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  • Gone Fishin': Prof. Parenteau Analyzes Court Ruling on Recreationists' Access to Reservoir
    Vermont Law School Professor Pat Parenteau talked to WCAX recently about the Vermont Supreme Court's recent ruling that the city of Montpelier does not currently have the authority from the state to restrict public recreation at its drinking water supply. Watch the story. "One of the ironies here is that the city of Montpelier is liable for delivering water to its customers that is in any way impaired by the activities that occur in Berlin Pond and yet Montpelier doesn't have the authority to protect and prevent that kind of harm from occurring," said Parenteau, whose expertise includes water resources and public lands. Parenteau said city officials have two options -- the first, going to the state Water Resources Panel and persuading them that Berlin Pond will be harmed by recreation, something they have been unable to do in the past. "The other option would be to go to the Legislature and get a clear delegated authority to amend the charter for the city of Montpelier to directly regulate activities at Berlin Pond," he said.  

  • Prof. McCann Breaks Down Roger Clemens Trial in Sports Illustrated
    Roger Clemens may have to testify if his chief accuser hits a home run on the witness stand in the former baseball star's trial over whether he lied about using steroids and human growth hormone, Vermont Law School Professor Michael McCann wrote in his latest column in Sports Illustrated. Read the full column at SI.com. McCann, a nationally recognized expert in sports law, antitrust, and law and economics, is director of VLS's Sports Law Institute, Sports Illustrated's legal analyst, "Sports Law" columnist on SI.com (CNNSI) and an on-air legal analyst for NBA TV. "More than four years since he and Roger Clemens gave contradictory testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Brian McNamee appeared before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton over the last two days to answer questions from government prosecutors. In doing so, he provided the most pivotal testimony yet in U.S. v. Clemens. McNamee also set the table for a contentious showdown with Clemens' lawyers as they cross-examine him late this afternoon and into tomorrow.... "If McNamee excels during cross-examination, Clemens' legal team may have no choice but to call Clemens to the stand and ask him to rebut McNamee's account. It would be a risky maneuver, since Clemens would have to also face cross-examination. His bravado and often inflexible choice of words could doom him when facing crafty questions from prosecutors. But not letting Clemens testify could also be major blunder and would be highlighted in the event he is convicted. McNamee's testimony on cross-examination, in other words, could be the trial's game changer."The government can still obtain a conviction of Clemens without the jury fully believing McNamee. In addition to perjury and false statement counts, Clemens is also defending against a count for obstruction of Congress. The charge refers to impeding and interfering with a Congressional investigation. It is plausible that jurors could reason that the government did not prove that Clemens knowingly lied under oath, but nonetheless showed that Clemens' interactions with the investigation were sufficiently misleading or distortive to warrant an obstruction conviction. While Clemens would face a maximum of five years in prison for such a conviction, Judge Walton could decline to impose any prison time and instead impose probation, community service and house arrest -- just like that assigned to Barry Bonds, who was likewise convicted on obstruction charges."  

  • Six VLS Students Named Schweitzer Fellows
    The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship announced today that six Vermont Law School students are part its 2012-13 class of New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows. The 29 graduate students will spend the next year learning to address the social factors that impact health, developing lifelong leadership skills and living physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer's message of service. Joining approximately 220 other 2012-13 Schweitzer Fellows at 12 program sites throughout the U.S., the New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows will partner with local community-based organizations to develop and implement yearlong, mentored service projects that improve the health and well-being of underserved people -- all on top of their regular academic responsibilities. The 2012-13 VLS Schweitzer Fellows, who join a long list of previous Fellows from Vermont Law School, are: • Daniel Liebowitz and Ariel Solaski will launch a LPFM radio station for Royalton, Vermont, and surrounding towns with programming that emphasizes community health and well-being. The radio station will serve as a platform for community members of all ages and interests to collaborate, share knowledge, and engage in discussion. • Stephanie Peters will work to grow the client and volunteer base and raise community visibility for Rutland Volunteer Garden Service, a program launched by Schweitzer Fellow Kate Thomas that pairs teens and seniors to provide gardening help and promote cross-generation connections. • Robin Seila will implement yoga and meditation programming for senior citizens and cancer patients at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. • Karen White will partner with Have Justice-Will Travel, which was founded by Schweitzer Fellow and VLS alumna Wynona Ward, to help provide legal assistance for victims of domestic violence. • Natalie Wicklund will work with Safeline to educate high school students in the Upper Valley area about dating violence with the goal of reducing such instances. Since 1996, VLS Schweitzer Fellows have each contributed at least 200 hours of service annually to community projects they create. The 2011-12 VLS Fellows were Theo Fetter ‘12, William Tucker ‘12, Sarah Mooney ‘13, Ida Nininger ‘13, Vikram Patel ‘13 and Kate Thomas ‘13. The 2010-11 VLS Fellows were Kelly Connolly ‘12, Renee Gregory ‘11, Maximilian Merrill ‘12, Allison Silverman ‘12 and Michelle Tarnelli ‘12. Since 1996, the New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program has supported more than 350 Schweitzer Fellows in delivering nearly 70,000 hours of service. The program is funded entirely through charitable donations and grants. Sponsors include Vermont Law School, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation in New Hampshire, the Byrne Foundation, the Couch Family Foundation, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, the Grafton County Medical Society, Hypertherm, Inc., the Lintilhac Foundation, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, University of New Hampshire School of Law, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth and the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Founded in 1940 to support Dr. Albert Schweitzer's medical work in Africa, ASF is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop Leaders in Service: individuals who are dedicated and skilled in meeting the health needs of underserved communities and whose example influences and inspires others.

