CONTACT
John Cramer
Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802-831-1106
cell: 540-798-7099
home: 802-649-2235
jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. –– Vermont Law School’s distance learning program is thriving one year after starting to offer the nation’s first fully online master’s degrees in environmental law and policy.

VLS, the top-ranked environmental law school in the country, on May 16, 2011, kicked off the first fully online master’s degree programs in U.S. environmental law for lawyers and non-lawyers working in the law, public policy and other fields in the United States and overseas.

Enrollment is growing for the online Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) and online LLM in Environmental Law for post-JD attorneys, which together have nearly 100 students, mostly from the United States, with a few from other countries. The program is designed for people who need to work while completing their graduate degree, but who want the same quality of education offered on campus, including in-depth and personal discussion between students and professors.

Distance learning serves the fastest-growing population of graduate students, and more law schools are offering master’s degrees entirely online in specialized areas of law, such as the environment, taxation, health care, estate planning or business transactions.

“Our asynchronous, interactive program design incorporates the latest learning research,” said Associate Professor Rebecca Purdom, VLS’s director of Distance Learning and assistant dean of Environmental Programs. “Our program is simply more available to a wider array of students and professionals than the synchronous, video-based programs currently offered by most law schools.”

VLS also is leading law schools in the development of the appropriate standards for distance education, said Purdom, who is chair of the Working Group for Distance Learning in Legal Education, which she coordinates with VLS Professor Oliver Goodenough and the Harvard Program for the Legal Profession. The American Bar Association currently allows up to 12 credits of distance education toward a Juris Doctor degree, but in July will consider a proposal to allow up to a full semester to be taken via distance learning toward a JD. The Working Group has submitted comments on the proposed change to the ABA and is creating a best practices guide for law schools about to embark on distance learning efforts. The Working Group has also developed a model law school distance learning policy: http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/plp/pages/distance_learning_workshop.php

“While times are tight and it’s been challenging to take on a new investment, Vermont Law School should be proud and grateful that our leaders had the foresight to step into the brave new world of distance learning over the past year,” Purdom said. “We’re watching the mass-market introduction of these programs with interest, but we’re confident that a selective, highly personal and interactive program design will ultimately win the day.”

Purdom can be reached at 802-831-1217 or rpurdom@vermontlaw.edu

More information about VLS’s distance learning program is available at: http://environmentallaw.vermontlaw.edu/combined-lpkp/?utm_source=VLS&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=S_SearchEngine2&src=S_SearchEngine2

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(FRIDAY, April 27) — Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has rescued $3.9 million to continue the work of two pioneering Vermont organizations that are helping to nurture the emergence of environmental advocacy in China.

Leahy, who chairs the Senate’s committee on the budget for the State Department, foreign aid and other U.S. foreign operations, has secured about $15 million each year for several years to fund a competitive grant program for rule-of-law training in China, where the judiciary is often manipulated by corrupt officials and rapid economic growth has led to unprecedented environmental and public health problems. Under the Leahy-funded initiative, U.S. organizations devise and implement programs to partner with civic reform groups in China in fostering environmental advocacy and enforcement, in challenging official corruption, and in protecting worker health and safety.

Vermont Law School (VLS) and the Vermont-based Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) have been among the program’s participants, forming the U.S.-China Partnership For Environmental Law, based at the VLS campus in South Royalton. Since 2006 their program has trained thousands of Chinese lawyers, citizen advocates and educators, giving them the skills and academic infrastructure needed to solve mounting environmental and energy challenges through the rule of law. The program helps empower ordinary citizens in China by building legal training capacity for lawyers and civic organizations there in challenging government corruption, local pollution and threats to worker health and safety. Leahy notes that another benefit is that emergence of environmental and safety standards within China helps in leveling the economic playing field with American firms who operate within U.S. environmental and safety standards.

The Vermont-based program was on track for another year’s work, under appropriations for the overall program secured last year by Leahy, until it ran into a hitch in the U.S. House of Representatives in the congressional clearance process. Leahy this week succeeded in obtaining release of the $3.9 million for the VLS-ISC contract. He informed the Vermont groups of the good news on Friday.

