Vermont Law and Graduate School

VITA Program: Free Tax Preparation
2026-04-02 16:00 - 20:00, 2026-04-04 09:00 - 12:00, 2026-04-07 16:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | By Appointment Only
Vermont Law and Graduate School is once again hosting a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site.

Volunteers will prepare and electronically file federal and state tax returns, free of charge, for qualifying low-to-moderate income and elderly taxpayers whose family income in 2025 was $69,000 or less.

Filings will be done by appointment only in Oakes Hall and can be scheduled by calling 802-831-1363. Participants will be asked to show proof of identity per IRS regulations. A self-service filing station—complete with a laptop and necessary software—will also be available by appointment.

Note: IRS regulations require verification of all taxpayers’ identities. Those participating in these tax preparation services (and their spouse, if filing a joint return) will be asked to show proof of identity (e.g., driver’s license, employer ID, school ID, birth certificate, military ID, or passport). It is also necessary to show a social security card, an ITIN card or letter, or an SSA letter for each individual who will be listed on the return. Taxpayers who cannot substantiate their identity will be asked to seek professional tax assistance elsewhere.

21st Annual Norman Williams Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Planning and the Law: "Local Greens: Cities and Climate Change"
2026-04-07 17:00 - 18:00 | Oakes Hall, Room 012, 164 Chelsea Street, South Royalton, Vermont, 05068, United States
The Environmental Law Center at Vermont Law and Graduate School invites you to hear from Katrina M. Wyman, Wilf Family Professor of Property Law and Director of the Environmental and Energy Law LLM Program at NYU School of Law.

With a federal government hostile to efforts to address climate change, state and local governments provide the main opportunity to advance climate policy. Wyman will discuss the potential for local governments to address climate change in the current moment, drawing on her recent book “Local Greens,” co-authored with Danielle Spiegel-Feld. She will focus on the incentives that cities have to deploy their authority over land use and the built environment to promote decarbonization and limit the harms from climate risks such as flooding and fires. Using New York City as a case study, she also will highlight the challenges that cities face in tackling climate change. While cities are far from the ideal level of government to confront climate change, given the enormity of the challenge, we cannot forsake any government’s contribution, no matter how big or small.

As the Wilf Family Professor of Property Law at NYU School of Law, Wyman teaches and researches in the areas of Property, Environmental Law, and Natural Resources Law, among other subjects. Wyman is faculty director of NYU Law’s Frank J. Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy, and Law Use Law, and faculty director of the law school’s LLM program in Environmental and Energy Law. Her recent research has addressed a range of topics, including the role of cities in environmental law in the U.S. and abroad, and the development of novel forms of property. Wyman was awarded the Podell Distinguished Teaching Award in 2020. She has a BA, MA, and LLB from the University of Toronto, and an LLM from Yale Law School.

This event will take place in person on the VLGS campus and virtually. Click here to view the livestream.

CAFS Lunch and Learn: Urban Agriculture and Local Policy
2026-04-14 12:00 - 13:00 | Yates Common Room at Vermont Law and Graduate School, 164 Chelsea Street, South Royalton, Vermont, 05068, United States
Join us for a Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) Lunch and Learn highlighting our Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Policy Project. Visiting Assistant Professor Liz Turner will share insights from “Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production: A Guide to Local Policy,” a CAFS resource developed through her research as a CAFS fellow. She will be joined by students to discuss what’s next for the project and how it has shaped her VLGS course, “Law and Policy of Urban Agriculture.”

Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees. Information about joining virtually will be posted soon.

Intersectionality in Environmental Law Symposium
2026-04-18 08:00 - 17:00 | Chase Community Center, 164 Chelsea St., South Royalton, VT, 05068
The Environmental Justice Law Society, Energy Law Society, Environmental Law Society, Food and Agriculture Law Society, and Animal Law Society at Vermont Law and Graduate School proudly present the Intersectionality in Environmental Law Symposium.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

All times are listed below in ET.

Saturday, April 18

8 to 8:45 a.m. – Registration and Breakfast

8:45 to 9 a.m. – Introductory Remarks

9 to 9:30 a.m. – Morning Keynote: Dr. Zeyneb Magavi, HEET

9:35 to 11:05 a.m. – “Electrification in 2026 and Beyond” Moderated by Kirt Mayland LLM’05, Visiting Professor in the Institute for Energy and the Environment and Energy Clinic

Molly Armus JD’14, Friends of the Earth

Patrick Marass JD’17, Bernstein Shur

Austin Scarborough JD’21, Young/Sommer LLC

Veronica Ung-Kono JD/MERL’21, Environmental Defense Fund

Mark Zankel, Revision Energy

11:20 a.m. to 12 p.m. – “New England Resilience” Moderated by Christophe Courchesne, Director of the Environmental Law Center and Environmental Advocacy Clinic

Dr. Jamison Ervin, United Nations Nature for Development Programme

Jon Groveman, Vermont Natural Resources Council

Dr. Sarah H. Kelly, Dartmouth College

12 to 12:45 p.m. – Lunch

12:45 to 1 p.m. – Introductory Remarks

1 to 1:30 p.m. – Afternoon Keynote: Dr. Teresa Mares, University of Vermont

1:35 to 2:45 p.m. – “Cultivating Community – Migrant Farmworkers Across the Upper Valley” Moderated by Emma Scott, Director of the Food and Agriculture Clinic

Dr. Teresa Mares, University of Vermont

Douglas Moody, Dartmouth College

3 to 3:55 p.m. – “Harvesting Equity – Legal Frameworks of Migrant Farmworkers”

Moderated by Laurie Beyranevand JD’03, Director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems

Maya McCann-Som, Central West Justice Center

Claudia Quintero, Central West Justice Center

Hannah Wolf, FarmSTAND

3:55 to 4 p.m. – Closing Remarks

4 to 5 p.m. – Cocktail Hour

This event will take place in-person, and an online option will also be provided upon registering. Continuing legal education (CLE) credits are available for practicing attorneys.

Alumni Weekend 2026
2026-06-26 08:00 - 2026-06-28 17:00 | Vermont Law and Graduate School, 164 Chelsea St., South Royalton, VT, 05068
Join Swans in South Royalton for a joyful summer gathering honoring 50 years of Vermont Law and Graduate School. Alumni from every class are invited to come together for a weekend of special events—including celebrations for milestone classes ending in 1s and 6s, a tribute to our inaugural Class of 1976, a reflection on our environmental law and policy legacy, and a Taste of Vermont event highlighting the best of the region. Come reconnect, reflect, and celebrate the community that has shaped generations.

Learn more by clicking here.

2026 Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship
2026-09-24 00:00 - 2026-09-26 23:59
Vermont Law and Graduate School will host the Seventeenth Annual Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship on Friday September 25, 2026. Colloquium participants are environmental law faculty in the U.S. and abroad. This event offers environmental law scholars the opportunity to present their works-in-progress, to get feedback from their colleagues, and to meet and interact with those who are also teaching and researching in areas related to environmental and natural resources law, or any related specialty areas.

If you are interested in presenting a paper at the colloquium, please submit a working title and abstract of 200-300 words no later than May 31, 2026. For an abstract to be eligible for submission, the author must anticipate that the paper will be a true working draft (neither published nor so close to publication that significant changes are not feasible) by the date of the colloquium. We will do our best to notify authors about acceptances by mid-June.

Stay tuned for more details!
