TERM ONE
Cannabis Law FAA5310
Ocean and Coastal Law ENV5423
Offshore Wind Permitting ENG5402
Examining Food System Equity through Critical Racial Theory EJU5220
Science of Animal Law ANM5433
Three Essentials of the Electric Grid
Module A:
Engineering Essentials ENG5510
Module B:
Business Essentials ENG5511
Module C:
Legal Essentials ENG5512
Animal Undercover Investigations FAA5360
TERM TWO
Animal Welfare Law ANM5422
Ecology ENV5430
Environmental Jurisprudence ENV5902.01
Land Conservation Law ENV5474
TERM THREE
Biodiversity Protection ENV5412
Farmworkers and the Law FAA5350
The International Law of Food INT7435
Land Use and Racial Justice EJU5378
Renewable Energy Project Finance and Development ENG5550
TERM FOUR
Balancing Coastal Resources:
Maine Field Study ENV5903
Environmental Crimes ENV5480
Environmental Governance in the Developing World ENV5223
Environmental Governance
Field Study ENV5224
The Farm Bill FAA5410
Global Energy Law and Policy ENG5230
FRIDAYS ONLY
Policy Design POL5530
Editor: Anne Linehan
Cover Image: “Summer No. 1”
© Amy Hook-Therrien amyhooktherrien.com
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY
IN VERMONT 2024
Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) has led the nation in environmental law and policy education since our founding fifty years ago. Our multidisciplinary program is not only the largest, but also consistently ranks among the best. At its heart is a mission to develop leaders who are committed to environmental protection and adept at working at the intersection of law, policy, science, economics, and ethics. We offer Executive Master of Environmental Policy (EMEP), Master of Climate and Environmental Policy (MCEP), Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL), Master of Food and Agricultural Law and Policy (MFALP), and Master of Animal Protection Policy (MAPP) degrees; LLM degrees in Environmental Law, Energy Law, Food and Agricultural Law, and Animal Law; and joint degrees that allow students to combine a JD degree with any of the master’s or LLM degrees.
For more information on applying to Vermont Law and Graduate School’s degree programs, contact the Admissions Office at 888-277-5985, admiss@vermontlaw.edu, or visit our website at vermontlaw.edu.
THE FACULTY
Summer Session faculty include Vermont Law and Graduate School professors and practitioners in specialized fields. Visiting faculty come from national and international nonprofit organizations, environmental groups and research centers, consulting firms, federal and state government agencies, academic programs at other law schools, and private practice.
THE STUDENT BODY
Students attending Summer Session include Vermont Law and Graduate School JD, master’s, and LLM candidates; JD candidates from other law schools; and non-degree-seeking students such as environmental journalists, practicing attorneys, and citizen advocates.
DISTINGUISHED ENVIRONMENTAL SCHOLARS
Each summer, the school hosts scholars who present lectures and participate in colloquia and informal gatherings of students and faculty. Our 2024 scholars are:
Climate Law Scholar: Richard Wallsgrove, associate professor; co-director, Environmental Law Program; director, Environmental Law Clinic, William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Energy Law Scholar: Heather Payne, professor of law, Seton Hall University School of Law
Environmental Law Scholar: Gerald Torres, professor of environmental justice and professor of law, Yale Law School
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Scholar: Mavis Gragg, CEO, HeirShares
HOT TOPICS IN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW LECTURE SERIES
A midday lecture series on a wide range of current issues in environmental law runs throughout the summer. This free, online series is open to the public. The lectures are each worth one Vermont Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.
SUMMER HOUSING
Apartments and homes in South Royalton and the surrounding towns are available for sublet from Vermont Law and Graduate School students. Visit our housing database at vermontlaw.edu/housing.
THE AREA
The White River, which borders the campus, offers swimming, canoeing, tubing, and fishing. Scenic back roads are favored by cyclists and runners. Hikers enjoy the local hills as well as the Appalachian and Long Trails nearby. South Royalton is a two-and-ahalf hour drive from Boston or Montreal.
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (CLE)
Practicing attorneys may take summer courses for Continuing Legal Education credits. Vermont Law and Graduate School is an accredited provider of CLE credits for Vermont; residents of other states should check with their state bar association for CLE credit guidelines.
TERM ONE
Cannabis Law (3 credits) FAA5310
May 28–31, June 3–6 and 10–13, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Benjamin Varadi and Timothy Fair JD’12
This course will survey historical and policy considerations relating to cannabis regulation and enforcement, explore the current and anticipated regulatory landscapes, and integrate considerations of note to practitioners in this rapidly developing field. While understanding the roots of cannabis prohibition is essential to our study, our conversation on contemporary regulation will focus primarily on transactional and administrative elements.
Ocean and Coastal Law (3 credits) ENV5423
May 28–31, June 3–6 and 10–13, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Elizabeth Lewis, Michael Jasny, and Sarah Reiter JD’13
Long neglected by lawmakers despite its essential ecological functions, the marine environment has increasingly been the focal point of conservation and natural resource management efforts. As a foundation for studying the laws that govern the marine environment, the course considers the natural components of estuarine, coastal, and marine ecosystems and the current conservation issues confronting them. We will review domestic and international laws and treaties relating to coastal management, pollution, protected areas, endangered species, fisheries, marine mammals, wetlands, marine spatial planning, and
offshore energy resources, and examine alternative approaches to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. The course considers the effectiveness of these legal regimes in providing rational and comprehensive management and protection of marine resources in the face of emerging threats from climate change, crashing fish stocks, and energy shortages, focusing on current events such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the International Whaling Commission debate over commercial whaling, and climate change threats to the Arctic.
Offshore Wind Permitting (1 credit)
ENG5402
June 7, 1 to 5 p.m. June 8, 9 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 4 p.m., June 9, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
JoshuaBelcher JD/MSEL’08
Offshore wind development in the U.S. is growing at a rapid pace as companies invest hundreds of millions of dollars to obtain offshore leases from the federal government and the right to invest billions more to develop, construct, and operate massive offshore wind farms. This course will examine the statutory and regulatory frameworks that govern offshore renewable energy leases, and the permitting requirements associated with project development and construction and the ways in which they have been challenged in the courts. Students completing this course will obtain a firm understanding of the permitting framework for offshore wind projects and the potential legal challenges associated with their development, construction, and finance.
