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The back entrance of Oakes Hall.

Facts About VLS

The fact is, Vermont Law School is one of a kind. Beyond our top U.S.News ranking in environmental law, we offer figures and facts about our class profiles, intensive curriculum, innovative experiential learning programs, and accomplishments of our stellar faculty and alumni. As a whole, the facts paint a picture of an engaged school with a clear purpose.

We know that numbers can't tell the whole story. But perhaps they can draw you to Vermont, where the VLS community can speak for itself.

 

Students on the back porch of Debevoise Hall.Overview

  • One of a handful of independent, private law schools in the U.S.
  • Mission statement: "To educate students in a diverse community that fosters personal growth and that enables them to attain outstanding professional skills and high ethical values with which to serve as lawyers and environmental and other professionals in an increasingly technological and interdependent global society"
  • Motto: Lex pro urbe et orbe—Law for the community and the world.
  • Ranked first or second in environmental law by U.S.News & World Report for 23 years running.
  • Has placed first 15 times since the U.S.News & World Report environmental specialty rankings began in 1991, and has never placed lower than second.
  • Ranked as a leading clinical law program by U.S. News & World Report.
  • Named one of the best law schools for public interest law by The National Jurist.
  • Named one of the best law schools for women by The National Jurist.
  • Fully accredited by the American Bar Association, the Association of American Law Schools, and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
  • Located in the village of South Royalton—a National Register Historic District—on the banks of the White River.
  • Comprised of 20 buildings on a 13-acre campus, including:
    • a landmark historic 1893 schoolhouse with distinctive bell tower, completely restored and dedicated as Debevoise Hall in 2005, and which received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver Certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC);
    • a modern classroom building, James L. and Evelena S. Oakes Hall, opened in 1998, which has been recognized for outstanding environmental design by the American Consulting Engineers Council, the Vermont Governor's Awards for Excellence in Pollution Prevention, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, the Boston Society of Architects, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
  • Established in 1972 with the first class enrolled in 1973 and graduated in 1976.

Student Body

Profile of the Fall 2011 Entering Class

  • 151 JD students, 32 full-time and 2 part-time MELP students, and 21 LLM students
  • represented are 37 states and territories, and countries including China, Brazil, Spain, Canada, and France
  • Entering JD class is 55 percent male, 45 percent female, 12 percent people of color
  • Average age: 26

Faculty and Staff

  • 55 regular faculty members, 9 visiting faculty members, and 43 adjunct faculty; 115 full-time and 10 part-time administrative staff
  • 62 percent of the regular faculty members are women
  • Faculty members have degrees from institutions such as Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Vermont Law School, Georgetown, University of California, and University of Chicago
  • Faculty members have served as Visiting Professors at Dartmouth College; United States Military Academy; University of California-Hastings College of Law; Harvard Law School; Yale Law School; University of Paris 13, France; McGill Law School, Montreal; University of Trento, Italy; University of Seville, Spain; National University of Rwanda Faculty of Law, Rwanda; Petrozavodsk State University Faculty of Law, Russia; and Charité Medical Faculty of Humbuldt University, Germany
  • Faculty members have been awarded recent Fulbright Scholarships to China, Senegal, and Montenegro
  • Faculty members have worked for such entities as the U.S. Department of Energy, United Nations Development Program, Amnesty International, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Environmental, and the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee
  • Faculty members have published more than 50 books and have recently had articles published by such journals as the Journal of Legal Education, Hastings International and Comparative Law Journal, William and Mary Environmental Law & Policy Review, Iowa Law Review, New Jersey Law Journal, Chicago Journal of International Law, Chicago-Kent Law Review, Criminal Law Bulletin, Duke Journal on Gender, Policy & Law, Environmental Forum, European Intellectual Property Review, European Review of Native American Studies, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Harvard Environmental Law Journal, Hastings Women's Law Journal, International Law, Jurimetrics, Notre Dame Law Review, Syracuse Law Review, and Tax Law, among others.

Curriculum

  • Traditional core legal curriculum and experiential programs with a specialty in environmental law
  • Five degree programs are offered: Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), Joint JD and MELP, Master of Laws in Environmental Law (LLM), and the LLM in American Legal Studies (for international students). The LLM in Environmental Law and Master of Laws in Environmental Law degree programs are also available online.
  • Curriculum prepares graduates to practice law in all 50 states
  • Offers the largest number of environmental law courses in the country
  • Award-winning General Practice Program integrates substantive law and professional skills by simulating a general practice law firm; professors, in the role of senior partners, instruct and supervise student “associates”; offers off-campus experience in the fourth semester
  • Three-semester Legal Writing Program culminates in an Appellate Advocacy course featuring the preparation of briefs for cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court
  • Leading experts explore major environmental issues during interdisciplinary Summer Session for lawyers and nonlawyers
  • Three courses at Thayer School of Engineering and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth are open to VLS students, and seven courses at VLS are open to students in the Master of Environmental Engineering program at Thayer and the MBA program at Tuck
  • Joint degree program with The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies allows individuals to earn both a master's degree from Yale and a JD law degree from VLS
  • Dual MBA/MELP degree program with the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
  • Special program allows individuals to earn both a bachelor's degree from the University of Vermont and a JD law degree from VLS in six years instead of the usual seven; dual MS/MELP degree program with the University of Vermont School of Natural Resources
  • Dual JD/MELP programs with the University of South Dakota and the University of South Carolina law schools
  • Exchange programs with five U.S. law schools, and  international partners include McGill University (Montreal), the University of Cergy-Pontoise (France), the University of Seville, the University of Trento (Italy), and Sun Yat-Sen University School of Law (China)
  • Vermont Law School and the University of Cergy-Pontoise (France) offer a dual JD/MII-DJCE degree program in the law of business organizations to students from both institutions.