  • Vermont Law School Marks First Anniversary of Nation’s First Fully Online Environmental Master’s Program
    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. "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 Learn more information about VLS's distance learning program. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • Commencement Weekend Highlights to Include Opening of Center for Legal Services, Talk by Nature Conservancy President
    SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School will mark its 37th annual commencement weekend May 18-19 with a talk by the head of the world's leading conservation group and the opening of a new legal clinics building to benefit needy families and the environment. VLS will officially open the Center for Legal Services at 11:30 a.m., Friday, May 18 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that includes U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Gov. Peter Shumlin, Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber and other officials. The historic building at 190 Chelsea St. underwent a $3.5 million renovation to convert it into the new home for the South Royalton Legal Clinic and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. The two clinics provide millions of dollars of free legal services annually in the name of environmental stewardship, social justice and public interest. Mark Tercek, the president and chief executive officer of The Nature Conservancy, will discuss new strategies needed in conservation and ways that VLS graduates can play a role in protecting the environment. His talk will be at 3:30 p.m., Friday, May 18 in the Chase Community Center. The Nature Conservancy is the world's leading conservation organization working around the world to save the lands and waters that sustain all life. Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber will deliver the keynote speech at commencement at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 19 on the South Royalton town green. Honorary degrees will be awarded to Reiber, Tercek and Edwin Colodny, a former VLS trustee, former president and CEO of US Airways, former interim president of the University of Vermont and former interim CEO of Fletcher Allen Health Care. The events are free and open to the public. More information is available at our Commencement pages. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • China Fellow Moser Discusses True Costs of Conservation
    A recent editorial by media personality John Stossel about the costs of environmental protection prompted a response in the Huffington Post from Adam Moser, a China Environment Fellow and Energy Law Fellow at Vermont Law School's U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law. Moser rebutted Stossel's claims in a commentary on the Huffington Post's Green blog. "I'm sure almost every country has someone like John Stossel -- a self-righteous media personality who depicts the world in black and white, and whose appeal, to a section of the population, lies precisely in his oversimplified take on what are very complex matters," Moser wrote. "If Stossel thinks that environmentalists are making U.S. energy prices rise, his understanding of markets and world events is skewed beyond belief. I invite him to come to China, so that he might understand why global energy prices are rising. China will struggle with leaving a dirty economic model behind because it is always easier to preference short-term economic growth over investments in value creating conservation for the future. But at least China realizes there are real physical constraints to its landfills and to its fossil fueled growth. If it doesn't realize this, then American environmentalists should be the least of Stossel's concerns." Moser, whose specialties are environmental energy law and policy in the United States and China, has a JD degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and a master of laws degree in environmental law and energy law from Vermont Law School.

  • Kaifala '13 Says Libya Should Bring Former Leaders to Justice
    Vermont Law School student Joseph Kaifala '13 recently wrote a commentary titled "Libya - Not the International Court - Should Bring Former Leaders to Justice" in PolicyMic. "The International Criminal Court (ICC) has charged three Libyans - Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, former honorary chairman of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, acting as de facto Prime Minister of Libya; Abdullah Al-Senussi, colonel in the Libyan Armed Forces and former head of the military intelligence; and the late Muammar Gaddafi, who served as head of state," Kaifala wrote. "The three were indicted for crimes against humanity committed during the Libyan Revolution in 2011.... Since the end of the revolution, the ICC has been trying to get the Libyan government to surrender the accused to the Court at The Hague, but the Libyan government has consistently refused to extradite.... "The Libyan government has emphasized its willingness to bring the accused to justice under national jurisdiction. The ICC should withdraw its warrants and let the Libyan criminal system render justice for the Libyan people. We cannot judge the alleged inadequacy of the Libyan justice system if we do not allow it to operate. The accused are charged with crimes committed against the Libyan people and they must be held accountable to Libyans where their government has expressed commitment to justice and national reconciliation." Kaifala is executive director of the Jeneba Project, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving education for children in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. He was born in Sierra Leone and spent his early childhood in Liberia and Guinea. He speaks six languages and holds a master's degree in international relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