Leahy said, “I am pleased that these funds have finally been cleared by Congress. This Vermont-based program is an impetus for reform and action. These funds will support the ongoing programs of two highly respected and innovative Vermont institutions, the Institute for Sustainable Communities and the Vermont Law School, which have trained Chinese lawyers and strengthened public advocacy in support of workers’ rights and environmental health and safety. We are already seeing results, as Chinese citizens challenge both the industrial pollution that has poisoned the air and water, and the corruption that has enabled Chinese companies, sometimes with the knowledge of local officials, to undercut their American competitors. This program is an example of how a well-designed effort can be a catalyst for better laws and practices, even in an authoritarian country.”

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Contact
John Cramer
Phone: 802.831.1106
Email: jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT –– Vermont Law School will explore environmental issues arising out of Tropical Storm Irene at a symposium on Friday, April 20.

The symposium, titled “After Irene: Law and Policy Lessons for the Future,” will start at 8:15 a.m. in the Chase Community Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The symposium will be presented by the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association, and the Freshwater Working Group.

Among the issues to be discussed are the environmental effects of using heavy equipment to restore stream banks and channels; river corridor management; emergency relief mitigation and planning; natural disaster policy; and the federal flood insurance program.

More information is available at http://www.vermontlaw.edu/news_and_events/events/vjel_symposium/after_irene_symposium.htm

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Contact
John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law School
Office: 802.831.1106, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. –– U.S. News & World Report has ranked Vermont Law School’s environmental law program as the best in the nation for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. The 2013 Best Grad Schools rankings were released today.

VLS also placed among the nation’s top programs for dispute resolution (rank 16th), clinical training (rank 23rd) and law schools where law firms tend to recruit (rank 96th) among America’s 200 law schools.

“The entire VLS community is proud of this continued recognition of our environmental curriculum, clinics and institutes,” said Professor John Echeverria, acting director of VLS’s Environmental Law Center (ELC), which offers the largest selection of environmental law courses in the nation. “The dedication of our faculty, students, staff and alumni has made them global leaders in teaching, scholarship and professional achievement, and VLS’s innovative programs continue to break new ground in legal education.”

VLS has placed first 15 times and never placed lower than second since theU.S. News environmental specialty rankings began in 1991. VLS’s top ranking this year marks the first time that a school has been ranked number one in the environmental specialty for four consecutive years: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools. To develop its specialty rankings,U.S. News asked legal educators to identify the top programs.

“Vermont Law School is simply the strongest and best place for those considering environmental law as a career,” said Dean Jeff Shields. “We have the largest and deepest environmental and energy law programs in the world.”

VLS’s Dispute Resolution Program, which wasn’t ranked last year byU.S. News, has been a leader for more than 30 years in teaching the negotiation, mediation and arbitration skills that empower lawyers to create valuable solutions outside the courtroom for their clients.

VLS’s Clinics and Experiential Programs, whoseU.S. News ranking improved from 30th last year to 23rd this year, put theory into practice in a variety of ways — from on campus clinical work to externships in law firms, corporations, nonprofits, courts and government offices, at home and abroad.

VLS’s U.S. News ranking remained the same at 96th among legal recruiters at the nation’s best law firms.

“Our success as a place to learn law and policy is enhanced by our unique structure of clinics, institutes, centers and off-campus experiential programs,” Shields said. “Our joint programs with Yale, Cambridge, Dartmouth, Renmin, Thunderbird and Cergy-Pontoise allow our students to use the world’s greatest universities to supplement what they find on our campus. And our incredible alumni network at the World Bank, the United Nations, on Capitol Hill and at leading law firms and NGOs opens opportunities for our students and graduates that are compelling. Employer recognition of the excellence of VLS’s graduates reflects the exceptional preparation in writing, speaking and critical thinking that takes place at Vermont Law School.”

The ELC’s multidisciplinary program in law, policy, economics, science and ethics attracts law and graduate students, lawyers, government officials, teachers, scientists, journalists and citizen activists. Since 1978, the ELC has trained environmental leaders in government, nonprofits, corporations and private practice in the United States and abroad. The ELC administers the Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) degree program for lawyers and non-lawyers and the Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, a post-Juris Doctor degree for experienced attorneys who seek to specialize.

Vermont Law School offers clinical, research and experiential environmental programs through theEnvironmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, the Land Use Clinic, the Institute for Energy and the Environment, the Land Use Institute, the Environmental Tax Policy Institute, the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law and the Environmental Semester in Washington. The ELC’sSummer Session offers a broad curriculum, a Visiting Distinguished Environmental Scholars program and a lecture series that features summer faculty members, distinguished summer scholars and summer media fellows speaking about current issues in their fields.