Experiential Programs

  • More than half of our JD students enroll in a practicum-based learning experience; these programs also attract visiting students
  • South Royalton Legal Clinic provides legal services for lower-income Vermonters in a broad array of civil cases and has won precedent-setting cases before the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont and the Vermont Supreme Court. In the last decade the clinic has represented indigent clients in over 771 cases.
  • Off-campus experiential programs include:  Semester in Practice, Legislation Clinic, Criminal Law Clinic, Land Use Clinic, part-time Judicial Externships,  MELP and LLM Internships
  • General Practice Program simulates the circumstances encountered in a general practice
  • Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic established in 2002. This clinic brings major case litigation on important environmental matters.

Graduates(Class of 2010)

  • 80 percent of JD graduates in the Class of 2010 passed a bar exam on the first attempt.
  • 89percent of the Class of 2010 were employed or in a degree program within nine months of graduation.
  • 28 percent of the Class of 2010 graduates are in private practice; 16 percent work in business and industry; 14 percent hold judicial clerkships; 15 percent work in public interest law; 19 percent work in government or military; and 8 percent work in academia.
  • 37 percent of the 2010 graduating class found legal and professional employment in New England, 61 percent elsewhere nationally, and 2 percent internationally.

Environmental Law Center

  • Environmental law program is ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report's 2012 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools, the third year in a row and 14th time overall the program has received this ranking
  • Established in 1978 to educate for environmental stewardship
  • Administers the Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) and LLM in Environmental Law degree program, on-campus and online programs
  • Summer Session offers more than 30 cutting-edge courses in environmental law, policy, science, ethics, and alternative dispute resolution, taught by top experts in their fields
  • Provides externships in Washington D.C., and internships throughout the U.S. and select foreign countries
  • Conducts policy research, sponsors conferences, publishes scholarly papers, and awards fellowships
  • Institute for Energy and the Environment established in 2005
  • Land Use Institute established in 2005
  • U.S.-China Parntership for Environmental Law established in 2006
  • Land Use Clinic established in 2010

Library

  • Julien and Virginia Cornell Library, opened 1991, features a collection of approximately 349,000 volumes and 149,000 titles
  • Information professionals with JD and MLS degrees, who are experts in teaching, providing reference services, and selecting print and digital legal resources
  • Primary sources for research in the law of all 50 states and federal law, and a leading collection in environmental law
  • A research facility for practicing lawyers in Vermont and New Hampshire
  • A fully automated library system featuring JULIEN, the online library catalog; access to other collections through national interlibrary loan systems
  • Access to the Internet, Westlaw, LexisNexis, and numerous other digital resources through library computing lab, the campus network, and wireless communications

Technology

  • Fully integrated, campus-wide computing network with fiber optic backbone
  • PC computing environment in the student labs; Internet connection with interactive website
  • Video conferencing facilities support distance learning programs with other law schools

Student Life

  • More than 40 campus groups including academic journals, sports, advocacy,  and several diversity organizations
  • Students provide assistance with income tax preparation, serve as role models for local youth through the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, act as court- appointed guardians for children and mentally incompetent adults, publish summaries of Vermont court decisions, conduct research for Vermont attorneys, and support interns working on public interest projects
  • Students participate in national trial advocacy, environmental, and international moot court competitions; intramural Debevoise competition finalists argue before the Vermont Supreme Court
  • A select group of VLS students performs at least 200 hours of community service each for an agency working on legal issues as participants in the New Hampshire/Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program, in partnership with University of Vermont and Dartmouth College

Financial Aid

  • 90 percent of students receive some form of financial assistance; 63 percent of students receive campus-based aid and 46 percent received Vermont Law School grants and scholarships
  • First Nations Environmental Law Fellowship: up to one year's tuition and assistance with living expenses to two Native Americans in the MELP program who have demonstrated a commitment to helping tribes manage their environmental programs
  • Vermont Law School Loan Repayment Assistance Program assists graduates entering low-paying, public interest positions to repay educational debts; in 2009, awards of $1,000 to $3,000 were made to 56 applicants, totaling $122,250.

Leadership

  • Edward C. Mattes '83 in 2010 became the second alumnus to serve as chair of the VLS Board of Trustees
  • Geoffrey B. Shields became president and dean in 2004
  • J. Scott Cameron '80 of Montpelier served on the VLS Board of Trustees for 26 years and as chair of the board from 2001-2010

Economic Impact

  • VLS contributes more than $35 million to the region's economy annually
  • Does not receive any state funding

Other

  • The Vermont Supreme Court visits campus one day each year to hear arguments
  • VLS received a USAID grant in 2006 to partner with Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, to strengthen China's rule of law in environmental protection and to build capacity among individuals and academic, government, and private-sector institutions to solve pollution and energy problems
  • In 2010, the Department of Energy issued a $450,000 federal grant for Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment to conduct smart-grid research and analysis aimed at updating the U.S. power grid.
  • The Vermont Law Review is published four times a year and organizes an annual symposium
  • The Vermont Journal of Environmental Law is an online journal, which organizes an annual spring symposium