  • Prof. Apel Explores "Newfangled Families"
     In a recent story headlined "Newfangled Families," the Valley News featured the MedLaw Seminar taught by Vermont Law School Professor Susan Apel, director of the General Practice Program, and Judy Stern, a professor at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine. The seminar, which started in 1999, explores the legal and social complexities that can result when couples use assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to create a family. The rate of ART procedures in the United States has doubled over the past decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Copntrol and Prevention. More than 1 percent of all infants born in the United States every year are conceived using ART. With rising rates of infertility and more couples desiring to have children outside the traditional male-female marriage structure, the prevalence of technology-assisted pregnancies is likely to increase. "Stern and Apel connected after they realized each needed the expertise of the other," the Valley News reported. "Stern, the doctor, wanted to learn more about the potential legal issues involved in newfangled fertility procedures. And Apel, the professor, had received her training in family law before many of these procedures were even in existence. "'I realized I was teaching this old-fashioned family law,' Apel said. 'I needed to understand more about the new technology. Most of these (legal) cases, with some exceptions, are dealt with on a state-by-state basis. You have 50 different jurisdictions that may be coming to different results... It's a difficult assignment for the courts. they're working with very little precendent from anywhere else.'" Learn more about VLS's MedLaw Seminar and General Practice Program.

  • Prof. McCann Explores Truths, Myths about Roger Clemens Trial
    In his latest Sports Illustrated column, Vermont Law School Professor Michael McCann discusses myths and truths about the U.S. Justice Department's prosecution of former baseball star Roger Clemens and about the Congressional hearing on the clinical effects of HGH, vitamin B-12 and other performance-enhancing drugs and motivations for athletes to use them. "As the Roger Clemens trial plods along, many are asking, in one form or another: Why did Congress waste millions of our tax dollars to investigate if a baseball player used steroids?" wrote McCann, one of the nation's leading sports law experts and the director of VLS's Sports Law Institute. He also is a legal analyst for Sports Illustrated and the "Sports Law" columnist on CNNSI (SI.com)."It's a question that has been repeatedly asked since Clemens testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Feb. 13, 2008 and defiantly claimed that he had never used illegal steroids or Human Growth Hormone. The committee's doubts about Clemens' truthfulness led to an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, a nearly 16-month grand jury proceeding, perjury charges, a mistrial last summer and, finally, a new trial. All told, millions of tax dollars have been spent by the federal government investigating and prosecuting Clemens."The lingering belief that the Congressional hearings and subsequent developments were all a foolish use of government time and money has not gone away. Prospective jurors even admitted to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton that they felt the Congressional hearings were wasteful. One potential juror went so far to describe it as 'a little bit ridiculous' that Congress would investigate Clemens instead of numerous matters more crucial to the nation. As expected, attorneys for Clemens have tried to capitalize on this sentiment in their defense. They hope to persuade jurors to nullify the government's case on grounds that it never should have been brought to trial."While there are legitimate criticisms of the investigation and prosecution of Clemens, myths and falsehoods about the infamous Congressional hearing in 2008 have emerged and are worthy of correction. You may even come to believe Congress was right, or at least justified, in calling Clemens to testify."

  • Dean Shields Honored with State House Resolution
    The Vermont General Assembly recently honored retiring Vermont Law School President and Dean Jeff Shields and his wife Genie with a resolution recognizing their dedication to VLS and Vermont over the last eight years. According to the resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Sarah Buxton '10: "Whereas, Dean Shields' leadership ushered in a stronger, more globally inclusive environmental network of clinics, institutes, and courses and also established path-breaking partnerships with universities in China, and "Whereas, his wife, Genie, created a support program (VLS Partners Group) for the men and women who dared to accompany their partners through law school, and the Shields hosted more than 600 events for various groups at their home, and "Whereas, significant new academic programs begun during Dean Jeff Shields' years on the VLS campus have included the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law, the Institute for Energy and the Environment, and the Agricultural Law Center, and "Whereas, major building projects during his tenure included the rehabilitation and expansion of the old South Royalton School, known as the Debevoise building, creation of a new Center for Legal Services, breaking ground for a new fitness center, and the opening of an outdoor classroom, now therefore be it "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That the General Assembly honors retiring Vermont Law School President Geoffrey B. Shields and his wife, Genie, for a remarkable period of educational growth, international outreach, physical improvements on campus, and the building of a stronger sense of school community..." Read the full resolution.  

  • Week of April 23
    Orion Magazine had an article in its May/June issue by Professor Gus Speth, the second of a two-part series based on his book "America the Possible: Roadmap to a New Economy," which will be published in September. The Burlington Free Press reported April 28 on the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law's symposium on managing floodwaters and other environmental impacts in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. The Burlington Free Press reported April 27 on Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., securing continued funding for VLS's U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law. USA Today talked to Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on April 26 about an energy company's request for federal loan guarantees for a centrifuge project to turn uranium hexafluoride into enriched fuel for nuclear plants nationwide. WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on April 25 about two bills in the Vermont Legislature that have raised legal questions--one concerning genetically-engineered food labeling and the other the Vermont Yankee tax bill. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch talked to Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on April 25 about the costs of small nuclear reactors. The Des Moines Register spoke with Mark Cooper on April 23 about the costs of new nuclear power plants. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.

  • Sen. Leahy Wins $3.9 M for VLS, ISC to Continue Environmental Work in China
    Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has rescued $3.9 million to continue the work of Vermont Law School's U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law and another pioneering Vermont organization 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 and the Vermont-based Institute for Sustainable Communities 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 that operate within U.S. environmental and safety standards. Read the full news release from Leahy's office.  

