidly developing field of technology with measures to ensure those investments are prudent.
• CVPS's efforts at consumer outreach and consumer behavior research are laying the groundwork for a smooth transition in its smart grid implementation.

"These results provide interesting lessons for the rest of the country," said Kevin Jones, smart grid project leader for VLS's Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE). "As this case study demonstrates, smart grid implementation is off to a productive start. Ongoing policy refinements, project development and infrastructure investment will be needed in order to achieve the smart grid's full, long-term potential."

Jones said one area where more work needs to be done is formalizing a customer data privacy policy. The Vermont PSB is reviewing the establishment of privacy principles, which would include a clear utility smart grid privacy policy that would be available to customers. In November, the IEE released a draft model utility smart grid privacy policy.

In 2011, the IEE launched its smart grid research project, which involves case studies of seven utilities in order to recommend best practices that can be replicated nationwide: Commonwealth Edison, Central Vermont Public Service Company, Long Island Power Authority, Pecan Street Project, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Salt River Project and San Diego Gas and Electric. VLS's final report is due later this year.

The research is designed to help understand which laws and policies will best ensure that a smart grid improves electric reliability, enhances customer value and helps meet the nation's clean energy goals. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that fully implementing a smart electric grid nationwide will cost $1.3 trillion to $2 trillion, with benefits likely exceeding costs by a factor of three or more.

VLS researchers are studying the legal, policy and regulatory hurdles to upgrading the U.S. electric system with smart grid technology. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $3.4 billion in stimulus funds to utilities and other entities nationwide, making the smart grid a key part of the U.S. clean energy agenda.

"While the anticipated benefits of a smart electric grid range from improved reliability to the potential for reduced costs, one of the lesser understood benefits is an improved environment," Jones added. "Studies have estimated that by 2030, a smart grid could reduce carbon emissions as well as energy use by approximately 12 percent."

Read the CVPS case study results. Read more about VLS's Smart Grid Research Project.

VLS is actively participating in the new Center for Energy Transformation and Innovation (CETI). CETI is a partnership between Sandia National Laboratories and a broad array of Vermont stakeholders. CETI supports the development and dissemination of smart grid best practices to move the nation toward a 21st century energy infrastructure.

Kevin Jones, the project's leader, is available to comment at 802.831.1054 or kbjones@vermontlaw.edu.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Garestier '12 Examines New Technologies of Security, Public Liberties

Vermont Law School — 19 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's Jessica Garestier '12 recently published a book titled "New Technologies of Security and Public Liberties: An Export Control?"

The book, which was published in France, was her thesis for her Master in Ethics and Business Law degree from the University of Cergy-Pontoise.

"While new information technologies have a safety and security purpose, such as closed caption television and cybermonitoring, the potential for infringement of the users' individual public liberties are significant," Garestier wrote. "Does the power of those technologies, created to meet security goals, justify a control of exportations of these new civil weapons?"

Vermont Law School offers three dual degree options with the University of Cergy-Pontoise, a prestigious law school ranked third in France by the French Ministry of Education and first in Paris and suburbs by l'Etudiant, the leading student magazine in France.

Hosseini '12 Receives Iran's Book Season Award

Vermont Law School — 19 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's Mohammad Hosseini '12 was cited as a joint winner in Iran's 17th Book of the Season Awards for the best translated books in law.

The awards, which are from Iran's Ministry of Culture and Iran's Book House, are among the most prestigious academic awards in Iran.

The book that he translated, which is titled "International Environmental Law," is published in English by the United Nations Environment Programme and in Persian by Mizan Publishing Center. The Iran Book News Agency mentions Hosseini under Praiseworthy works in Social Sciences.

Hosseini, a native of Iran, hopes to combine his knowledge of international and environmental law with his experience as a journalist to have a positive impact on the Middle East region. He is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Commission on Environmental Law and serves as its Focal Point in the Middle East.

Hosseini also recently had a paper accepted from among more than 250 submitted papers for the Mid-Year Annual Meeting of American Society of International Law, Research Forum in UCLA in November.

Van der Lande '12, Foy '12 Win First Place in Lawyering Meet

Vermont Law School — 19 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's Ashley Van der Lande '12 and Phil Foy '12 won first place Feb. 17 in the third annual New England Regional Transactional Lawering Meet.

They represented a fictitious client negotiating an employment agreement. The victory resulted from two months of work, including term-sheet drafting, mark-ups and the rounds of face-to-face negotiations at the meet. Their style, "cordial, yet firm," was noted by the judges.