Examining Food System Equity through Critical Race Theory (1 credit) EJU5220
June 7, 1 to 5 p.m. June 8, 9 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 4 p.m. June 9, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Dãnia Davy
At the turn of the twentieth century, Blacks owned 16-19 million acres of land; today, they own less than two million acres. Significant legislation and institutional policy perpetuate antiblack racism, which is firmly rooted in disproportionate property dispossession. The corresponding wealth inequities in land have far-reaching implications for political, economic, and health inequities. This course will explore the unique opportunities presented by agriculture system policy to create a model for eliminating systemic anti-blackness. The course will lay an analytical foundation through examining readings on critical race theory and agriculture policy. The course will explore, as a case study, the policy priorities of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, a nonprofit cooperative association serving Black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives as they advocate for a community-led, cooperatively owned, equitable food system.
Science of Animal Law (3 credits) ANM5433
May 28–31, June 3–6 and 10–13, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Delcianna Winders and Lori Marino
Scientific literacy is a cornerstone of advancing legal and policy efforts on behalf of animals. This course will provide an overview of foundational scientific concepts, scientific thinking and culture, and scientific vocabulary, and an introduction to how to use this information to inform effective animal protection law and policy efforts.
Three Essentials of the Electric Grid (three 1-credit modules)
May 28–31, June 3–6 and 10–13, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Chris Root, James Cater, and Elizabeth Toba Pearlman
Module A: Engineering Essentials ENG5510
The engineering realities of energy infrastructure systems can greatly constrain the choices that lawyers and policy analysts might otherwise make. This module will cover the engineering fundamentals inherent in electric power grids and will explain how these engineering realities affect market and regulatory choices.
Module B: Business Essentials ENG5511
This module will explore the key aspects related to the finances of the electric grid with a particular focus on understanding energy project finance and economics, including how they relate to a utility’s revenue requirement. The course will introduce students to basic financial statements, the importance of understanding tax impacts, and how to construct and evaluate a basic financial model for a distributed energy project, such as a solar or energy storage resource.
Module C:
Legal Essentials ENG5512
With the rise in urgency to address the climate crisis, the U.S. will need to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to a low-carbon economy. This module will examine this transition in the electric power sector, exploring in practice how the power of law and policy can be brought to bear through clean energy advocacy to make much-needed progress on mitigating the worst impacts of climate change. Through classroom discussion and exercises, this course will use real case studies related to “hot”
issues for today’s electricity regulators, stakeholders, and market participants and explore substantive policy and skillsbased knowledge, demonstrating how practitioners in the field are advancing clean energy policies at the national, regional, state, and local levels.
Animal Undercover Investigations (2
credits) FAA5360
May 30, 1 to 5 p.m. May 31, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
and 1 to 5 p.m. June 1, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
and 1 to 5 p.m. June 2, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Margaret York JD’15
What are undercover investigations?
Why do animal advocacy organizations conduct them? In this course, students will explore a variety of legal considerations as they relate to conducting undercover investigations
of animal operations. Specifically, students will examine the intersection of criminal law, tort, and ethical issues, as well as what does and does not constitute actionable animal cruelty. We will discuss evidentiary issues, taking action, pursuing litigation, and corporate liability. We will examine how undercover investigations have changed the legal landscape for animals as well as the methods by which the industry has pushed back at this animal advocacy tactic. Throughout the course, we will discuss the ways in which undercover investigations and resultant prosecutions implicate social justice issues, assessing whether the stated goal of deterrent effect outweighs the potential disparate impact on individual low-wage workers.
TERM TWO
Animal Welfare Law (2 credits) ANM5422
June 17–20 and 24–26, 1 to 4:30 p.m.
June 27, 1 to 4 p.m. No class June 19.
Mary Hollingsworth and Heather Rally
A broad and rapidly evolving field of law has developed concerning the welfare of animals that are used for a variety of human purposes, including food, entertainment, research, and companionship. Animals used for these purposes often endure a wide range of abuses that diminish animal welfare while also having an impact on humans. Public views about such uses of animals are rapidly changing. The class will combine traditional principles of animal welfare laws and advocacy with laws typically applied in the wildlife conservation context, such as the Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Acts. This class will examine the role of law in understanding and reforming the
relationship between humans and animals and improving the condition of animals maintained for human profit and entertainment. Students in the class will learn the role of legal institutions and regimes in promoting animal welfare. Past and current litigation, regulatory, and legislative efforts on behalf of animal welfare will be covered, with case studies and current developments.
Ecology
(3 credits) ENV5430
June 17, 24, and 26, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
June 18, 20, 25, and 27, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Walter Poleman and Tom Lautzenheiser
Ecology is an integrative science that can provide insight into many contemporary environmental problems. Through visits to a variety of field sites in central Vermont, readings, and lectures, this course will explore the principles of ecology using a hands-on,
interdisciplinary approach. Course work stresses the inventorying of biotic and physical components of a landscape (pieces), examining how these pieces are distributed (patterns), and determining what forces drive these patterns (processes). Topics will include interpreting the natural and cultural histories of a landscape, biodiversity conservation, and the scientific method, among others. This course requires minimal previous scientific understanding. This is a limitedenrollment course.
Environmental Jurisprudence (2 credits) ENV5902.01
June 17–20 and 24–26, 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
June 27, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. No class June 19.
Sean DonahueIn this course, we will study federal environmental law by examining major court decisions, with a focus on leading decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. We will consider questions like: What kinds of environmental concerns may parties litigate in federal courts? What kinds of environmental claims, causes, and values have tended to prevail in the Supreme Court, and where have they been less successful? What are the implications of the shift in the Court’s membership in recent decades, particularly during the latter years of the Roberts Court, for environmental law and environmental advocates? How has today’s preeminent environmental concern, climate change, played out in the Supreme Court so far?
Land Conservation Law (2 credits) ENV5474
June 17–20 and 24–27, 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. No class June 19.