  • Dapolito '12 Examines International Law Issues
    Vermont Law School student Mollie Dapolito '12 recently published two articles in ILSA Quarterly about legal cases overseas. The first article, titled "Pakistani Prime Minister Appears in Court on Comtempt Charges," was on pages 18-19. The second article, titled "Congress of the Phillippines Impeaches the Chief Justice of Phillippines Supreme Court," was on pages 21-22. Read the articles. Dapolito is a regular contributor to ILSA Quarterly, an academic magazine published by the International Law Student Association that features articles written by students, scholars and practitioners about timely issues of international law and related topics.  

  • After Irene: VPR Reports on VJEL Symposium
    Tropical Storm Irene may be past, but its impact on Vermont continues to reverberate as government officials, property owners, conversationists, anglers and others look for better ways to manage rivers and floodwaters in the Green Mountain state. Vermont Public Radio reported on a recent symposium, titled "After Irene: Law and Policy Lessons for the Future," that was hosted by the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, a student-run online journal at Vermont Law School. "Vermont rivers program manager Michael Kline says Irene represents a turning point in how the state and communities approach rivers," VPR reported. "Even so, Kline says 40 percent of the river repairs done after Irene actually increased the danger from flooding. Kline says only recently have officials begun questioning the decades long practice of dredging, widening and straightening rivers after floods. Following Irene, Kline says the state river engineers are working with towns to take a new approach to managing rivers to better prepare for future floods."'We are beginning to look at our flood response differently so that instead of creating the fire hose effect out of our rivers, we can find out where they can dissipate some of that flood flow, where they can expend some of that flood energy,' he says."The key to that is protecting floodplains and the idea of giving rivers the room they need to overflow. Kline says Vermont's rivers can no longer access 75 percent of the floodplain that borders them. That's largely because of development and the way rivers have been altered. Better local planning can protect existing floodplains and mitigation programs could help clear out developed areas."

  • Jones '12, VLS to Receive Top Awards from Vermont Association for Justice
    Vermont Law School student Dee Jones '12 will receive the Martha Woodman Consumer Advocacy Award from the Vermont Association for Justice for her inspirational character and courageous challenge to the discriminatory practices of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, the VTAJ announced. The award will be presented at the VTAJ's annual meeting on May 18, where the group also will present the Frank G. Mahady Public Service Award to Vermont Law School for its support of Jones during her VLS career and her litigation. Jones, who is legally blind and has an auditory learning disability, won a preliminary injunction from a federal judge last year saying the Bar Examiners had to allow her to use a computer during the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, the legal ethics exam that all lawyers must take before they practice in most states. The computer allows Jones, who hopes to practice disability law, to use two types of software that enlarge text, highlight words in different colors and read text aloud, so that she can fully comprehend the material.

  • Kaifala '13 Says Military Coups Still Haunt African Democracy
    Vermont Law School student Joseph Kaifala '13 recently wrote a commentary titled "Military Coups Still Haunt African Democracy" in PolicyMic. "Recent events in Africa reawakened a ghost many of us thought was exorcised at the end of the last millennium, but the past few weeks have shown that the spirit of military coup d'états has not yet been laid to rest," he wrote. "There is no doubt that Mali, Guinea Bissau, and many other African countries need political change, but the African people should not settle for regression in governance. What we aspire to in the 21st century are governments of the people, by the people, and for the people. It is the people who hold the right to change their government, not the armed forces. The African people should remain adamant against reversing our humble achievements in democratic governance, and our regional organizations must stand by the will of the people, which is ballots not bullets." Kaifala is executive director of the Jeneba Project, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving education for children in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. He was born in Sierra Leone and spent his early childhood in Liberia and Guinea. He speaks six languages and holds a master's degree in international relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

  • Weeks of April 9, April 16
    Vermont Public Radio reported April 20 on the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law's symposium on managing floodwaters and other environmental impacts in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. In The New York Times on April 17, in his Sports Illustrated column on April 16 and on CNN (here and here) on April 16, Professor Michael McCann discussed the steroids retrial case of former baseball star Roger Clemens. The Missoulian (Montana) spoke with Adjunct Professor Jack Tuholske on April 16 about a potentially groundbreaking railroad lawsuit in California that could reverberate nationwide. A Jakarta Post (Indonesia) commentary on fuel subsidies and energy sustainability on April 16 cited research byAssociate Professor Benjamin Sovacool. The Times Argus/Herald had an article April 15 by VLS's smart grid team—Kevin Jones (smart grid project leader), Rebecca Wigg (smart grid fellow) and Allie Silverman '12 (research associate)—about the adoption of smart grid technology across Vermont. Sports Illustrated had an April 13 article co-authored by Professor Michael McCann, with assistance from Jon Hamlin '10, about former University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino trying to sidestep school guidelines to hire his mistress as the team's player development coordinator. New England Public Radio talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on April 13 about the proposed cleanup of the Housatonic River. USA Today, whose story ran April 15, and the Associated Press, whose April 12 and April 16 stories ran in The Washington Post, FOX News, Politico, The Guardian (United Kingdom), ABC News, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, Globe and Mail (Toronto), ESPN, Univision and hundreds of other media worldwide, talked to Professor Michael McCann about the steroids retrial case of former baseball star Roger Clemens.

