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Environmental and Energy Law
Environmental and Energy Law Degree Programs:
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
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ESTABLISHED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MODERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ERA, GW’S Environmental and Energy Law Program has been at the forefront of environmental legal education in the field for 50 years and has taught specialized energy law courses since the 1950s. Today, with our wide variety of environmental law courses and our expanded focus on energy law, we are able to provide the next generation of environmental and energy lawyers with the tools they need to tackle the local, national, and international challenges facing the planet and its inhabitants, including climate change, fisheries depletion, air and water pollution, natural resources, water scarcity, the development of new sources of energy, and the growing emphasis on sustainability.
Located in Washington, D.C., where environmental and energy law policy is debated and created, GW Law allows students to gain firsthand experience inside and outside of the classroom. LLM students, including students from outside of the United States, regularly intern with government agencies and nonprofit organizations while they are at GW through a variety of environmental placements with our Graduate Environmental Placement program through the Field Placement Program. Inside the classroom, students benefit from the expertise of talented teachers with years of practical experience. GW Law provides one of the most extensive environmental and energy curricula in the country, offering more than 25 courses in environmental law and nine courses in energy law. In addition to courses taught by our outstanding full-time faculty, we are able to attract adjunct faculty who occupy senior positions in government, environmental organizations, energy organizations, and private law firms.
CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS
LLM IN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
A minimum of 16 credit hours from the following courses is required. For U.S. law school graduates, this requirement must include four (4) credits graded on the basis of a research paper that may either be in the form of a Thesis or two research papers, each of which is written in connection with a two-credit course that is graded on the basis of a research paper. Non-U.S. law school graduates also must complete one research paper, as part of a two-credit course graded on the basis of a research paper, or complete Thesis. For students who choose to write a thesis, a minimum of 12 additional credits in the field of study are required. Students are encouraged to write a thesis.
Advanced International Trade Law Air Pollution Control Animal Law Seminar Atomic Energy Law Coastal, Navigation, and Wetlands Resource Law Control of Solid and Hazardous Wastes (RCRA & CERCLA) Energy Law and Regulation Energy Law Seminar Environmental Crimes Environmental Issues in Business Transactions Environmental Law Environmental Law Seminar Environmental Lawyering Environmental Negotiations Environmental and Toxic Torts Federal Facilities Environmental Law Issues Graduate Environmental Placement Graduate Independent Legal Writing International Climate Change Law International Environmental Law International Project Finance Law International Trade Law Land Use Law Natural Resources Law Oil and Gas Law Regulated Industries Regulation of Toxic Substances Risk Selected Topics in Environmental Law Sustainable Communities Law and Policy Seminar Trade and Sustainable Development Water Pollution Control Wildlife and Ecosystems Law
LLM IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
A minimum of 16 credit hours from the following courses is required. For U.S. law school graduates, this requirement must include four (4) credits graded on the basis of a research paper(s). For non-U.S. law school graduates, completion of two (2) credits graded on the basis of a single research paper or Thesis is required. For students who choose to write a thesis, a minimum of 12 additional credits in the field of study are required. Students are encouraged to write a thesis.
Air Pollution Control Atomic Energy Law Energy Law and Regulation Energy Law Seminar Environmental Negotiations Graduate Independent Legal Writing International Climate Change Law International Project Finance Oil and Gas Law Regulated Industries Selected Topics in Environmental Law Water Pollution Control Torts and Property also will be available; only students with a non-U.S. law degree who plan to take the New York bar examination may count this course toward the 16 credits required in the field.
A minimum of 16 credit hours from the following courses is required. For U.S. law school graduates, this requirement must include four (4) credits graded on the basis of a research paper(s). For non-U.S. law school graduates, completion of two (2) credits graded on the basis of a single research paper or Thesis is required. For students who choose to write a thesis, a minimum of 12 additional credits in the field of study are required. Students are encouraged to write a thesis.
Air Pollution Control Control of Solid and Hazardous Wastes (RCRA & CERCLA) Formation of Government Contracts Government Contracts Cost and Pricing Government Contracts Overview Graduate Independent Legal Writing Performance of Government Contracts Water Pollution Control
LLM IN INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
A minimum of 16 credit hours from the following courses is required. The curriculum requirement must include completion of Environmental Law and one of the following three courses: Air Pollution Control, Water Pollution Control, or Control of Solid and Hazardous Wastes (RCRA & CERCLA). In addition, students also must complete either International Business Transactions or International Organizations. For U.S. law school graduates, this requirement must include four (4) credits graded on the basis of a research paper(s). For non-U.S. law school graduates, completion of two (2) credits graded on the basis of a single research paper or Thesis is required. For students who choose to write a thesis, a minimum of 12 additional credits in the field of study are required. Students are encouraged to write a thesis.