The event took place at Western New England College of Law in Springfield, Mass. Next month, Van der Lande and Foy move up to the national meet at Drexel University's Earle Mack School of Law in Philadelphia.

The Transactional Lawyering Meet is the premier "moot court" experience for students interested in transactional practice. During the meet, students work in teams to draft a transactional agreement and to negotiate its provisions with opposing student teams. Teams are judged by a panel of experts from practice who evaluate the teams' success in achieving the goals of the parties to the transaction. The types of agreement and transaction vary from year to year but present essential challenges in transactional problem solving. This year's challenge involves the negotiation of an executive employment agreement for a new chief executive officer. Teams need to combine lawyering skills, drafting, a knowledge of contract, corporate and other facets of business law and business sense to develop innovative solutions for structuring the transaction.

MacDonough '98 Named U.S. Senate's First Female Parliamentarian

Vermont Law School — 15 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Elizabeth MacDonough '98 recently became the first woman selected as chief parliamentarian in the U.S. Senate since the post was created in 1935.

Politico reported (here and here) on MacDonough, who as parliamentarian interprets arcane Senate rules and precedents.

"Elizabeth knows everybody. She knows the secretaries, she knows the Capitol policemen, she knows the janitors and she's always there for them," Alan Frumin, her old boss and the outgoing parliamentarian, told Politico. "I'd like to think I'm as down-to-earth as Elizabeth," he added without flinching, "but I'm not."

"She's a smart, diligent woman. She's got a good brain and she's got integrity," Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), told Politico. "You put all that together, and you have the makings of a great parliamentarian."

MacDonough grew up in the nation's capital and stayed inside the district to earn her BA degree at George Washington University. When she was ready for law school, Vermont Law School's comparative quiet was "extremely attractive," she said. She could not have predicted then how her Vermont years would help pave the way back to Washington, where she now dispenses legal advice around the clock to the nation's leaders.

In 1999, MacDonough accepted a position as an assistant parliamentarian for the Senate, and in 2002 she was promoted to senior assistant parliamentarian.

Vermont Law School, Middlebury College Sign Agreements

Vermont Law School — 15 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School and Middlebury College have signed an agreement that guarantees qualified Middlebury students and graduates admission to VLS.

Both institutions will benefit from the agreement - VLS administrators anticipate an increase in the number of strong applicants and Middlebury students will have a wider range of opportunities following graduation.

The agreement is one of several steps that VLS has taken in recent years to expand coordination with undergraduate institutions. Those efforts also include full scholarships for one or two students from Middlebury and five other schools. There is no limit as to the number of Middlebury students or alumni who may apply to VLS.

"The agreements are good recruiting tools for the undergraduate schools and they keep VLS on the radar of pre-law advisors and faculty and top students who may be interested in law school," said Kathy Hartman, VLS's associate dean for enrollment management.

"It's a natural fit given Middlebury's strong environmental studies program and student involvement in sustainability issues as well as VLS's ranking as the No. 1 environmental law school in the country," said Nan Jenks-Jay, Middlebury College dean of environmental affairs. "As students are thinking more in advance about attending graduate and professional schools, these collaborative institutional relationships become attractive options for them."

The agreement also applies to students who have completed graduate degrees from one of Middlebury's programs or schools, including the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Middlebury Language Schools, and Bread Loaf School of English.

"For example, it's an ideal match for Monterey graduates in the international environmental policy program," added Jenks-Jay. "What we are really doing is providing additional opportunities for all of our students following graduation."

VLS has signed similar agreements with 11 undergraduate schools and another two are in progress. The contract with Middlebury is unusual since it includes students and alumni of the undergraduate college as well as those who have completed Middlebury's graduate programs. The agreements are intended to improve coordination between VLS and undergraduate schools whose students are interested in attending law school. Under the agreements, students and graduates at the undergraduate institutions are guaranteed admission to VLS if their GPA and LSAT credentials are equal to or stronger than the median for VLS's entering class. Their undergraduate files must also contain no evidence or concerns about their character that would make them inappropriate candidates for law school. Ten students have enrolled at VLS under the agreements since the program started in 2004.

VLS has agreements with Assumption College, Burlington College, Champlain College, Green Mountain College, Lake Forest College, Middlebury College, Northland College, Schreiner University, The Sage Colleges, Wilson College and Woodbury College (now the Woodbury Institute of Champlain College). Agreements are in progress at Dartmouth College and Hampshire College.