  • Week of April 2
    The St. Louis Post-Dispatch cited Mark Cooper's research in an April 8 editorial on the costs and safety of nuclear power. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment. The Valley News reported April 8 on the Global Activism on LGBTI Issues conference hosted by the International and Comparative Law Program, Alliance, and International Law Society. CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on April 7 about the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen-ager shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer. ESPN-W spoke with Associate Professor Brian Porto on April 7 about myths associated with Title IX and on April 3 about the difficulties that women face in coaching college sports since the advent of Title IX. George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley, a nationally respected lawyer and legal educator who handles high profile cases, praised Professor Cheryl Hanna's constitutional law students in his prominent blog after he gave a talk on morality and the law at VLS.

  • Sports Industry Leaders to Advise Sports Law Institute
    Vermont Law School's Sports Law Institute recently announced its Board of Advisors, which includes some of America's top sports industry leaders, and the start of a Blue Chips program designed to give students the core skills, hands-on experience and research opportunities needed to succeed in the sports world. Among the luminaries on the SLI's board are Alan Milstein, one of the leading sports agents and litigators in the country; Jay Reisinger, attorney for Alex Rodriguez and other star baseball players; and B.J. Schecter, executive editor of Sports Illustrated and SI.com. "We're  honored that such an illustrious and dynamic group of people have stepped forward help to guide the Sports Law Institute and to provide opportunities for Vermont Law School's students," said Professor Michael McCann, director of the SLI and a nationally recognized expert in the fields of sports law, antitrust, and law and economics. He also is a legal analyst for Sports Illustrated and NBA TV and the sports law columnist for SI.com (CNNSI). Blue Chips, which will start in fall 2012, is an innovative program that will provide students with real-world, practical skills in sports law. Those skills include the drafting of employment and endorsement contracts, foundational knowledge in sports litigation and arbitration, and application of NCAA regulations. It will also include assistance on helping students obtain internships and jobs in sports law. The SLI  also recently held a successful Ski, Snowboarding and Resort Law panel discussion. "The panel was highly informative, wide-ranging and a great introduction for our students to the kinds of legal issues that arise in the skiing and snowboarding industries," said Associate Professor Brian Porto, deputy director of the SLI whose most recent book is titled "The Supreme Court and the NCAA: The Case for Less Commercialism and More Due Process in College Sports." The SLI's Advisory Board members are: Jeff Benedict, award-winning investigative journalist, attorney and best-selling author. Chris Brown, president of the Basketball and Entertainment Divisions of Orpehus Sports and Entertainment, whose clients include NBA players and music stars. Christopher Callanan, founding partner of Stevenson McKenna & Callanan and a seasoned sports litigator and agent who has represented professional and Olympic athletes and sports agents. Ralph Cindrich, sports agent and former NFL player who negotiated one of the landmark contracts in sports history that altered the salary hierarchy in the NFL. Neil Cornrich, NFLPA-certified agent/attorney and president of NC Sports who represents a number of prominent NFL coaches and players. Timothy Epstein, partner in Smith Amundsen where he is chair of the firm's Sports Law Group. Daniel Fitzgerald, sports attorney at Brody Wilkinson who provides counsel to clients on legal issues in amateur, collegiate and professional athletics. Robyn Glaser, senior adviser to the Kraft Sports Group. Joshua Golka, sports attorney who provides counsel to athlete agents, athletes and others with a focus on the laws and regulations governing athlete agents. Betsy Goff, sports attorney who previously was an executive at ABC and vice president of ESPN and IMG Legal. Jimmy Golen, Associated Press sports writer and Yale Law School graduate who has extensive experience covering legal matters in sports. Ken Gordon, senior director and assistant general counsel of ESPN. John Harper, vice president consulting at Wasserman Media Group who previously managed business development and brand initiatives with Sony and Nike. Jaimesen Heins, associate general counsel at Burton Snowboards. Darren Heitner, attorney who focuses his legal practice on sports, entertainment and music litigation and transactional work. Mark Hicks '06, associate director of High School Review at the NCAA Eligibility Center. Terence High, NFLPA-certified agent and attorney who represents NFL and college coaches. Donald Jackson, sports agent and attorney at The Sports Group whose clients include players and coaches. Nate Jones, digital media and professional athlete marketing attorney at Goodwin Sports Management. Rob Kaler 90', chief operating officer and general counsel of the U.S. Soccer Foundation and who previously litigated on behalf of the National Football League Players Association. Jon King, partner in Hausfeld LLP and one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs in In re NCAA Student-Athlete Name & Licensing Litigation, a nationwide class action also known as the Ed O'Bannon and Sam Keller litigation. Matthew Lane, sports attorney whose clients include Olympic athletes and professional runners. Jason Levien, co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and an attorney and sports agent who represents professional athletes across the globe. Lisa Masteralexis, department head and associate professor in the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a certified player agent with the Major League Baseball Players Association. Edward Mattes '83, chairman of the Vermont Law School Board of Trustees, co-owner of the Ogden Raptors and Connecticut Tigers minor league affiliates and co-founder and CEO of Avant Garde Therapeutics and Technologies LLC. Alan Milstein, co-managing shareholder of Sherman, Silverstein, Kohl, Rose & Podolsky, P.A., agent for star athletes and one of the leading sports litigators in the country. James McCurdy, president of the Pioneer Baseball League, former minor league team owner and distinguished sports law professor and author. Jim Munsey '84, president of Munsey Sports Management, a MLBPA certified agent whose clients include top Major League Baseball players. James Murphy, MLBPA certified agent at TWC Sports who represents some of the top Major League Baseball players. Eric Nyquist, vice president of Strategic Development of NASCAR and formerly executive vice president of the Chicago White Sox Enterprises and manager of Business Planning for the NFL.  Buster Olney, senior baseball writer for ESPN The Magazine and analyst for ESPN's Baseball Tonight. Katherine Potter, sports attorney at Burns Levensonwho represents teams/stadiums in mergers/acquisitions and in tax matters. Jay Reisinger, attorney for Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Sammy Sosa, Francisco Rodriguez and other big league players and a founding partner of Farreel & Reisigner, where he manages the sports law practice. Ryan Rodenberg, assistant professor at Florida State University and formerly associate general counsel at Octagon who also worked at the ATP World Tour and Nike. Joe Rosen, president of Baseball and Media Divisions of Orpheus Sports and Entertainment, which he co-founded, and an MLBPA certified agent. B.J. Schecter, executive editor of Sports Illustrated and SI.com and a faculty member of the Columbia University School of Journalism. John Shinn, MLBPA certified player agent and attorney. Dan Silverman, director of compliance in the Department of Athletics at Yale University. Greg Skidmore, litigation partner at Kirkland and Ellis and the founder and editor of Sports Law Blog. Brian Socolow, chair of the sports practice at the national law firm of Loeb & Loeb LLP. Debbie Spander, director of the Sports Lawyers Association and president of Spander Digital Sports & Entertainment. Bryan Stroh, vice president and general counsel of the Pittsburgh Pirates and previously a partner at Katten Muchin, where he represented the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Oakland A's. Sarah Eaton Stuart, associate general counsel of Reebok, where she is the senior lawyer responsible for global marketing and sports marketing. Michael Wall, vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Bauer Performance Sports and previously general counsel of TD Garden and the Boston Bruins. Andrew Weber '07, former general manager of the Connecticut Tigers and Oneonta Tigers. Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated and SI.com columnist and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School who has covered every sport as well as legal matters relating to sports. Mike Zarren, assistant general manger and legal counsel of the Boston Celtics who is considered one of the leading experts on role of analytics in basketball. Warren Zola, assistant dean for Graduate Programs in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and the chair of Boston College's Professional Sports Counseling Panel.