Jessica Jay JD/MSEL’07
Increasingly important in our efforts to protect ecological diversity, climate resiliency, historic places, working lands, scenic viewsheds, open spaces, and public uses of land are conservation tools and processes such as donation of conservation easements, purchase of sensitive lands, and private/public partnerships for land conservation. Students will research and review the swiftly developing body of law and legal issues accompanying the use of conservation easements and will gain a practical understanding of both the legal and nonlegal dimensions of land conservation transactions involving conservation easements. In addition, students will actively engage in the progression of a conservation easement transaction, beginning with early negotiations, drafting, and financial/ tax analysis, and proceeding along a spectrum to donation, amendment and termination evaluation, violation, and enforcement. Each student will be responsible for engaging in role-playing exercises throughout the conservation transaction process to assess various financial/tax scenarios, identify and resolve disputes related to the conservation transaction, and negotiate and draft a conservation easement.
TERM THREE
Biodiversity Protection (2 credits) ENV5412
July 8–11 and 15–18, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
David Takacs
Across the globe, wildlife and its habitat are increasingly threatened by human-caused habitat destruction, exploitation, poaching, illegal trade, invasive species, disease, and climate change. This course examines what biodiversity is, the growing threats to it, and U.S. and international laws to combat those threats. The course focuses on statutes, case law, environmental ethics, and current controversies to highlight legal, scientific, and political strategies for protecting biodiversity. Particular emphasis is placed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Farmworkers and the Law (1 credit) FAA5350
July 12-14, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.
Emma ScottThe approximately two million farmworkers who grow our food are essential to this country, yet they are often overlooked in national policy efforts on issues ranging from immigration law to environmental justice. In some areas, like labor rights and occupational health and safety, they are explicitly denied certain basic protections. This course will detail farmworkers’ current living and working conditions, as well as the history of their exclusion from key laws and regulations. It will also explore current tools and strategies used by farmworker advocates at both the state and federal levels, including litigation, legislative advocacy, and worker organizing. The class seeks to highlight how the
intersection of different legal regimes impacts farmworkers and their families. Its goal is to encourage students to first focus on understanding a particular community, and then analyze whether and how the law could be an effective tool in serving that community.
The International Law of Food (2 credits) INT7435
July 8–11 and 15–18, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
David A. WirthThis course—one of the few, if not the only in the world to address this critical subject matter—identifies and analyzes contemporary international legal and policy issues related to food including supply, safety, security, subsidies, and trade. Students will master legal and structural analytical tools for addressing these increasingly important challenges of concern to all global citizens. The material includes the roles of international institutions, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The course stresses the development of skills to enable students to effectively grapple with new and emerging issues in this ever-changing and expanding field. The course includes a simulated multilateral negotiation in which students serve as instructed representatives of states and non-governmental organizations.
Land Use and Racial Justice (2 credits) EJU5378
July 8–11 and 15–18, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Jonathan Rosenbloom
In this course, we will explore the law’s role in creating, exacerbating, alleviating, and remedying exclusionary and discriminatory tactics through the regulation of land. We will examine ways in which public and private land use laws have helped create structural inequalities based on race and class. As aspiring lawyers, it is important for us to consider what “is” and what could or should be. For that reason, we will explore how the law can serve as a mechanism for positive change. We will see how far we can push the law to help promote a more diverse, inclusive, open, and equitable community through the regulation of land.
Renewable Energy Project Finance and Development
(2 credits) ENG5550
July 8–11 and 15–18, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Brian Potts JD’04
This course will provide an in-depth look at the legal and regulatory issues associated with the development and project financing of renewable energy projects such as wind, hydro, solar, and battery storage. After completing this course, students will have a solid understanding of how to help vet the economics of renewable projects and get them permitted, financed, built, hookedup to the grid, and operational.
TERM FOUR
Balancing Coastal Resources:
Maine Field Study
(3 credits) ENV5323
July 22–25 and July 29–August 1, Times
TBD
Lindsay Leoni Bourgoine MELP’15 and Benjamin Leoni JD’11
This course will examine the common law and statutory underpinnings of coastal resource ownership and use. Taught along one of the longest coastlines in the United States, this class will explore reallife conflicts stemming from competing interests, including working waterfronts, energy development, conservation, and recreation. Given the field study nature, students will have the opportunity to speak directly with community leaders— from attorneys to fishermen—at the forefront of coastal resource conflict.
Environmental Crimes (2 credits)
ENV5480
July 22–25 and July 29–August 1, 1 to 4 p.m.
Deborah L. Harris
Environmental crime is the most common federal offense committed by U.S. corporations and among the most profitable criminal activities in the world. Explore this specialized practice, from the relevant investigative agencies, through the benefits of “speaking” indictments, to the applicable federal sentencing guidelines. Students will examine the major pollution prevention and wildlife protection statutes, as well as the Title 18 offenses with which they are most often paired (e.g., conspiracy, false statements, obstruction of justice). Learn how these cases are used to change industry practice and raise public awareness of conduct that threatens human health and the environment.
Environmental Governance in the Developing World
(2 credits)
ENV5223
July 22–25 and July 29–August 1, 1 to 4 p.m.
Robert Percival
This course introduces students to the challenges faced by developing countries in developing, implementing, and enforcing effective environmental governance systems. It compares systems of environmental governance in developing countries with a particular focus on countries in Asia and Africa. Many of these countries, despite contributing very little to the global environmental problems, are among the principal victims of them. Building on the work of the U.S.-Asia Partnerships for Environmental Law, this course will examine a variety of case studies that illustrate how environmental law is evolving in the developing world.
Environmental Governance Field Study (1 credit)
ENV5224
Dates TBD, after the end of Term Four.
Robert Percival
Following the Environmental Governance in the Developing World course, students are invited to participate in an optional field trip, contingent on the state of travel restrictions, where they can examine firsthand how developing countries are using law to cope with environmental challenges. Prerequisite: Environmental Governance in the Developing World.