VLS also started an Environmental Law Scholarship program with six undergraduate institutions in fall 2011. The "feeder school" program provides a full-tuition scholarship to one or two top students or graduates from six schools each year who have a significant record of environmental and public service, a GPA of 3.65, and an LSAT score of 160 or higher. The program includes candidates for a law degree, an environmental law and policy master's (MELP), and a joint law-MELP degree. The participating schools are Middlebury, Dartmouth, Oberlin, Lake Forest, Hampshire and Colorado College. The first students in the Environmental Law Scholarship program will enroll in fall 2012. Middlebury and the other participating schools determine which of their students to nominate for a scholarship. VLS will have the final decision on whether a scholarship will be awarded.

Middlebury College is one of the most highly regarded liberal arts colleges in the nation. Middlebury is unique among these schools in being a classic liberal arts college that also offers graduate and specialized programs operating around the world.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

Changala '13 Co-Authors Study on Oil, Gas, Wind Decommissiong Regulations

Vermont Law School — 15 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's Danielle Changala '13 recently co-authored a paper titled "Comparative Analysis of Conventional Oil and Gas and Wind Project Decommissioning Regulations on Federal, State, and County Lands" in The Electricity Journal.

"As the growth of renewable energy continues, it is imperative that adequate funds are secured to successfully decommission projects at the end of their useful life," according to the study, whose co-authors included Professor Michael Dworkin, director of VLS's Institute for Energy and the Environment. "Additionally, it is important to ensure that regulatory decommissioning obligations do not disproportionately burden any generation resource.

The study concludes: "A comparison of federal, state, and county decommissioning regulations for oil and gas extraction sites and wind energy projects reveals that, generally, regulatory requirements are wholly insufficient to adequately secure the costs of decommissioning.... Accordingly, equitable regulatory burdens are necessary for all energy activities so that each resource is subject to environmental accountability and proportional regulatory burdens. Creating a level playing field amongst energy resources is imperative so that resource selection amongst competing resources is not disproportionately burdened by differences or inadequacies in regulatory systems."

Remmel '14 Explores Algae Harmful to Fish

Vermont Law School — 15 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School's Emily Remmel '14 recently co-authored an article in Ecology Letters about golden algae fish kills.

The article is titled "Toxin-assisted micropredation: experimental evidence shows that contact micropredation rather than exotoxicity is the role of Prymnesium toxins."

The golden algae is one of a large group of algae known as chrysophytes that are usually found in hot and desert environments and can produce toxins that are lethal to fish and other aquatic life. Under certain environmental stresses, golden algae produce a toxin that negatively affects gill-breathing species such as fish, mollusks, arthropods, and the gill-breathing stage of amphibians. When this occurs fish behave as if there is not enough oxygen in the water. They travel at the top of the water surface or rest on the bottom in edges and shallow areas. Although golden algae can be toxic for fish, they are not a threat to humans.

According to the article's abstract: "Blooms of Prymnesium parvum can severely harm fish and zooplankton, presumably through the release of allelopathic exotoxins that offer advantages for Prymnesium in its interactions with competitors and prey. We show that Prymnesium attaches to zooplankton and fish, causing mortality, whereas exposure of these organisms to Prymnesium across a permeable membrane does not cause mortality.

"We also show that Prymnesium exotoxins are released independently of contact toxicity only in response to experimental procedures or natural causes of stress. Our results are consistent with the idea that toxins have evolved for release during cell-to-cell contact in support of heterotrophy. The evolution of toxin-assisted micropredation would be consistent with mechanisms of natural selection favouring individual fitness as opposed to broadcast allelopathy from which the benefits are more dispersed. Research into the toxicity of Prymnesium and other harmful algal species may profit from focus on processes following physical contact with potential prey."

VLS Faculty Discuss: Why Law School, Why Vermont Law School

Vermont Law School — 14 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

At a time of widespread change in the legal job market, legal education and how the law is practiced, Vermont Law School's new video "Why Law School, Why Vermont Law School" features members of the VLS faculty discussing the life-long benefits of earning a JD.

"Law school is the very best preparation for a broad career," Dean Jeff Shields says.

"There are a ton of career paths you can pursue as a lawyer," says Professor Cheryl Hanna. "We often have in our minds that there are just these traditional lawyer jobs going to a big firm ... but that's just really a small piece of what lawyers do."