  • Vermont Law School to Host LGBTI Conference
    SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School's International and Comparative Law Program, Alliance, and International Law Society will host a conference on Saturday, April 7, to promote international advocacy to protect the human rights of LGBTI people. The event, titled "A World of Change: Global Activism on LGBTI Issues," is free and open to the public. It starts at 9 a.m. in the Chase Community Center. The conference will examine the early struggles in the movement and discuss the development of international legal standards; strategies on using U.N. human rights mechanisms; lessons learned on building a movement across the globe; and current challenges for future advocacy. Panels and group breakout sessions will provide opportunities to learn how to participate in campaigning on these issues today. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • Week of March 26
    CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on April 1 about the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen-ager shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer. The Burlington Free Press had an op-ed column by Visiting Professor Robert Rachlin on March 31 about the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen-ager shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer. The Brattleboro Reformer talked to Joe Cook '97 on March 31 about his interests in biking and the law. U.S.News & World Report, the Daily Kos and other media reported March 30-31 on Mark Cooper's new study on the costs of nuclear power. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment. WCAX spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna and FOX44 with Associate Professor Michele Martinez Campbell on March 29 about the charges against a Vermont couple accused of murdering a teacher in Vermont. In his Sports Illustrated column on March 28, Professor Michael McCann analyzed the proposed $2.15 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers. E&ENews PM talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 28 about the EPA's new rules for limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants. China Radio International spoke with Associate Professor Benjamin Sovacool on March 28 about the second Nuclear Security Summit. The Burlington Free Press and other media reported March 27 on a rally organized by the Black Law Students Association to call attention to the death of Trayvon Martin. WCAX talked to Associate Professor Michele Martinez Campbell on March 26 about self-defense laws and the death of Trayvon Martin.