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Contact
Julie Nelson
Email: julie.nelson@state.vt.us
Phone:(802) 479-8519

Montpelier, VT – The Vermont Historical Society and Vermont Commission on Women will host a panel discussion and luncheon at the Unitarian Church at 130 Main Street in Montpelier on March 21 at 12:00 noon. The discussion, Women of Change: Making Strides in Women’s Legal Rights in the 70s and 80s, will be led by Vermont Law School Professor Cheryl Hanna. The expert panel includes Sandy Baird, Esquire; Senator Peg Flory; the Honorable Denise Johnson; and Mary Just Skinner, Esquire.

Vermont Historical Society Education and Public Programming Director Tess Taylor says, “It’s wonderful to collaborate once again with the Vermont Commission on Women to celebrate Women’s History Month. This event coincides with the Commission’s 6th edition of The Legal Rights of Women in Vermont, a handbook to help the layperson understand legal rights and responsibilities under state and federal law.” This handbook can be found atwww.women.vermont.gov.

The Society encourages anyone with information on women who played significant roles in obtaining women’s rights in Vermont to contact the Vermont Historical Society. The Society would like to make these additions to the Vermont Women’s History Project website. This website highlights the role that women have played in shaping Vermont’s history and provides resources to make this important information available to students, researchers, and anyone interested in Vermont women and their accomplishments.

A resolution will be offered in the State House during the month of March to highlight the contributions of Vermont women in history and society.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested. Please contact Tess Taylor at
(802) 479-8505 for more information or look online at www.vermonthistory.org/women.

The Vermont Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that operates the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier, the Leahy Library in Barre, and programming throughout the state. Established in 1838, its purpose is to reach a broad audience through outstanding collections and statewide outreach. The Vermont Historical Society believes that an understanding of the past changes lives and builds better communities. Visit the Society’s website atwww.vermonthistory.org .

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SOUTH ROYALTON, VT –– Collaboration, clear policies and consumer outreach are fueling the successful implementation of Central Vermont Public Services’ smart grid plan, according to results of the first case study in Vermont Law School’s national smart grid research project.

CVPS, Vermont’s largest investor owned utility, this month begins a year-long process of installing smart meters for its customers. According to VLS’s case study results:

· Collaboration is arguably the most important lesson that the CVPS study provides. It has made developing and implementing CVPS SmartPower and other utilities’ smart grid investments more efficient, cost-effective and technically sound.
· Since 2007, Vermont’s Legislature and Public Service Board have been looking to develop smart grid infrastructure and dynamic rate options, which balances flexibility for investments in a rapidly developing field of technology with measures to ensure those investments are prudent.
· CVPS’s efforts at consumer outreach and consumer behavior research are laying the groundwork for a smooth transition in its smart grid implementation.

“These results provide interesting lessons for the rest of the country,” said Kevin Jones, smart grid project leader for VLS’s Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE). “As this case study demonstrates, smart grid implementation is off to a productive start. Ongoing policy refinements, project development and infrastructure investment will be needed in order to achieve the smart grid’s full, long-term potential.”

Jones said one area where more work needs to be done is formalizing a customer data privacy policy. The Vermont PSB is reviewing the establishment of privacy principles, which would include a clear utility smart grid privacy policy that would be available to customers. In November, the IEE released a draft model utility smart grid privacy policy.

In 2011, the IEE launched its smart grid research project, which involves case studies of seven utilities in order to recommend best practices that can be replicated nationwide: Commonwealth Edison, Central Vermont Public Service Company, Long Island Power Authority, Pecan Street Project, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Salt River Project and San Diego Gas and Electric. VLS’s final report is due later this year.

The research is designed to help understand which laws and policies will best ensure that a smart grid improves electric reliability, enhances customer value and helps meet the nation’s clean energy goals. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that fully implementing a smart electric grid nationwide will cost $1.3 trillion to $2 trillion, with benefits likely exceeding costs by a factor of three or more.

VLS researchers are studying the legal, policy and regulatory hurdles to upgrading the U.S. electric system with smart grid technology. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $3.4 billion in stimulus funds to utilities and other entities nationwide, making the smart grid a key part of the U.S. clean energy agenda.
“While the anticipated benefits of a smart electric grid range from improved reliability to the potential for reduced costs, one of the lesser understood benefits is an improved environment,” Jones added. “Studies have estimated that by 2030, a smart grid could reduce carbon emissions as well as energy use by approximately 12 percent.”