Since its founding in 1972, VLS has drawn individuals from across the country and world with a passion for public service, social justice, environmental stewardship and an interest in pursing legal education as a means to make a difference in the world.

VLS is recognized as an entrepreneurial community of energetic students and accomplished legal scholars and practitioners who regularly collaborate on advocacy work that reaches far beyond Vermont. The school's emphasis on practical, experiential learning across government, the nonprofit sector, and in private commerce provides VLS students, while they are students, with a realistic assessment of the challenges and rewards of varied career options in the legal profession.

VLS Study: Iowans' Electric Bills Could Skyrocket Under Nuclear Financing Bill

Vermont Law School — 14 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Mark Cooper, a Vermont Law School expert on nuclear reactor financing, warned today that a bill pending in the Iowa Senate to allow MidAmerican to charge in advance for the construction of new nuclear reactors could lead to significantly more expensive utility bills for state consumers, up to $70 higher a month ($840 per year).

In a report titled "Nuclear Socialism Comes to the Heartland of America: Early Cost Recovery for New Nuclear Reactors in Iowa and The Return of Electricity Rate Shock," Cooper shows how the examples of four Southeastern U.S. states -- North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia -- have led to major harms to consumers when "early cost recovery" or "construction work in progress" is used to finance nuclear reactors.

If the Iowa Senate measure becomes law, Iowa would become only the fifth state in the U.S. to impose such confiscatory, anti-consumer special interest legislation at the request of the nuclear power industry, Cooper said. His analysis concurs with the staff of the Iowa Utilities Board, which examined the controversial nuclear financing scheme before the state Legislature (HF 561), and concluded that it poses a serious threat to Iowa ratepayers.

The Cooper report notes: "In addition to the dismal economics of nuclear power, the primary reason that the practice is limited to a very few states is that advanced cost recovery is fundamentally flawed, placing ratepayers at extraordinary risk for an excessive and unnecessary cost burden that runs into the billions of dollars. The staff of the IUB has raised a number of concerns about the advanced cost recovery legislation now stalled in the Senate that reflect the long-standing and well-documented concerns of ratepayer and consumer advocates."

Cooper is senior fellow for economic analysis at VLS's Institute for Energy and the Environment and the author of "Policy Challenges of Nuclear Reactor Construction, Cost Escalation and Crowding Out Alternatives" (2009).

"Past experience and current developments in the few Southeastern U.S. states that have allowed advanced cost recovery for nuclear reactors indicate that removing consumer protections will impose significant costs on Iowa ratepayers and expose them to extraordinarily dangerous risks," he said. "The push for early cost recovery for construction of nuclear reactors in Iowa and elsewhere is driven by one basic truth about new nuclear reactors: They are totally uneconomic. The markets won't touch these projects so the industry's only alternative is to enlist state lawmakers to leave consumers holding the bag."

The Cooper report notes: "In the four states in the Southeast where funds are being collected from ratepayers under new advanced cost recovery for nuclear reactor construction in the Southeast, each individual nuclear reactor project costs $15 to $20 billion. Over $4 billion has already been approved for advanced cost recovery, yet it appears increasingly unlikely that the most of reactors will ever be built. Ratepayers will have paid billions but received nothing for their money. If reactor construction moves forward as proposed, almost $85 billion of construction costs will move into the utility rate-base causing rapid increases in typical consumer bills within a decade. Less costly, more consumer and environment friendly alternatives will be crowded out of the resource mix."

The Cooper report also points out:

New nuclear reactors cannot compete with a large number of alternatives resources that are widely available to meet consumer needs for electricity.
They are so risky, they cannot raise capital in normal financial markets.
In order to build new nuclear reactors, the utilities are demanding the suspension of the regulatory rules and financial market mechanisms that protect ratepayers and balance the interests of consumers and utility shareholders.

Listen to a streaming audio replay of a related news event.

Cooper can be reached at markcooper@aol.com or 301.384.2204.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

VLS's ACS Named Student Chapter of the Week

Vermont Law School — 14 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

The Vermont Law School chapter of the American Constitution Society was recently named student chapter of the week by the ACS.

Led by its faculty advisor, Professor Cheryl Hanna, the VLS chapter has been busy hosting events that shape the debate on emerging issues and that provide a space for respectful and intelligent discussion.