The Farm Bill (2 credits) FAA5410
July 22–25 and July 29–August 1, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Chris Adamo JD’04 and Jonathan Coppess
American farm and food policy has long been the subject of strenuous debate and criticism. In recent years, prominent
criticism has come from a movement of consumer and environmental interests concerned that the way we eat and how we support producers has an impact on our health, natural resources, and the environment. Other interests raise concerns about Federal spending and government footprint. All of them look to the farm bill. The farm bill, however, is difficult to understand and it is challenging to change policies that have proven incredibly resilient over many decades. The class is an attempt to explain the farm bill and the history and development of the policies enacted, with an eye on how policy has changed and been reformed over the years due to changing stakeholder needs. Students will examine the policies before Congress with a strong emphasis on the political trends and motivations. The goal of the class is to inform students about the range and depth of Federal farm and food policy, while also developing a better understanding of the historical, economic, political, and process-based forces in Congress.
Global Energy Law and Policy (2 credits) ENG5230
July 22–25 and July 29–August 1, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Arturo Brandt LLM’04
Global Energy Law and Policy explores the current policy framework in a particular region outside of the United States with a focus on clean energy policies. The course will explore the region’s policy development process, the current energy policy framework, policies implementing global and regional climate commitments and emerging issues.
FRIDAYS ONLY
Policy Design (3 credits)
POL5530
May 17 and 24; June 7, 21, and 28; July 12, 19, and 26, online synchronous, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
June 14 and August 2, in person, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Stephen Pimpare
Students will learn policy design fundamentals including how to compare policy options, weigh tradeoffs and write compelling policy recommendations. Students will develop leadership, collaboration, and project management skills. Students will learn about the role of affected communities in the policy design process and how to engage those stakeholders. Note that this class has a hybrid schedule, with eight sessions offered synchronously online, and two sessions in person.
ANIMAL LAW
TERM ONE
See pages 3-5 for course info
Science of Animal Law
Ocean and Coastal Law
LAND USE
ETHICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
INTERNATIONAL
Ocean and Coastal Law
TERM TWO
See pages 5-6 for course info
Animal Welfare Law
Ecology
Land Conservation Law
Animal Welfare Law
TERM THREE
See pages 7-8 for course info
TERM FOUR
See pages 8-9 for course info
WEEKEND INTENSIVES
Biodiversity Protection
Land Use and Racial Justice
Land Use and Racial Justice
The International Law of Food
Global Energy Law and Policy
Environmental Governance in the Developing World
Balancing Coastal Resources: Maine Field Study
Animal Undercover Investigations
Examining Food System Equity through Critical Race Theory
Examining Food System Equity through Critical Race Theory
Farmworkers and the Law
FIELD STUDY
Ecology
Ocean and Coastal Law
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Cannabis Law
Land Conservation Law
The International Law of Food
Environmental Governance in the Developing World
The Farm Bill
Examining Food System Equity through Critical Race Theory
Farmworkers and the Law
ENERGY
SKILLS AND FUNDAMENTALS
WEEKEND INTENSIVES
Three Essentials of the Electric Grid
Examining Food System Equity through Critical Race Theory
Offshore Wind Permitting
Animal Undercover Investigations
Environmental Jurisprudence
Renewable Energy Project Finance and Development
Global Energy Law and Policy
Environmental Crimes
Offshore Wind Permitting
Farmworkers and the Law
FRIDAYS ONLY: Policy Design
CHRIS ADAMO JD’04
Vice President for Federal and Industry Affairs, Danone North America
Adamo assists the world’s largest B Corp with strengthening the role of business in driving social and environmental good. He served as chief of staff for President Obama’s White House Council on Environmental Quality from 2015–17. Before that, he led the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry as its staff director for the negotiations and drafting of the 2014 Farm Bill, which included new opportunities for landscape-scale conservation and unprecedented investments in healthy foods. He spent 2017 as a senior fellow at the National Wildlife Federation, advising on issues such as sustainable agriculture, climate change, natural resources, and water. He received his BA degree from Kalamazoo College and his JD degree from Vermont Law School.
JOSHUA BELCHER JD/MSEL’08
Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
Belcher has an international, multidisciplinary practice guiding clients through mergers and acquisitions, financings, project development, and energy and environmental commodities transactions, with a focus on helping companies identify and manage complex environmental and regulatory business risks. He has extensive experience in both the development and acquisition of utility-scale energy projects, including wind (onshore and offshore), solar (onshore and floating), solar plus storage, renewable natural gas, biomass, and combined heat and power facilities. He has advised several offshore developers in the nuances of federal law applicable to the leasing, siting and permitting of offshore wind projects and related infrastructure. He received his JD and Master of Studies in Environmental Law degrees from Vermont Law School.
LINDSAY LEONI
BOURGOINE
MELP’15
Director of Policy & Government Affairs, ReVision Energy
ARTURO BRANDT LLM’04
Senior Broker, Latin American Environmental Markets, Tradition Green Brandt is also an associate at Grupo Vial Serrano, a leading Chilean law firm. He works on sustainability, climate change, climate finance, emissions trading, renewable energy, environmental compliance, environmental legislation and litigation, and market brokerage for the LNG, carbon, and biomass industries. His previous positions include The World Conservation Union – IUCN Environmental Law Centre in Bonn, Germany; Poch Ambiental; and First Climate. He is the president of the Chilean Association for Environmental Law and a member of the Commission for Environmental Law at IUCN. Brandt received his law degree from the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago de Chile, and his LLM in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School.
JAMES CATER
Independent Consultant
Cater is a financial economist with broad and deep energy industry experience, providing analysis, strategic guidance, and expert testimony across a wide range of business, regulatory, and public policy issues. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Rate of Return Analyst with BA and MA degrees in economics. He has held a variety of positions involving electric utility ratemaking, integrated resource planning, asset valuation, project benefit-cost analysis, resource portfolio management, wholesale market transactions and regulatory affairs at Duke Energy, the American Public Power
Association, Duquesne Light and Power, and Green Mountain Power. He also has many years of experience teaching economics as an adjunct instructor at Castleton State University.
JONATHAN COPPESS
Associate Professor of Agricultural Policy and Law, Director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The author of The Fault Lines of Farm Policy: A Legislative and Political History of The Farm Bill, Coppess has served as chief counsel and special counsel for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Administrator of the Farm Service Agency at USDA and legislative assistant to Senator Ben Nelson. He grew up on his family’s farm in Western Ohio. Coppess earned his JD degree from The George Washington University Law School and his BA degree from Miami University in Ohio.
DÃNIA DAVY
Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Southeast Region, Oxfam
At Oxfam, Davy leads state-level policy advocacy in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina amplifying the leadership of feminine and minoritized peoples on the frontlines of worker abuses and climate change. Prior to her current role, she served as director of land retention and advocacy at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fund. She began her legal career as a Skadden Fellow at the NCABL Land Loss Prevention Project implementing a project she designed that provided community education and estate planning services to improve Black farmers’ access to legal services in the rural South. She currently serves on the board of the Southern Rural Development Center. She received her BA degree from Brown University and her JD degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
SEAN DONAHUE
Partner, Donahue, Goldberg, & Littleton Donahue’s practice is focused on appellate litigation, with a focus on complex environmental and administrative law cases in federal and state appellate courts. He served as law clerk to then-D.C. Circuit Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and to Justice John Paul Stevens. After entering practice at Jenner & Block, he spent four years at the Appellate Section of the Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division. Since establishing his own practice in 2002, he has represented environmental and public health organization parties in numerous major environmental and clean energy cases in the Supreme Court and the courts of appeals. He has taught at Iowa College of Law, Washington & Lee University School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Stanford Law School. He received his JD degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
TIMOTHY FAIR JD’12
Founder, Vermont Cannabis Solutions Fair has been a vocal advocate for both cannabis and overall drug policy reform for most of his adult life. Since becoming an attorney in 2012, he has been fortunate enough to be part of the statewide movement to legalize cannabis in Vermont. Fair has been featured on a number of podcasts and radio shows, including The Ganjapreneur Podcast, VPR’s “Vermont Edition,” Paris Marketing’s “Creative Warrior” podcast, and a weekly segment on the “In The Weeds” radio show. Fair has spoken on the topic of cannabis law at numerous seminars and events across the country and helped design and teach the first continuing legal education course on Cannabis Business Law in Vermont. He received his JD degree from Vermont Law School.
DEBORAH L. HARRIS
Chief, Environmental Crimes Section, U.S. Department of Justice
Harris supervises an office of 42 prosecutors responsible for the prosecution of environmental and wildlife crimes nationwide. She coordinates national legislative, policy, and training efforts in the criminal enforcement program, and co-chairs the Department’s Environmental Crimes Policy Committee. She has worked in the Environmental Crimes Section since November 1999. Previously, she was a staff attorney for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
Harris received her LLM in trial advocacy from the Georgetown University Law Center, her JD degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and her BA degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
MARY HOLLINGSWORTH
Director of the Animal Law & Policy Clinic, Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Hollingswor th served as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). She led DOJ’s efforts to enforce the civil components of federal animal welfare statutes. In 2017, the Attorney General awarded her the John Marshall Award for Asset Forfeiture for her role in developing and implementing a strategy for pursuing civil forfeiture actions to transfer ownership of dogs seized from those suspected of engaging in illegal dogfighting operations. She clerked for the Honorable Judge G. Murray Snow of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona and the Honorable Justice Michael Ryan of the Arizona Supreme Court. She received her BA degree from the University of Michigan and her JD degree from the University of Arizona.
MICHAEL JASNY
Senior Policy Analyst, Director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project, Natural Resources Defense Council
Jasny is an expert in the law and policy of ocean noise pollution and has worked domestically and internationally for two decades through litigation, lobbying, science-based policy development, and public advocacy to improve regulation of this emergent problem. He is also engaged in securing protection for endangered marine mammal populations and their critical habitat, opposing development projects that threaten marine mammals off North America, and improving management of fisheries and other sectors under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and other federal statutes. He is an author or co-author of various publications in legal, policy, and scientific journals. He received his JD degree from Harvard Law School and his BA degree from Yale College.
JESSICA JAY JD/MSEL’97
Founding Partner, Conservation Law, P.C. Jay represents easement holders and landowners to conserve working landscapes and environmentally significant properties in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West. She engages easement holders, professionals, and landowners in educational workshops. She teaches Land Conservation Law at Denver University Law School. She collaborates with the conservation community to defend conservation easements and their incentives, shape emerging conservation law and policy, and inspire new conservation endeavors. Jay received her JD and MSEL degrees from Vermont Law School and her BA degree from Bowdoin College.
TOM LAUTZENHEISER
Senior Conservation Ecologist, Central/ West, Massachusetts Audubon Society
Lautzenheiser is an expert field naturalist concentrating on plants, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, and landscape interpretation. He is also a skilled community ecologist with particular interest in wetlands and rich northern hardwood forests. Lautzenheiser is responsible for guiding ecological management planning for Massachusetts Audubon’s 33,000-acre sanctuary network and works with his land protection, science, and property management colleagues to ensure that Massachusetts Audubon’s activities consistently achieve their conservation goals. He received his BS degrees in biology and environmental studies from Tufts University and his MS degree in natural resource planning/ ecological planning from the University of Vermont.
BENJAMIN LEONI JD’11
Adjunct Professor, Vermont Law and Graduate School Leoni advises federal agencies within the Department of the Interior on all aspects of public land and environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, The Wilderness Act, and many others. He also represents agencies before administrative law judges and the Interior Board of Land Appeals. Previously, he worked as a litigator focused on property and easement litigation, zoning and environmental appeals, and Maine’s unique coastal Public Trust Doctrine. Before and during law school, he was a competitive free skier and appeared in five ski films. He received his JD degree from Vermont Law School and his BA degree from Bates College.
ELIZABETH LEWIS
Senior Associate Attorney, Eubanks & Associates, PLLC
Lewis focuses her legal practice on ocean preservation, marine mammal conservation, wildlife and public lands protection, animal welfare, and open government and transparency. She has won several major victories as lead counsel or co-counsel in federal courts around the country. She is an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law. Prior to joining Eubanks, she worked on both domestic and international environmental issues for various nonprofit organizations and government agencies. In 2016, she received a Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, which allowed her to spend a year as the special assistant to the assistant administrator of NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. She received her JD degree from American University Washington College of Law and her BS degree from Dickinson College.
LORI MARINO
Founder and President, The Whale Sanctuary Project
Marino is a neuroscientist and adjunct professor of Animal Studies at New York University. She is the founder and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project and Executive Director of The Kimmela Center for Scholarship-based Animal Advocacy. Dr. Marino works at the intersection of science and animal law and policy and is the co-director (with Professor Kathy Hessler) of the Animal Law and Science Project at George Washington University. Dr. Marino’s scientific work focuses on the evolution of the brain and intelligence in dolphins and whales (as well as primates and farmed animals), and on the effects of captivity on wildlife. She has published over 140 peer-reviewed scientific papers, book chapters, and magazine articles in these areas.
ELIZABETH TOBA PEARLMAN
Senior Attorney, Climate & Energy, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Pearlman leads NRDC’s work on renewable energy expansion in the Midwest, which encompasses wind, solar, storage, transmission, and grid design. Prior to this role, she managed NRDC’s clean energy advocacy in Illinois, including efforts to increase renewables, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles. Before joining NRDC, she worked at Tesla, focusing on electric vehicles and storage, and at SolarCity, focusing on solar. From 2012 to 2014, she was a legal fellow and outside counsel with Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program. She was a legal fellow with the United Nations Environment Programme based in Nairobi, Kenya. She received her JD degree from the George Washington University Law School and her BA degree from the College of William and Mary.
ROBERT PERCIVAL
Director of the Environmental Law Program, Robert F. Stanton Professor of Law, University of Maryland
Percival served as a law clerk for Judge Shirley M. Hufstedler of the Ninth Circuit and for Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White, and spent six years as an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund. He has served as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and Georgetown University Law Center. He is the principal author of the most widely used environmental law casebook. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing in 2008 and has worked with China’s Supreme People’s Court, the National People’s Congress, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the China Council on International Cooperation for Environment and Development. He has presented lectures at more than 30 Chinese universities
and in 2009 he represented the U.S. State Department on a lecture tour of China. Percival received his JD and MA degrees from Stanford University and his BA degree from Macalester College.
STEPHEN PIMPARE
Senior Fellow, Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire
WALTER POLEMAN
Senior Lecturer, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont
Poleman teaches courses in integrated field science, landscape ecology, and measurements and mapping of natural resources. He also serves as the director of the Place-based Landscape Analysis and Community Engagement (PLACE) Program, a partnership of the University of Vermont and Shelburne Farms, which provides local residents with a forum for exploring and understanding the natural and cultural history of their town landscape. He received his BS degree in biology from Cornell University and his MS and PhD degrees from the University of Vermont.
BRIAN POTTS JD’04
Partner, Husch Blackwell
Potts has appeared in more than 50 administrative proceedings and dozens of federal and state court cases. He has been involved in billions of dollars’ worth of business transactions and has helped his clients obtain regulatory approvals to build more than $4 billion dollars’ worth of utility infrastructure in various states, including conventional power plants, transmission lines, wind farms, and solar facilities. He is a contributor at Forbes.com, where he regularly offers commentary on energy and environmental law topics. Potts received his LLM degree from the University of California Berkeley, his JD degree from Vermont Law School, and his BS degree from Centre College.
HEATHER D. RALLY
Independent Consultant
Rally has led investigative and enforcement actions in cases of abuse of animals in roadside zoos, circuses, and other captive-animal exhibits in the U.S. She has specific training in marine mammals and serves on the Advisory Committee of the Whale Sanctuary Project and as a veterinarian for the Oceanic Preservation Society. She has been a featured speaker in several professional forums and has lectured on wildlife conservation and animal welfare topics at colleges and universities across the country. She has published numerous articles on ocean conservation and wildlife and is a co-author of the chapter on “Animal Welfare and the Endangered Species Act” in the third edition of the American Bar Association treatise on The Endangered Species Act Law and Policy (2021). Rally received her DVM degree from the Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, and her BS degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
SARAH REITER JD’13
Associate Vice President of Ocean Conservation Practice, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium
Reiter directs and manages the Aquarium’s ocean agenda to influence government policies that advance animal and ocean health and promote the responsible use of the ocean. Her work spans research on the ocean’s seafloor to its uppermost polar region and has played a role in the negotiation of multiple environmental agreements. Previously a full-time professor at Vermont Law School, she has taught several environmental law courses and serves as the head of an observer delegation to the international climate negotiations, where she works to support small island nations in institutionalizing the ocean-climate-biodiversity nexus. She holds an honorary research associate
position at the University of Oxford, collaborating with the Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab, and is published in crossdisciplinary journals such as Science and the Stanford Environmental Law Journal. Reiter received her BS degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, her MS degree from the College of Charleston, and her JD degree from Vermont Law School.
CHRIS ROOT
Chief Operating Officer, Vermont Electric Power Company
Root joined VELCO as chief operating officer in March 2014. He previously served as senior vice president of Network Strategy, a branch of National Grid. He completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard University Graduate School of Business and has authored, co-authored, and presented papers at various forums. He received his BS degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University and his MS in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
JONATHAN ROSENBLOOM
Professor of Law, Director of the Flex JD Program, Albany Law School
Rosenbloom teaches sustainability, land use, and racial justice. He was previously the associate dean at Vermont Law School and the Dwight D. Opperman Distinguished Professor of Law at Drake Law School. He is the author of Building Food Security and Sovereignty: 40 Ways to Regenerate the Local Food System Through Development (ELI 2023). He is the founding executive director of the Sustainable Development Code, a model land use code designed to provide local governments with the best sustainability practices in land use. Prior to teaching, he founded a nonprofit, clerked for the Honorable Rosemary Barkett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, and worked for the federal government and Reed Smith LLP. He received his Bachelor in Architecture from the Rhode Island
School of Design, JD from New York Law School, and LLM from Harvard Law School.
EMMA SCOTT
Clinical Instructor, Food Law and Policy Clinic, Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School
Scott leads the FLPC’s Sustainable and Equitable Food Production Initiative, including advocacy on farm bill policy, food system workers, and equity in USDA programs. She is the supervising attorney for the Mississippi Delta Project (an HLS student practice organization) and leads the FLPC’s ongoing partnerships in the Mississippi Delta region. Prior to joining FLPC, she served as an attorney-fellow at California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation in the Labor and Civil Rights Litigation Unit (supported by Justice Catalyst). Before that, she clerked on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California for the Hon. John A. Mendez. She received her JD degree from Harvard Law School and her BS degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
DAVID TAKACS
Professor of Law, University of California Hastings College of the Law
Takacs has been a consultant for international NGOs and U.S. government agencies, analyzing legal and policy issues pertaining to REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and global climate change. His scholarly work addresses carbon offsetting, biodiversity conservation law, the human right to water, and legal personhood for nonhuman entities. Before his legal career, he was a professor in Earth Systems Science & Policy at CSU Monterey Bay, a lecturer in the John S. Knight Writing Program at Cornell, and a Peace Corps Forestry Volunteer in Senegal. Takacs received his JD degree from the University of California Hastings
College of the Law, his LLM degree from the School of Oriental & African Studies at the University of London, and his BS, MA, and PhD degrees from Cornell University.
BENJAMIN C. VARADI
Assistant Professor of Law, Vermont Law and Graduate School
Prior to joining VLGS, Varadi was an attorney in private practice, primarily representing cannabis entrepreneurs, as well as leaders in other emerging industries, regulated vices, and cultural outskirts. He was previously a partner at a New Orleans firm, a research fellow at the Tulane Center for Intellectual Property Law and Culture, managing attorney of the Common Ground Relief Legal Clinic, and a guest lecturer at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Technology and Legal Innovation Clinic. He has taught continuing legal education and industry workshops on a wide variety of legal and technical topics. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Firefly Gathering, a permaculture and earth skills education resource. He received his JD degree from Tulane University Law School and his BA degree from Burlington College.
DELCIANNA J. WINDERS
Director, Animal Law and Policy Institute, and Associate Professor of Law, Vermont Law and Graduate School
Winders joined VLGS from Lewis & Clark Law School, where she directed the world’s first law school clinic dedicated to farmed animal advocacy. She previously served as vice president and deputy general counsel at the PETA Foundation, the first academic fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program, and a visiting scholar at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. Her primary interests are in animal law and administrative law. Following law
school, she clerked for the Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and practiced animal law in a variety of settings. She has also taught animal law at Tulane University School of Law and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Winders received her JD degree from New York University School of Law and her BA degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
DAVID
A. WIRTH
Professor of Law, Boston College Law School
Wirth teaches environmental, administrative, public international, and foreign relations law. Previously, he was senior attorney and co-director of international programs for the Natural Resources Defense Council and attorneyadvisor for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs for the U.S. Department of State. He is the author of more than five dozen books, articles, and reports on international environmental law and policy for both legal and popular audiences. A
graduate of Yale Law School, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemistry from Princeton and Harvard, respectively.
MARGARET YORK JD’15
Senior Policy Counsel, Director of LGBTQ+ Family Law and Policy, Family Equality
York was previously an attorney at the South Royalton Legal Clinic at VLGS. Prior to working at the SRLC, she worked as a family law attorney in Windham County, Vermont, where she represented clients in divorce, parentage, custody, and adoption proceedings. She also supported the specific legal needs of the LGBTQ community. She has worked as a contract juvenile defense attorney representing children and parents in abuse and neglect cases, and her background also includes working with various nonprofits focused on animal welfare issues. She received her JD degree from Vermont Law School and her BA degree from Sonoma State University.
Please visit vermontlaw.edu/summer to apply and register for Summer Session classes. Registration for non-Vermont Law and Graduate School students opens on May 1, 2024. Registrations will be accepted on a space-available basis. A nonrefundable $60 application fee is required of all non-Vermont Law and Graduate School students and must be paid at the time of application. These are graduate-level courses; normally, only those with undergraduate degrees will be considered for registration. However, undergraduate students may enroll with the director’s permission.
NON-VERMONT LAW AND GRADUATE SCHOOL STUDENTS
If you are taking courses for non-law, graduate, or JD credit to transfer to another institution, please submit:
■ a résumé including education, name of degree and date earned, and job history
■ official transcripts from your most recent degree program
■ a letter of good academic standing that gives written permission from your home institution to transfer credits there
■ $60 nonrefundable application fee (payable to Vermont Law and Graduate School)
If you are auditing courses, please submit:
■ a résumé including education, name of degree and date earned, and job history
■ $60 nonrefundable application fee (payable to Vermont Law and Graduate School)
Please note: Summer Session registration is not an application to Vermont Law and Graduate School’s degree programs. If you wish to apply to our degree programs, please contact the Admissions Office at admiss@vermontlaw.edu for information. No supporting documents or deposits are required of Vermont Law and Graduate School students.
TUITION AND FEES
Tuition must be paid prior to the first day of class. No payment plans are offered during Summer Session. Students should inform the Registrar immediately in writing (registrar@vermontlaw.edu) of a decision to withdraw prior to the start of a class. Interest on unpaid balances will accrue at 12 percent per annum. Registration and transcript holds may also occur. All students (degree seeking and non-degree seeking) who are enrolled in the Summer Session program are charged a non-refundable $205.00 Summer Student Administrative Fee.
Tuition Rates per Credit (classes are 1, 2, or 3 credits)
$1,800.00For-credit rate for JD students (not applicable for accelerated/AJD students)
$1,450.00For-credit rate for VLGS master’s or LLM credits
$1,450.00For-credit rate for transfer credits
$200.00Audit Rate for VLGS alumni
$400.00Audit rate for all others
REFUNDS
Federal regulations require a student to pick up, or make arrangements to receive, their refund check within 21 days of notification that the check is available. Checks will be voided and funds will be returned to the student’s lender after the 21-day period.
Students may add or drop courses before the second class meeting. Students visiting VLGS for summer courses must email the Registrar’s Office at registrar@vermontlaw.edu or go to the Registrar’s Office before attending the second class to report the drop. Tuition charges will be adjusted with no financial penalties during the add/drop period. Written notice (Request to Withdraw form or email to registrar@vermontlaw.edu) is required in order to receive any applicable tuition credit. If no written notification is received, no adjustments will be made to the student account. Students who submit written notification of withdrawal after the second class meeting are subject to the tuition credit schedule: vermontlaw.edu/resources/billing-information/withdrawalsbalances-due-and-refunds. The portion of tuition credit will be calculated on a daily pro-rata basis beginning with the first day of classes until the date of written notification of withdrawal. There is no tuition credit after 60% of the session has been completed. Appeals to the above policy or calculation for special circumstances may be made in writing to the Business Office at studentaccounts@vermontlaw.edu. Transcript requests will not be released for any student who has an outstanding balance with Vermont Law and Graduate School until the balance and any applicable interest is paid in full.
TITLE IV REFUNDS
Should any payments received for a student be made in full or part by any Federal Financial Aid, the Financial Aid Office is required by federal regulations to calculate a Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4) amount for any student who withdraws. A withdrawal includes students who are dismissed, take a leave of absence, or who discontinue enrollment in classes on or after the first day of class. A Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4) is the amount of unearned aid you received at the beginning of the term that must be returned to the federal aid program. Vermont Law and Graduate School will return any unearned aid to the applicable lender on the student’s behalf. The student will then be required to repay the unearned aid back to Vermont Law and Graduate School to the extent there is a balance on the student account. Any aid received in excess of the earned amount is considered unearned. The earned portion of the aid is calculated on a daily basis using calendar days of the semester in which the student withdrew. Vermont Law and Graduate School scholarships will be adjusted based on the same calculations as Federal Financial Aid.
JOINT DEGREE STUDENTS
Summer courses may be taken for master’s or JD credit but may not be shared without prior approval from the Registrar. If courses are shared, there is additional cost involved. Students are encouraged to meet with Student Accounts (studentaccounts@vermontlaw. edu) in the Business Office to review how sharing summer courses affects their tuition accounts. Vermont Law and Graduate School bills the total cost of the master’s and LLM degree programs, including the master’s portion of the JD/master’s joint degree, on a per-credit basis.
COURSE LOAD
A maximum of 11 credits is allowed. Exceptions to this rule must be approved by the ELC staff director. Students enrolled in a full course load of 11 credits are advised not to take more than one two-week course per two-week term, unless enrolled for only one twoweek term.
QUESTIONS?
Please contact us at 800-227-1395, or visit us on the web at vermontlaw.edu/summer.
Financial aid for the summer is available to qualifying students. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, or contact us at 800-227-1395 ext. 1235 or finaid@vermontlaw.edu
VERMONT LAW AND GRADUATE SCHOOL JOINT DEGREE CANDIDATES
Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Financial Aid Office will automatically determine eligibility for summer financial aid for Vermont Law and Graduate School students enrolled in the JD/master’s joint degree program upon notification by the Registrar of a completed summer registration. Students should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at studentaid.gov by March 1, 2024.
VER MONT LAW AND GRADUATE SCHOOL MASTER’S AND LLM CANDIDATES
Financial aid for master’s and LLM students is determined upon acceptance to VLGS and receipt of a completed FAFSA. Awards are made on an annual basis and include funding for three terms. Summer may be the beginning or end of a student’s academic year. For priority processing, master’s and LLM candidates seeking financial aid should submit a completed FAFSA online at studentaid.gov by March 1, 2024.
SUMMERS-ONLY MASTER’S CANDIDATES
Students enrolled for summer semesters only may be eligible for financial aid. Awards for the summer semester will be made after receipt of a completed FAFSA. The priority deadline is April 1, 2024. The FAFSA may be completed online at studentaid.gov. A student must be enrolled at least half-time (three credits in the master’s program) to be considered eligible for financial aid. Applicants must be registered for classes at Vermont Law and Graduate School prior to the determination of financial aid.
JD OR GRADUATE CANDIDATES FROM OTHER SCHOOLS
Financial aid may be available to students who are transferring credits to degree programs at other institutions and who are enrolled at least half-time (three credits in the master’s program). Your home institution will require that a consortium agreement be completed by VLGS to confirm enrollment status, tuition, fees, and related costs. Financial aid for the summer is certified and disbursed by the home institution.
Vermont Law and Graduate School prohibits discrimination based on age, gender, race, sex/ gender (including gender identity/expression) sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, disability (including duty of reasonable accommodations), HIV positive status, place of birth, religion, or veteran status as defined by applicable law.
This Policy Against Sexual Harassment and Discrimination applies to all law school employees, officers, trustees, and students, with regard to their action in connection with the application or admission process, educational activities, career services, employment, or other law school related activities when those actions occur on VLGS property or in the use of VLGS facilities (including the computer network and telephone and e-mail system). Inquiries regarding this Policy Against Sexual Harassment and Discrimination may be directed to the Vermont Law and Graduate School Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or to:
Regional Director, Office of Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education, Region One 707 Post Office Square Boston, MA 02109-4557
617-233-9662
This publication was prepared in February 2024 and is intended to serve as a general source of information about Vermont Law and Graduate School. Provisions in the catalog are not to be regarded as an agreement between the student and Vermont Law and Graduate School. The school reserves the right to change courses, programs, schedules, requirements, regulations, policies, procedures, and tuition and fees, or to make other changes that the school considers necessary or desirable.
Amy Hook-Therrien is a Native Vermonter. Originally from Chelsea, she grew up surrounded by nature, nestled on top of a hill overlooking the valley below. She graduated from Randolph Union High School with a passion for art and went on to major in fine art with a focus on sculpture and painting at the University of Maine in Orono. After graduating with a BFA from UMaine, she moved back to Vermont where she now lives with her Mainer husband, two dogs, and one bunny.
Amy has been painting for almost ten years, specializing in watercolors inspired by nature. When she is not creating art, she loves to travel, hike, garden, and spend time with family. Amy is also an Enrolled Citizen of the Koasek Traditional Band of the Koas Abenaki Nation and a traditional Abenaki singer.
A juried artist since 2014, her awards include:
2020 Overall Favorite & Most Technically Accomplished – Spring No. 3 “Wild About Watercolor” Exhibition – Matt Brown Fine Art, and 2019 Vermont Artists Association – Artist of the Year.