Read the CVPS case study results. Read more about VLS’s Smart Grid Research Project.

VLS is actively participating in the new Center for Energy Transformation and Innovation (CETI). CETI is a partnership between Sandia National Laboratories and a broad array of Vermont stakeholders. CETI supports the development and dissemination of smart grid best practices to move the nation toward a 21st century energy infrastructure.

Kevin Jones, the project’s leader, is available to comment at 802.831.1054 or kbjones@vermontlaw.edu.
##
Vermont Law School, a private, independent institution, has the top-ranked environmental law program and one of the top-ranked clinical training programs in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. VLS offers a Juris Doctor curriculum that emphasizes public service, a Master of Environmental Law and Policy degree and two post-JD degrees, the Master of Laws in Environmental Law and the LLM in American Legal Studies (for foreign-trained lawyers). The school features innovative experiential programs and is home to the Environmental Law Center and the South Royalton Legal Clinic. For more information, visit www.vermontlaw.edu.

John Cramer
Associate Director, Media Relations
Vermont Law School
164 Chelsea Street, PO Box 96
South Royalton, VT 05068
Office: 802-831-1106
Cell: 540-798-7099
jcramer@vermontlaw.edu
www.vermontlaw.edu
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Vermont AG William Sorrell, right, said his office lacked the evidence needed to bring criminal charges against Vermont Yankee Officials. At left is Asst. Attorney Gen. John Treadwell. VTD/Josh Larkin

Entergy Corp. filed a motion with the U.S. District Court on Friday to recover $4.6 million in legal fees for its lawsuit against the state.

The Louisiana company prevailed in federal court on Jan. 20 when Judge J. Garvan Murtha struck down two state laws that required Entergy to seek approval from the Legislature to continue operating Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant past its 40-year anniversary and to store high level nuclear waste at the plant site.

The state has 30 days to appeal the decision.

Entergy says it is entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees because it also prevailed on its claim under the Commerce Clause.

Chanel Lagarde, spokesman for Entergy, said in a written statement that “the law allows for the prevailing party to seek recovery of attorney’s fees.”

“We believe this is the appropriate next step for our company in this case where we were compelled to challenge several Vermont state laws that we believed were unconstitutional and were in fact found to be unconstitutional,” Lagarde said.

Download the motion Entergy Attorney Claims 2-3-12.

Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell said he expected Entergy to request attorneys’ fees.

“I was certain it would be all of seven figures, I just didn’t know how far into seven figures it would be,” Sorrell said. “It’s a little higher than I thought.”

Sorrell said “they threw a lot of legal horsepower at us, they went into the record extensively and they charged New York City rates.”

Entergy hired Kathleen Sullivan, the dean of Stanford Law School, to litigate the case. Sullivan was on the short list of candidates for Obama’s recent Supreme Court appointment, and she has been described as “one of the most trusted advocates before the United States Supreme Court.” Sullivan unearthed a detailed record in which she said lawmakers made references to safety as justification for a decision to deny Entergy a permit to continue operating the 40-year-old nuclear plant for an additional 20 years. States can’t regulate the safety of a plant under federal law; safety is the purview of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The state can challenge the amount of the fee, Sorrell said. “This is a long way from over,” he said.

Sorrell said his office can question whether the lawyers’ hourly rates and the amount of time they spent on the case was reasonable. Entergy can’t claim relief for any legal work related to the questions about the reliability of the nuclear plant, he said.

It’s not unusual for litigants to go through a mediation process and retain experts to review attorneys’ fees, according to Sorrell.

“It’s not that they get to say this is what you give us,” Sorrell said. “There’s a lot of lawyering to be done on a request of this magnitude.”

Sorrell pointed to the prescription datamining case as an example of how the state has negotiated with other litigants. The state lost the case against IMS, a drug datamining company last summer in proceedings before the U.S. Supreme Court. The attorney general said he couldn’t reveal how much IMS is requesting for attorneys’ fees, but he said the state is negotiating with the company to reach a settlement. The state has already settled with one of the litigants in the case, Pharma, an advocacy group affiliated with IMS for about $1.75 million.

Will Entergy’s $4.6 million request affect Sorrell’s decision to appeal? “Not really,” he said.

“Some have speculated that we would be intimidated by the amount not to go further with an appeal,” Sorrell said. “Others have said it reinforces the reasonableness of an appeal because if the decision is overturned we don’t pay a dime. We’ll look at the appeal on its own merits.”

Cheryl Hanna, a professor at Vermont Law School and an expert on constitutional law and the U.S. Supreme Court, said the judge ruled that the state of Vermont violated Entergy’s constitutional rights and that entitles Entergy to legal fees.

“As a general rule, we allow that,” Hanna said. “We want to give incentives to enforce constitutional rights even when there is no money involved.”

Vermont doesn’t have to pay damages, she said, but “we allow for requests for attorneys’ fees so that lawyers will take these (constitutional rights) cases.” Hanna said fees are requested for a wide range of cases whether the litigants are inmates or multi-million dollar corporations.

Hanna says it will be up to court to decide how much to award.

“Unless the state prevails on all counts, we will probably end up paying for Entergy’s lawyers,” she said. “We don’t get a discount rate because we’re in Vermont. The court will force us to pay New York rates.”

Last year, the Shumlin administration pushed for a “billback” provision that requires Entergy to pay the state’s legal fees. Sorrell advised the Legislature to move ahead with the change in statute, which would make Entergy Corp. liable for the state’s legal expenses, including responses to public records requests and the preparation of litigation in the case.

Whether the court would honor this provision, in light of the judge’s dismissal of the state’s authority in matters of pre-emption, is an open question.

Editor’s note: This story was updated 5:40 a.m. and again at 6:25 a.m. Feb. 4.

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SOUTH ROYALTON, VT –– Following a federal study released Monday showing pythons’ devastating impact on the Everglades, a new study by a Vermont Law School alumnus proposes a detailed comprehensive federal law to curtail invasive and exotic animal species that are causing environmental, economic and public health risks across the American landscape.

“Forget the war on drugs. What the United States needs is a war on invasive animal species,” writes Jane Graham, author of the study, titled “Snakes on a Plain, or in a Wetland: Fighting Back Invasive Nonnative Animals—Proposing a Federal Comprehensive Invasive Nonnative Animal Species Statute.” The attached article is published in Volume 25, Issue 1 of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal.

The proposed law addresses creatures great and small—from Burmese pythons that are devouring native wildlife in the Everglades (according to a study by the U.S. Geological Study released Monday) to the lions, tigers and bears released from a private compound in Ohio in October.

Scholars and regulators have advised the federal government to create a comprehensive scheme, but no such statute or proposed statute exists.

“U.S. laws dealing with the critical problem of invasive species are lacking central pieces and are uncoordinated,” writes Graham, who received an LL.M. in environmental law from Vermont Law School in 2011. “A new comprehensive statute could improve mechanisms for prevention, punishment, cost recovery and incentives.”

The United States’ current menagerie of federal, state and local laws are ineffective in controlling Burmese pythons, Asian carp, zebra mussels, exotic pets and other invaders that are causing a growing amount of environmental degradation, economic waste, public health risks, human injuries and wildlife trafficking, according to the study.

Graham argues that current federal statutes and frameworks—including the Lacey Act, Executive Order 13112, National Invasive Species Act and laws that deal with single species—are either too broad or too narrow; lack cost recovery and incentive tools; are reactive; do not have the force of law; are too vague; or lack significant penalties.

Other laws—such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and the Animal Health Protection Act as well as state laws, public nuisance laws, free market solutions and exotic pet restrictions—also are insufficient, according to the article.

The article proposes a model federal law that calls for:

A “clean” list of species that are allowed into the country instead of the current “dirty” list that prohibits specific species.

A process that explains exactly how risk assessment decisions will be determined.

Uniform restrictions on exotic—and potentially all—animal ownership.

Increased public awareness of invasive animal laws.

Higher and uniform fines and criminal penalties for violations.

Methods to fund restoration of ecosystems damaged by invasive species.

Entrepreneurship and partnerships between government and private businesses.

Graham is available to comment at janecynthiagraham@gmail.com or 561.271.5766. Her article was written with guidance from her master’s thesis advisor VLS Assistant Professor Pamela Vesilind. Graham is currently Everglades Policy Associate for Audubon of Florida in Miami.

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Contact
John Cramer
Office: 802.831.1106
jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT –– Vermont Law School will offer a unique new course this summer designed to help senior electric utility executives gain a better understanding of the legal basics critical to operating an effective utility company.

The rigorous two-week class will give executives the legal foundation to more fully understand the utility regulatory framework, the role of federal and state energy regulatory commissions and how to operate more effectively within these structures.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) supported VLS’s Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) development of the course, which is modeled after similar utility executive training courses at MIT and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

“We expect 12 to 15 high-potential, forward-thinking electric utility executives to attend this special course,” said Professor Michael Dworkin, director of the IEE.

Beginning with the basic functions of government and building on the interplay among state, federal and regional oversight when planning new energy infrastructure, the VLS course will offer a broad overview of the legal framework governing the utility.

“Many utility executives work their way through the utility ranks from business and engineering backgrounds and don’t have a strong understanding of the law as it relates to running a utility business,” Dworkin said. “EPRI recognized this gap in the executive training ranks and asked VLS to fill it.”

Mike Howard, EPRI’s president and CEO, said VLS’s course, titled “Legal Essentials for Utility Executives,” will be of great value to its attendees. “This is a must-attend program for utility executives interested in building their credentials and gaining a better understanding of the laws and lawyers they will have to effectively deal with throughout their career,” he said.

EPRI, an independent, nonprofit organization, conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public.

The VLS course will be June 17-30 at the Vermont State House in Montpelier. Registration deadline is March 15. More information is available at www.vermontlaw.edu/legalessentials

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Contact
John Cramer
Office: 802.831.1106
jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

SOUTH ROYALTON, VT –– Vermont Law School has surpassed its goal of $15 million for the Campaign for Vermont Law School, with total gifts and commitments currently totaling $15.3 million.

The funds will support student financial aid, a new Center for Legal Services, programs that improve national environmental and energy policies, and educational initiatives that produce highly skilled lawyers at home and abroad.

VLS hopes to raise another $1 million to $2 million before closing the campaign when Dean and President Jeff Shields retires at the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

It has been VLS’s most successful capital fund drive in its nearly 40-year history, surpassing the $11.3 million raised in 2005 for the renovation of historic Debevoise Hall, the main administration building, and the $6 million raised in 1998 for the construction of Oakes Hall, the main classroom building.

The campaign was launched silently in September 2008 with a gift from trustee Fran Yates that went toward the purchase of the former Freck’s department store, a historic building and landmark in downtown South Royalton. The building, which is being renovated according to VLS’s standards for stewardship of the environment, will house the law school’s clinical programs and become the new Center for Legal Services.

“This project represents the best of what a Vermont Law School education provides with a focus on the importance of clinical opportunities for students,” said Shields. “The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC) and the South Royalton Legal Clinic (SRLC) have a long history of community service, and this building provides them with a new state-of-the-art home and room to grow.”

Building on the generous gift that helped launch the Center for Legal Services project, Dean Shields, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Ed Mattes ‘83 and campaign committee chair and trustee Jimmy Hanson ’83 pushed forward with a plan to create robust financial support for core environmental programs and scholarships for VLS students.

“Vermont Law School has some of our country’s leading experts in energy policy and environmental law,” Dean Shields said. “Our faculty have been asked by President Obama to serve in senior government positions and by our state’s leadership to draft legislation that affects the way in which Vermont utilities construct their business models. It’s rewarding to see philanthropic support for this work and the students who can carry forward this legacy of leadership.”

Fundraising highlights of the Campaign for Vermont Law School include:

• $9.5 million for VLS’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law, ENRLC and SRLC
• $1.3 million for student scholarships and loan repayment assistance programs
• $2 million for the Center for Legal Services
• $1.25 million to launch a new Center for Agriculture and Food Systems

Vermont Law School’s alumni include about 6,000 individuals, many of whom work in fields relating to environmental law and energy policy. Founded in 1972, VLS is a private, independent law school that has focused on foundation and government grants in its fundraising efforts to date. At the same time, the Campaign for Vermont Law School has seen more than 2,000 VLS alumni contribute to the effort since 2008, with annual giving totaling more than $1.3 million during this period, which is also a record.

“VLS alumni have committed to this effort in a way they never have before,” said Shields. “The law school’s programs are in a position of strength today due in large part to their generosity.”

Dean Shields and Chairman Mattes will launch the public phase of the campaign at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Vermont State House in Montpelier. The media are invited to attend.

VLS officials will discuss the evolving state of legal education and the legal profession. They also will discuss how VLS is adapting to that changing landscape, in part, by emphasizing clinical and experiential programs that prepare its graduates to be skilled litigators, policy analysts, public interest advocates, entrepreneurs and leaders in other areas.

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