Vermont Law and Graduate School

Understanding Tariffs and Potential Mitigation Measures
2025-07-31 11:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual
Tariffs have become a very hot topic during 2025. New and threatened measures now impact virtually every company that imports products from abroad. This educational session hosted by the Vermont Small Business Law Center at VLGS will provide an overview of the current tariffs in place, what exceptions exist, and potential ways to reduce the impact of tariffs on your business. The session will also discuss so-called “countermeasures” from other countries targeting United States exports. The session will be presented by Darshak Dholakia, a partner in the International Trade group based in the Washington, DC, office of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

Please register in advance by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | Carbon Pricing: Issues and Challenges
2025-07-29 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Carbon Pricing: Issues and Challenges,” will be presented by David Talbot from École Nationale d’Administration Publique.

The presentation will cover the evolution of carbon markets and taxes worldwide. Its aim is to highlight the challenges and issues linked to carbon pricing and discuss the impact of the various policies and initiatives that have been implemented. In particular, Talbot will present comparisons between the European carbon market and the Western Climate Initiative (California and Quebec).

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | Animal Storytelling
2025-07-24 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Animal Storytelling,” will be presented by Stephanie Hanes, environmental journalist and VLGS Animal Law Media Fellow.

Reporting and writing about non-human animals creates unique challenges for journalists. We can’t quote them. We can’t interview them. So how do we pick what stories to tell about them—and how do we adjust our work to ensure we are accurately and effectively communicating about our natural world? In this talk, Hanes will discuss some of the pitfalls and potential of covering animals for mainstream media.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Lending and Financing for Small Businesses
2025-07-22 16:00 - 18:00 | Virtual
In this two-hour educational webinar with live Q&A, a panel of legal experts will demystify three pivotal capital moves—taking out a general loan, financing equipment or property, and bringing in outside investments. Learn to decode lenders’ and investors’ jargon, learn practical ways to shield your personal assets, and uncover the “unknown unknowns” that may trip up many growing businesses. Join the conversation and bring your questions.

Please register in advance by clicking the button below. This event is hosted by the Vermont Small Business Law Center at Vermont Law and Graduate School.

Hot Topics | Someone
2025-07-22 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session will be presented by Kristen Stilt from Harvard Law School and a VLGS Distinguished Animal Law Summer Scholar.

An assumed division between human and nonhuman animals (and most of nature) has long been baked into most of Western culture and law. As effects of the Anthropocene bring humans and animals in closer and more frequent contact, increasingly in emergency and catastrophic situations, we are beginning to see more signs of awareness that humans and animals are not only ecologically but profoundly interdependent—and that each animal should not be categorized something, but as someone.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | One Big Beautiful Bill and How it Will Disrupt the Clean Energy Transition
2025-07-17 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session will be presented by Valerie Volcovici from Thomson Reuters and a VLGS Environmental Media Fellow.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | Universal Ownership, Systematic Stewardship: Whatever You Call It, Where Do We Stand?
2025-07-15 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Universal Ownership, Systematic Stewardship: Whatever You Call It, Where Do We Stand?”, will be presented by Madison Condon from Boston University School of Law and the VLGS Distinguished Climate Law Summer Scholar.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | A Just Transition for Whom? Understanding the Opportunities and Limitations of a Just Energy Transition
2025-07-10 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “A Just Transition for Whom? Understanding the Opportunities and Limitations of a Just Energy Transition,” will be presented by Mijin Cha from University of California Santa Cruz and the VLGS Distinguished Energy Law Summer Scholar.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | Federal Environmental Law After Trump II
2025-07-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Federal Environmental Law After Trump II” will be presented by Sean Donahue of Donahue, Goldberg & Herzog, and Robert Percival from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Business Contracts: Basics and In Practice
2025-07-02 16:00 - 18:00 | Virtual
Who needs contracts, and why? In this educational webinar, the Vermont Small Business Law Center at Vermont Law and Graduate School will explain how to use contracts to get “on the same page” as your customers, clients, or suppliers, and how contracts can prevent harm to your business if something goes wrong. We will cover contract basics, practical practices, and how to handle disputes. Learn when and why to put things in writing, how contracts can help you set and manage expectations in your professional relationships, and what to do if things fall apart. Come ready with your questions as there will be plenty of time for Q&A.

Legal Writing Lecture with Dean McCormack
2025-07-01 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual
The admissions team invites you to a webinar featuring Dean Beth McCormack, who will lead an insightful lecture focused on legal writing.

Dean McCormack has been the law school dean since January 2021, and she is the first woman to hold that position in the school’s history. She initially joined the VLGS faculty in 2011, teaching Legal Writing I and II, among a variety of other subjects.

Alumni Weekend 2025
2025-06-27 00:00 - 2025-06-29 23:59 | VLGS Campus, 164 Chelsea Street, South Royalton, Vermont, 05068
Join other Swans in South Royalton, Vermont, this summer for an exciting weekend of events! All alumni are invited to attend, regardless of your graduation year, and we’ll have special celebrations for class years ending in 0s and 5s.

For more information, including the registration link, please click here.

We can’t wait to see you!

Thermal Energy Networks Webinar
2025-06-26 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Join us for a webinar on the new Thermal Energy Networks: A Legislative Guidebook—a resource for states, cities, and utilities advancing neighborhood-scale clean heating and cooling.

Heating and cooling buildings makes up 43% of U.S. energy use. To cut emissions, states are passing laws to enable thermal energy networks (TENs): water-filled pipe systems that deliver heating and cooling without combustion. Eight states have already passed TENs legislation, and more are following suit.

Hosted by Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment and the Building Decarbonization Coalition, this webinar will introduce the guidebook and key lessons from recent TENs laws. We will discuss:

What are TENs, and why enable them?

How can legislation ensure TENs are equitable, affordable, and effective?

What is needed for a system-wide transition to clean heating and cooling?

Speakers:

Lawrence Garber, Interim Associate Director of Policy Acceleration, Building Decarbonization CoalitionEduardo Nicolás Otero Bakai, Global Energy Fellow, Institute for Energy and the EnvironmentModerator: Ana Maria (Ania) Camargo Cortes, Associate Director, Thermal Networks, Building Decarbonization CoalitionHost: Mark James, Interim Director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment

Hot Topics | Challenges of Barcelona's Waste Tax in Light of the New European Requirement for Pay-As-You-Throw Systems
2025-06-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Challenges of Barcelona’s Waste Tax in Light of the New European Requirement for Pay-As-You-Throw Systems,” will be presented by Rodolfo Boix from Pompeu Fabra University.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Restorative Justice and Public Policy at Vermont Law and Graduate School
2025-06-24 16:00 - 17:00 | Virtual
Join Stephen Pimpare, director of our Master of Public Policy program, and Quixada Moore-Vissing, interim director of our Center for Justice Reform, for an insightful session designed for social workers. We’ll explore how training in restorative justice and public policy can deepen your impact as a social worker, as well as highlight the programs we offer at VLGS.

Hot Topics | The Radioactive Shadow Workers of the Oil and Gas Industry: An Environmental Journalism Perspective
2025-06-24 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for the Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “The Radioactive Shadow Workers of the Oil and Gas Industry: An Environmental Journalism Perspective,” will be presented by Julia Sklar, science journalist and a VLGS Environmental Media Fellow.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

How to Apply to Law School
2025-06-18 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Join two of our Admissions team members as they share tips and tricks on how to make your law school application as strong as it can be. There will be time for Q&A to address your individual application questions.

Hot Topics | A Dog is a Chimp is a Mouse is a Rabbit? How Charismatic Species Shape Lab Animal Welfare Laws and Policies
2025-06-17 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for this summer’s Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “A Dog is a Chimp is a Mouse is a Rabbit? How Charismatic Species Shape Law Animal Welfare Laws and Policies,” will be presented by Larry Carbone.

In this talk, Carbone will explore the effect of using charismatic species (such as dogs, primates, and rabbits) to advance welfare reforms. Do new laws and practices crafted to accommodate interests of one species have a ripple effect that improves the lot of other animals? Or do special protections for one type of animal come at the expense of others? Carbone shows how both outcomes have occurred through the years, and argues that activists should be mindful of arguments that elevate species we care about at the expense of those without a human constituency advocating for their interests.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

June Admissions Open House
2025-06-14 09:30 - 15:00 | Yates Common Room at Vermont Law and Graduate School, 164 Chelsea Street, South Royalton, Vermont, 05068, United States
Attending this dynamic event is the perfect way to envision life as a Vermont Law and Graduate School student. Throughout the day, you will get an in-depth look at the many opportunities available and how VLGS can help you reach your goals.

In addition to being greeted by our amazing faculty, staff, and students, you’ll be guided through a tour of campus, experience a class lecture, and enjoy a delicious lunch.

Please register by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | Our Plastic Problem and What the Law Can Do About It
2025-06-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for this summer’s Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Our Plastic Problem and What the Law Can Do About It,” will be presented by Sarah Morath from Wake Forest Law.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | Access to Beaches and Other Public Lands: Past, Present, and Future
2025-06-10 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for this summer’s Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Access to Beaches and Other Public Lands: Past, Present, and Future,” will be presented by Josh Eagle from the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Seal and Heal: The Path to Expungement Made Simple
2025-06-09 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Having a criminal record, even for minor offenses, can follow someone for their entire life, affecting employability, housing prospects, and even personal relationships. Fortunately, expungement and sealing are mechanisms under Vermont law whereby most misdemeanors and some felonies can be removed from public records, effectively giving the convicted person a fresh start.

Join us to learn about expungement and sealing under Vermont law, including determining what can and cannot be expunged or sealed, what the process looks like, and resources to assist you along the way. Hosted by the Veterans Legal Assistance Project at Vermont Law and Graduate School, this lunch and learn session will take place virtually.

To register, please click the link below or email communications@vermontlaw.edu. The event link will be shared with all registrants prior to the webinar.

Hot Topics | Sustaining Environmental Justice
2025-06-05 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for this summer’s Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Sustaining Environmental Justice,” will be presented by Sharmila Murthy from Northeastern University School of Law.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Mock Lecture on Criminal Law with Professor Anna Saxman JD'85
2025-06-04 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Join us to experience a class at Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) with a mock lecture on the subject of Criminal Law delivered by professor Anna Saxman JD’85.

Anna Saxman graduated magna cum laude from VLGS, and was the articles editor of the Vermont Law Review. Following graduation, she clerked with Justice Louis Peck of the Vermont Supreme Court. She was an associate attorney with Langrock Sperry until she joined the Defender General’s Office, where she is an appellate defender, the director of training, and the deputy defender general. Professor Saxman currently teaches in the Criminal Law Clinic. She has taught at VLGS since 1995 and has taught Criminal Law, Current Issues in Constitutional Law, Mental Health Law, Evidence Labs, and Criminal Practice and Procedure.

Managing Law School Debt with the Director of Financial Aid
2025-06-03 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Join us for a presentation with Melissa Erickson, director of Financial Aid. Melissa will share advice on saving money before, during, and after law school, as well as information on how to navigate VLGS’s financial aid portal.

Hot Topics | Toxic Sewage Sludge: How the Biosolid Fertilizer Industry is Poisoning Farm Animals
2025-06-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for this summer’s Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Toxic Sewage Sludge: How the Biosolid Fertilizer Industry is Poisoning Farm Animals,” will be presented by Marin Scotten, VLGS Animal Law Media Fellow.

Using human biosolids, also known as sewage sludge, as farmland fertilizer has been hailed as a climate-friendly and efficient way to fertilize crops and dispose of waste. But a growing body of research now suggests sewage sludge application—which is largely unregulated and controlled by just a handful of companies—is contaminating food and water with PFAS, poisoning farm animals and creating major public health risks.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

Hot Topics | Advancing Environmental Justice in a Chaotic Time
2025-05-29 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join us online for this summer’s Hot Topics in Environmental Law Summer Lecture Series, brought to you by the Environmental Law Center at VLGS. The series is free and open to the public. In addition to featuring live Q&A with the audience, each installment is eligible for Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

This session, “Advancing Environmental Justice in a Chaotic Time,” will be presented by Marianne Engelman-Lado from New York University School of Law.

Tune into the livestream by clicking the button below.

The Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment with Director Christophe Courchesne
2025-05-28 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual
We will be joined by Christophe Courchesne, associate professor and director of the Environmental Advocacy Clinic (EAC) at Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS), to discuss the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment and its relationship to the EAC.

Professor Courchesne has litigated environmental cases for nearly two decades. Before joining VLGS in 2022, he was deputy chief of the Energy and Environment Bureau and assistant attorney general at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, leading work on the climate crisis, federal policy, environmental and racial justice, and clean energy.

JD Employment Results for VLGS Alumni
2025-05-21 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual
Join us for a review of employment results for our alumni, and to hear what kinds of career opportunities are available to VLGS graduates. Several of our alumni will be participating in the discussion to share their experiences in the job market post-graduation.

VLGS Commencement Ceremony
2025-05-17 10:00 - 12:00 | Royalton Town Green, 194 Chelsea St., South Royalton, Vermont, 05068
Vermont Law and Graduate School’s 49th Commencement Ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 10 a.m. on the Royalton Town Green.

A reception that includes food, champagne, and a steel drum band will take place immediately after the ceremony on the Debevoise Hall Back Lawn. The reception is free and open to all graduates and their families.

To tune into the livestream, please click here.