Environmental Law and one of the following 3 courses:
Air Pollution Control or Water Pollution Control or Control of Solid and Hazardous
Wastes (RCRA & CERCLA) Advanced International Trade Law Environmental Law Seminar (International Environmental Governance) Graduate Independent Legal Writing International Business Transactions International Climate Change Law International Environmental Law International Law International Organizations International Trade Law Law of the Sea Selected Topics in Environmental Law Trade and Sustainable Development Torts and Property also will be available; only students with a non-U.S. law degree who plan to take the New York bar examination may count these courses toward the 16 credits required in the field.
COURSES RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY LAW
These courses are related to, but do not count toward, the curriculum requirements for the programs listed.
Administrative Law Admiralty Food and Drug Law Formation of Government Contracts Genetics and the Law International Dispute Resolution Legislative Analysis and Drafting Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Performance of Government Contracts
Most courses are offered at least once per year. Course listing is based on 2020-21 Law School Bulletin.
FACULTY
Full biographical information for full-time faculty members and deans begins on page 64.
INTERIM DIRECTOR
Lin Harmon-Walker Interim Director and Visiting Associate Professor of Law
SENIOR ADVISOR
Donna Attanasio Senior Advisor for Energy Law and Professorial Lecturer in Law
FULL-TIME FACULTY
Steve Charnovitz Associate Professor of Law
Robert L. Glicksman J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law
Emily Hammond Jeffrey and Martha Kohn Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Glen Earl Weston Research Professor
Richard J. Pierce, Jr. Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law ADJUNCT FACULTY
The Environmental and Energy Law Program includes more than 25 adjunct faculty members who are prominent practitioners in the field. They come from leading law firms, nonprofit organizations, U.S. government agencies, and international organizations including:
• American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals • Arnold & Porter • Bonner Kiernan Trebach & Crociata • Bureau of Land Management • Center for Biological Diversity • Center for International
Environmental Law • Environmental Defense Fund • Environmental Law Institute • Goulston & Storrs • General Microgrids • Holland & Knight • Humane Society of the
United States • Latham & Watkins • Myer Glitzenstein & Crystal • Natural Resource Defense Council • Nixon Peabody • Paul Hastings • Public Justice • Reed Smith • Shulman Rogers • U.N. Human Rights Council • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • U.S. Bureau of Land Management • U.S. Department of Agriculture • U.S. Department of Energy • U.S. Department of the Interior • U.S. Department of Justice • U.S. Department of the Navy, Office of General Counsel • U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency • U.S. Senate • Van Ness Feldman • The World Bank
Full biographical information for our adjunct faculty members is available at www.law.gwu.edu/faculty.
ANNUAL SHAPIRO SYMPOSIUM Each year, GW Law hosts one of the most highly regarded environment/energy law symposia in the country. The Shapiro Symposium typically attracts law faculty and practitioners from across the country and around the world. Past topics have focused on “The Electricity Mix of the Future;” “Advanced Monitoring, Remote Sensing, and Data Gathering, Analysis and Disclosure in Compliance and Enforcement;” the “Role of Planning in Public Land Management;” and “The Public Trust Doctrine in the 21st Century.” The 2021 Symposium will address the future of environmental and energy law and will feature prominent environmental and energy law professors who attended GW Law (most of them LLM graduates) to speak on the future of the law in their areas of expertise.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ASSOCIATION The student-run Environmental Law Association focuses on both traditional environmental law issues and energy law. The group organizes a variety of activities, including high-profile environmental and energy law panels, an annual environment and energy awareness week, periodic outings to explore the natural resources of the D.C. area, career panels, and Meet the Professors Night. Law students at all degree levels are welcome.
GRADUATE ENVIRONMENTAL PLACEMENT Students can individualize their degree programs through internships with government agencies or nonprofit organizations concerned with environmental and energy issues. Students have engaged in legal analysis and policy formulation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality; the Environmental Protection Agency; the U.S. Departments of Justice, Energy, Interior, and Defense; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; as well as many D.C.-based nonprofit environmental organizations and trade associations. These placements are facilitated through the law school’s Field Placement Program. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY INITIATIVE The Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) is a thoughtleadership platform for the consideration and development of energy policy. The initiative’s mission is to advance the development of legal structures that govern our increasingly diverse and complex energy systems by (a) providing a forum for open debate on leading-edge energy policy issues; (b) conducting research that significantly advances the knowledge base related to sustainable energy law and policy; and (c) educating students, policy makers, and industry participants on issues related to sustainable energy production, delivery and use based on fact and non-partisan analysis. SEI also interacts with an energy-focused student group, Energy Connectors. This past year, pre-COVID-19, SEI hosted a discussion on microgrids and customer engagement in the E.U. and the United States; another discussiom on emerging trends in Chile and the United States with a delegation from the Universidad del Desarrollo; and a discussion on International Investments, Arbitration, and Climate Change led by the Honorable Charles Brower, who is on the adjunct faculty at GW Law, and Alexandre de Gramont, partner at Dechert LLP. SEI’s energy alumni group, Energy Connectors, has hosted convivial student-alumni events.