The chapter began the spring semester by having noted animal law scholar VLS Associate Professor Pamela Vesilind discuss whether animal rights are constitutional rights? The chapter also partnered with Public Citizen to host a teach-in on the wide ranging effects of the Citizens United decision.

Later this semester, noted professor and constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley will discuss his latest high profile case as lead counsel representing the Brown family from TLC's "Sister Wives," a TV reality show about polygamy.

Chrostek '12 Nominated for Burton Award

Vermont Law School — 13 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

An article by Vermont Law School student Garrett Chrostek '12, titled "A Critique of Vermont's Right-To-Farm Law and Proposals for Better Protecting the State's Agricultural Future," has been selected as VLS's official entry in the 2012 Burton Distinguished Legal Writing Award competition.

The article, which was published in the Vermont Law Review in 2011, evaluates Vermont's right-to-farm law and makes concrete suggestions for improving it.

"The article is erudite and pragmatic," said Professor Greg Johnson, director of VLS's Legal Writing Program. "It offers realistic proposals to protect Vermont's agricultural resources."

Ben Leoni '11 was selected by the Burton Awards for Legal Achievement as a winner of the 2011 Distinguished Legal Writing Awards. Leoni, who now practices law in Maine, was the first VLS student to win the award, which is the highest honor in legal writing in the United States.

Week of Feb. 6

Vermont Law School — 13 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

The Associated Press cited professors Cheryl Hanna, Don Kreis and Pat Parenteau in a Feb. 11 story about whether the Vermont Attorney General will appeal a federal judge's decision rejecting the state's bid to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.

SNL Financial spoke Feb. 10 with Professor Michael Dworkin about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's role in policy and resource planning.

The New York Times ran a commentary on Feb. 9 by Professor Michael McCann about whether home-schooled students should be allowed to play for public school teams.

Greenwire spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on Feb. 9 about the nuclear industry's safety record and fiscal health.

FRONTLINE talked to Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 9 about a class-action lawsuit aimed at NCAA profits.

The Christian Science Monitor, whose story was carried by Yahoo! News and other media, talked to Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on Feb. 9 about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of the first nuclear power reactors in the United States in more than three decades.

Vermont Public Radio mentioned Professor Cheryl Hanna in a Feb. 9 story about the Vermont Commission on Women, whose chairwoman credited Hanna with influencing the commission's recent revision of the "Legal Rights of Women in Vermont" publication.

WBEZ Radio (Chicago) spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on Feb. 9 about whether nesting bald eagles may force the Chicago Police Department to change the location of its proposed shooting range.

The Associated Press, whose story was picked up by Bloomberg Businessweek, Vermont Public Radio, WCAX and other media, reported Feb. 7 on the Institute for Energy and the Environment and two other Vermont groups receiving a $34 million contract from the Environmental Protection Agency to promote energy efficiency.

Prof. Renzo Examines Privatized Prisons

Vermont Law School — 10 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

Vermont Law School Professor Anthony Renzo recently published an article titled "Rights in Search of Remedies: Supreme Court Sentences Federal Inmates to Vagaries of State Law When Prison Contractors Violate Their Constitutional Rights" in the American Constitutional Society Blog.

In the article, Renzo spotlighted the case of prisoner Richard Lee Pollard, whom the U.S. Supreme Court barred from bringing a damage action in federal court against the individual corporate employees who violated his Eighth Amendment rights when they disregarded a serious medical condition that required treatment.

Renzo's areas of expertise include constitutional and civil liberties litigation.

New Nuclear Reactors: VT Law School Experts Available For Follow Up

Vermont Law School — 10 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT -- Vermont Law School experts Peter Bradford and Mark Cooper are available to comment for follow up stories on costs, safety and other factors in connection with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of two new reactors at a nuclear plant in Georgia.

Credit: Southern Company.

It was the first license granted to build a nuclear reactor in the United States since 1978, a year before the Three Mile Island accident.

The $14 billion Vogtle expansion project, which will create the largest nuclear power complex in the country, is being closely watched by utilities and others nationwide. A coalition of antinuclear groups said it would file suit to block the NRC's decision.

Bradford, a former member of the NRC who teaches nuclear power and public policy as an adjunct professor at VLS, and Cooper, senior research fellow for economic analysis at VLS's Institute for Energy and the Environment, are internationally recognized for their expertise in nuclear energy.

Bradford can be reached at perubrad@aol.com or 802-824-4296.

Cooper can be reached at markcooper@aol.com or 301.384.2204.

CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu