JASON J. CZARNEZKI

As Faculty Director of the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law at Vermont Law School, I am pleased to post this press release:

Vermont Law School to Support Environmental Reform in Myanmar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 11, 2012

CONTACT:
Carol Westberg, Director of Marketing and Communications, Vermont Law School
Office: cwestberg

Martin Cosier, U.S.-China Partnership LLM Fellow, cell: martincosier

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SOUTH ROYALTON, VT –– Vermont Law School (VLS) announced today that it has received a one-year grant from the blue moon fund to support environmental governance training and education in Myanmar as the nation prepares for considerable foreign investment.

Coming on the heels of a historic visit by President Barack Obama, the $300,000 grant recognizes that the next phases of political and economic reform in Myanmar represent an opportunity to protect large areas of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot from the looming threat of development. Accordingly, the initial emphasis of the project is to provide key government officials, legislators, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and business leaders with a range of legal and policy tools that can be quickly adopted to provide broad scale protection of the country’s key biodiversity areas.

The project is expected to begin in early 2013. It will focus on developing a comprehensive program that utilizes legal and policy tools to protect valuable natural resources. Preparing advice for members of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (the legislature of Myanmar) on integrating environmental considerations in foreign investment decisions is among the planned activities.

“This grant offers Vermont Law School a unique opportunity to expand its footprint into Southeast Asia,” said Marc Mihaly, president and dean of VLS. “Our deep experience building capacity and developing environmental governance policies in China will allow us to make a constructive difference to this emerging and important nation.”

Following a scoping mission earlier this year to Myanmar, members of the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law at VLS realized that their expertise and success in advancing the rule of law to protect China’s environment could be applied to the fragile ecosystems of Myanmar. “We saw first-hand the need and opportunity for economic development, but also the impact it would have on Myanmar’s environment,” said Siu Tip Lam, Assistant Professor of Law and Program Director. “Our interest lies in assisting Myanmar’s leaders to enact and enforce strong protections for Myanmar’s valuable and abundant environmental resources in ways that enable the country’s sustainable development.”

In addition to assisting with the rapid adoption of strong environmental protections for Myanmar’s natural resources, the project will help improve knowledge of, and skills in, environmental law among government officials, members of the judiciary, NGOs, business leaders and educators. The project will also aim to help create a broad environmental regulatory framework that will allow for both sound environmental management and the encouragement of sustainable investment opportunities.

Founded in 1973, VLS (www.vermontlaw.edu) became the top-ranked environmental law school in the United States by training its students to act as agents of change in pursuit of the VLS mission, “law for the community and the world.” It currently has 56 full-time, 10 part-time and 75 adjunct faculty and some 735 students pursuing JD and other advanced degrees, including a Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP) and an LLM in Environmental Law.

In 2006, with the support from the USAID, VLS launched the U.S.-China Partnership (www.vermontlaw.edu/china) to advance environmental governance and rule of law in China. In addition to receiving renewals of the USAID grant in 2009 and 2012, the U.S.-China Partnership is also currently administering two environmental advocacy programs in China funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Kunming.

Based in Charlottesville, VA, blue moon fund (www.bluemoonfund.org) was established in April 2002 by Diane Edgerton Miller and Patricia Jones Edgerton. Together they shared more than 70 years of experience in philanthropy and dedication to preserving the sustainable quality of life on our planet. blue moon fund emerged from the 2001 restructuring of the W. Alton Jones Foundation, which had been created in 1944 by Pat’s father and Diane’s grandfather, W. Alton Jones. Led by Diane, blue moon fund is continuing with a strategic, initiative-based philanthropy that helps improve the human relationship to the natural world. The blue moon fund is characterized by its holistic approach, its risk taking, its nimbleness, and its commitment to cutting-edge ideas in both programs and investments.

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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 international students). 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.

From Political Wire:

President Obama is “putting in place the building blocks for a climate treaty requiring the first fossil fuel emissions cuts from both the U.S. and China,” Businessweek reports.

“State Department envoy Todd Stern is in Doha this week working to clear the path for an international agreement by 2015. While Obama failed to deliver on his promise to start a cap-and-trade program in his first term, he’s working on policies that may help cut greenhouse gases 17 percent by 2020 in the U.S., historically the world’s biggest polluter.”

With articles by the AP and the National Law Journal, it was only a matter of time before the law prof blogsphere began commentary on potential faculty buyouts at Vermont Law School. The NLJ piece states, quoting my Dean Marc Mihaly:

“I think it’s safe to say that some sort of voluntary buyout package will be offered to the faculty, and I think it will be early next year,” Mihaly said. “We don’t want to go there if we don’t have to.”

The Faculty Lounge is up with this commentary. The post concludes:

“It remains to be seen whether Vermont is headed toward faculty buyouts, but if this is a sign of a trend, we should all be paying close attention (at every level). What is tenure worth? Can it be assigned a dollar value? Is there some idiosyncratic or personal value attached to this form of property (see my earlier post on personality theory)? Is it fungible? Can partner buyouts at underperforming law firms be a model for these initiatives? I look forward to your thoughts on this.”

UPDATE:

Additional commentary/stories:

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2012/11/vermont-law-school.html

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/11/a-law-school-finally-does-something-about-decreasing-applications-and-starts-firing-people/

http://www.wcax.com/story/20189007/vls-prepares-for-belt-tightening

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202579363738&slreturn=20121026195213

http://www.boston.com/news/education/2012/11/25/law-school-cutting-jobs-preparing-for-changes/QlBibvMJqGla0P9FAuSEPI/story.html

The U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law (“China Program”) at Vermont Law School invites applications for a two-year graduate fellowship starting in August 2013. The fellowship combines the opportunity to obtain an LLM in Environmental Law or an LLM in American Legal Studies from one of the leading environmental law programs in the nation with the opportunity to gain practical international environmental law experience on a variety of policy coordination, research, and educational outreach projects. The fellowship includes a full tuition waiver. A salary stipend may be available for the selected LLM fellow depending on available funding.

Nature of the Fellowship
The LLM fellow will work closely with the faculty director, the program director and other team members of the China Program to help coordinate and implement the range of projects being carried out. In addition to pursuing an LLM in Environmental Law or an LLM in American Legal Studies, the fellow will work closely with China Program faculty and will take the lead role in at least one major project.

The goal of the China Program is to strengthen the rule of law in environmental protection and to build capacity among individuals and academic, government, and private-sector institutions to solve pollution and energy problems. The program has three main objectives:

• strengthen the capacity of the Chinese educational, governmental, nonprofit, and business sectors to become effective environmental and energy problem solvers
• improve China’s policies, systems, laws, and regulations to advance the development and enforcement of environmental and energy law and to help develop the rule of law
• enhance municipal, provincial, national, and international networks in China to advance best practices in environmental protection and energy regulation

These objectives are being pursued through environmental and energy law workshops and conferences in China and the U.S., through efforts to build the institutional capacity of law schools, NGOs, courts, and government agencies, and through student and faculty-led research and policy development projects.

For more information about the U.S.-China Partnership for
Environmental Law, please visit the program’s homepage,
http://www.vermontlaw.edu/china.

LLM in Environmental Law
The LLM in Environmental Law degree is designed for a select group of post-JD candidates seeking to specialize in the practice of
environmental law, or pursue careers in teaching, research, or public policy. Candidates include recent law school graduates and practicing lawyers who wish to develop an environmental law specialty. The cornerstone of the LLM program is the Graduate Seminar. A minimum of 30 academic credits are required to complete the program. For the China Program fellow, this thirty credit program is spread over two years. Vermont Law School’s environmental law curriculum includes more than fifty courses in environmental law, policy, science, and ethics. For more information about the LLM in Environmental Law degree program, please visit the LLM degree page.
LLM in American Legal Studies
The Master of Laws in American Legal Studies is specifically designed for students who hold a law degree from an institution outside of the United States. Our LLM students take all their courses together with the JD students, so they have immersion in the US law school experience. The required courses provide a solid foundation in US law and US legal method. Again, for the China Program fellow, the LLM in American Legal Studies program is spread over two years. Some US states permit foreign lawyers who earn an LLM in US law to take the bar exam and be admitted to practice in their state, if certain other requirements are met. For more information about the LLM in American Legal Studies program, please visit the LLM degree page.

Fellowship Qualifications
Qualifications for the China Program LLM Fellowship include: • admission to the LLM in Environmental Law or the LLM in American Legal Studies programs
• a demonstrated commitment to environmental or energy issues in China/Asia • prior practice or other experience in environmental or energy law • strong legal writing and communications skills
• some Chinese language skills or acquiring such skills

How to Apply for the Fellowship
Applicants interested in the China Program LLM Fellowship must submit the LLM application to the Vermont Law School admissions office by March 1, 2013. In addition to materials required for LLM
applications, applicants need to submit a brief statement (not longer than one single-spaced page) explaining the applicant’s interest in the fellowship. Decisions on the China Program LLM Fellowship will be made by May 1, 2013.
If you have any question about the China Program LLM Fellowship, please contact Jingjing Liu, the Associate Director of the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law, at aliu@vermontlaw.edu.

Dear Fellow Law Profs around my age and/or Anyone who graduated law school in early 2000s and works for a non-profit:

According to a Brian Leiter post, “Graduates who perform 120 months of public service (at least 30 hours a week for any federal, state, or local government, or
any 501(c)(3) organization) get forgiveness after 10 years instead of 20 years. ” Is this true? If so, what is the process for loan forgiveness since ten years is or will soon be up?

http://leiterlawschool.typepad.com/leiter/2012/11/a-change-in-federal-student-loan-repayment-plans.html

I love Election Day! It should be a national holiday. I think I only like Thanksgiving more. Go Vote!

Vermont Law School is pleased to announce that Laurie Ristino has been selected as the first director of the law school’s recently created Center for Agriculture and Food Systems. Laurie also will serve as an Associate Professor of Law. She is currently a senior counsel with the Office of the General Counsel at USDA in Washington, D.C., where she advises the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Forest Service on a host of legal issues. A national expert in the
conservation and preservation of American working lands, she has advised the USDA on conservation program implementation under the 2002 and 2008 farm bills and has been advising on the development of the 2012 farm bill. She also is a professorial lecturer in law at George Washington University Law School, where she teaches a course that explores the critical need to develop sustainable American food systems.

Yesterday was the third annual Colloquium on Environmental Scholarship at Vermont Law School. We had an impressive schedule this year. In terms of session highlights (of the ones I attended), Sarah Schindler’s "Banning Lawns" proved provocative, and the panel with Todd Aagaad and Jan Jans lead to an great conversation about what should be considered "environmental law." Now I have 48 hours to relax until trying to pick a date for next year’s Colloquium!