  • Wynona Ward '98 Profiled in Documentary Film
    BYUtv aired a short documentary recently about Vermont Law School alumnus Wynona Ward '98 and the nonprofit legal group she founded, Have Justice--Will Travel, which advocates for battered, low-income women and children in Vermont. Ward, 60, who grew up in poverty in rural Vermont where family violence was common, was working as a long-haul trucker when she decided to take her life in a different direction in 1996. She enrolled at VLS, was awarded a Schweitzer Fellowship and went on to found Have Justice--Will Travel after graduating in 1998. Since then, the organization has provided free legal and social support to more than 10,000 women and children. Ward and her small staff visit victims of domestic violence in their homes, bridging the cultural, geographic and financial gaps that can separate victims and attorneys. Watch the documentary, which includes VLS's South Royalton Legal Clinic and Staff Attorney and Assistant Professor Alex Banks.

  • Legal Panel to Explore Skiing, Snowboarding and Resort Law
    SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School's Sports Law Institute will host a panel discussion on emerging legal issues in skiing, snowboarding and resort law in Vermont and nationwide at 12:45 p.m., Thursday, March 29 in the Chase Community Center. The event is free and open to the public. Topics will include tort implications of participating in ski and snowboarding; the role of assumption of risk in personal injury litigation involving ski and snowboarding; new state laws that promote safety, such as requiring skiers and snowboarders under 18 to wear helmets; the structuring of licensing and related ski and snowboarding contracts; the impact of international law on multi-national ski, snowboarding and resort transactions; the impact of controversial new regulations promulgated by the International Ski Federation; the ways the law can improve underprivileged persons' access to ski and snowboarding; and how changes to the law might address the expected impact of climate change on the ski, snowboarding and resort industries. Professor Michael McCann, director of the Sports Law Institute and one of the nation's leading sports law experts, will introduce the panel's speakers: VLS Associate Professor Brian Porto; Jaimesen Heins, associate general counsel at Burton Snowboards in Burlington; Andrew Maass, a Rutland attorney and the past president of the Association of Ski Defense Attorneys; and Parker Riehle, the president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • Week of March 19
    The Tampa Bay Times spoke with Mark Cooper on March 25 about the costs of nuclear power. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment. The Memphis Commercial Appeal talked to Professor Michael McCann on March 25 about legal hurdles to moving the Memphis Grizzlies out of town. CNN spoke with Alex Manning '06 on March 24 about the death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teen-ager shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer. CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 23 about a tweeting controversy over the Saints bounty scandal. Greenwire and the El Paso Times talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 23 and March 19, respectively, about whether the dunes sagebrush lizard will be protected under the Endangered Species Act against the wishes of the oil and gas industry. A Vermont Public Radio commentary on March 23 included Professor Peter Teachout, who had a role in making Vermont's constitution gender inclusive. FOX Business spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 22 about the law and business implications of the trade of quarterback Tim Tebow to the New York Jets. Vermont Public Radio talked to Professor Pat Parenteau and WCAX to Professor Cheryl Hanna on March 21-22 about the continuing legal and regulatory proceedings over the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Vermont Public Radio aired a commentary by Professor Cheryl Hanna on March 21 about how changes in the law have shaped women's lives. The Los Angeles Times talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 21 about a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that landowners are entitled to a hearing to challenge the government's threats to fine them for alleged Clean Water Act violations. Seven Days spoke with professors Cheryl Hanna and Pat Parenteau on March 21 about the race for Vermont attorney general. Yahoo! Sports Radio and the NFL Network talked to Professor Michael McCann on March 20-23 about the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. In his Sports Illustrated column and The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and other media on March 19-20, Professor Michael McCann discussed the settlement between the owners of the New York Mets and the trustee for victims of convicted felon Bernard Madoff. The Associated Press spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on March 19 about orders from a federal judge and the Vermont Public Service Board that allow the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to keep operating. BYUtv aired a short film on March 19 about Wynona Ward '98, founder of the nonprofit group Have Justice Will Travel, which advocates for battered women and children in rural Vermont.

  • Week of March 12
    The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 17 about the clean up of toxic chemicals in the Fox River in Wisconsin. NPR and Reuters spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 16 about the upcoming trial of the owners of the New York Mets who are accused of ignoring warnings that Bernard Madoff was running a fraud. PolicyMic had a commentary March 16 byJoseph Kaifala '13 about International Criminal Court conviction of the Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga on charges of enlisting children in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WCAX talked to Associate Professor Jennifer Taub on March 15 about the legal battle between the city of Burlington and Citibank over Burlington Telecom. Vermont Public Radio spoke with Associate Professor Brian Porto on March 15 about his new book "The Supreme Court and the NCAA: The Case for Less Commercialism and More Due Process in College Sports." The New York Times mentioned Professor Gus Speth in a March 14 story about the new head of the World Resources Institute, which Speth founded. The Florida Current talked to Professor John Echeverria on March 14 about sea-level rise prompting legal disputes about property rights and land-use regulations along the coast. Politico spoke with Professor Janet Milne on March 14 about oil industry subsidies or incentives that are in the limelight as gasoline prices rise. WCAX talked to Professor Cheryl Hanna on March 13 about a new federal law that allows the Secret Service to decide whether people can protest near federal government events. WCAX and other media reported March 13 on VLS being named the top environmental law school in the nation for the fourth consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report. The National Law Journal, E&ENews, Associated Press, Burlington Free Press, Valley News and other media reported March 12-13 on the appointment of Professor Marc Mihaly as the new president and dean of VLS.

  • Week of March 5
    CNN and E&EDaily spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on March 8-10 about nuclear safety issues in the United States a year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. NPR's "Only A Game" talked to Professor Michael McCann on March 10 about the legal implications of the NFL's bounty scandal in which players were paid to injure other players. Greenwire spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on March 9 about the controversy over form letters often used during environmental reviews conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Tampa Bay Times cited research by Mark Cooper in a March 9 story about Progress Energy's plan to build a nuclear power complex in Florida. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment. Nature carried an article by Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford on March 8 in which he said economics will be the deciding force in many nation's decisions to phase out nuclear power after the accident at Fukushima. The Burlington Free Press reported March 8 on Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber being selected as the school's commencement speaker in May. The Associated Press, whose story was carried by Yahoo! News, CNBC and other media nationwide, talked to Professor Pat Parenteau on March 7-8 about the latest legal wrangling as next week's deadline for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant approaches. MSNBC talked to Mark Cooper on March 6 about cost and safety obstacles facing the U.S. nuclear industry a year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment. The Mail on Sunday (London) and Reuters,  whose story was picked up worldwide, spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 5 about a federal  judge's refusal to dismiss a $386 million lawsuit against the owners of the New York Mets by the trustee seeking money for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud. Reuters , The Wall Street Journal , NPR and 95.7 The Game (San Francisco) included Professor Michael McCann in March 5 stories about the NFL's "pay-for-pain" bounty scandal.

  • Vermont Yankee: Vermont Law School Experts Available to Comment on Deadline for Disputed Nuclear Plant
    SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School has experts available to comment on legal issues as next week's deadline for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant approaches. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year approved a 20-year extension of Vermont Yankee's federal license, which was to expire Wednesday, March 21, but the state's lone reactor still hasn't received a permit from Vermont Public Service Board. Critics lost a federal lawsuit but have vowed to continue efforts to shut down the plant, although the board isn't expected to issue its decision for several months, and Vermont Yankee is expected to continue operating in the interim. Available to comment are:• Professor Pat Parenteau: 802.831.1305, pparenteau@vermontlaw.edu• Professor Cheryl Hanna: 802.831.1282, channa@vermontlaw.edu• Assistant Professor Don Kreis: 802.831.1374, dkreis@vermontlaw.edu• Professor Michael Dworkin, 802.831.1319, mdworkin@vermontlaw.eduThe VLS experts are analyzing the case on the school's Vermont Yankee lawsuit faculty commentary blog. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • Vermont Law Review Symposium to Explore Prison Privatization
    SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- The Vermont Law Review will host a symposium on prison privatization from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23, at the Chase Community Center. The event is free and open to the public. Most U.S. prisons are operated by the federal, state and local governments, but since the 1980s a growing number of correctional facilities are being run by private companies contracted by governmental agencies in an effort to reduce costs. Seven percent of the nation's 1.5 million prisoners-the largest inmate population in the world-are held in dozens of privately run prisons across the country, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The symposium, titled "Prison Privatization: Optimizing Our Use of a Privatized Resource," will explore costs, quality, security, management and other issues involved in privately operated prisons. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • Vermont Law School Ranked First in Environmental Law for Fourth Consecutive Year
    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) and clinical training (rank 23rd). "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 the U.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. 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 by U.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, whose U.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. "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." 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 the Environmental 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's Summer 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. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • Nation’s Top-Ranked Environmental Law School Selects Environmental Leader as New President and Dean
    President and Dean, Marc Mihaly SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- The Vermont Law School Board of Trustees announced today the appointment of Marc Mihaly as VLS's eighth president and dean, effective August 1. Mihaly, one of the nation's leading environmental lawyers, will succeed Jeff Shields, who will retire July 31 after eight years as president and dean of the nation's premier environmental law school. Mihaly currently serves as associate dean for VLS's Environmental Programs, director of the Environmental Law Center and professor of law. Board Chairman Ed Mattes said Mihaly was chosen, after a thorough national search, because of his leadership skills, strategic vision and scholarly accomplishments. "Marc is an inspiring leader who grasps the shifting legal landscape," Mattes said. "He comes with tremendous institutional knowledge, enabling VLS to react swiftly and strategically. As a proven entrepreneur, fundraiser and communicator, he will be well positioned to take advantage of new opportunities." The school's offerings include dynamic JD and LLM degrees, a renowned masters program in Environmental Law and Policy, as well as international dual-degree programs. It also offers a wide range of experience-based and interdisciplinary learning and is a leader in the field of distance learning. VLS has a strong commitment to community, environmental stewardship and public service. Mihaly said he is honored to be named as new president and dean of VLS. "I am looking forward to continued involvement in Vermont Law School and its mission to train lawyers and others to serve their clients and the public with high levels of professional knowledge and skill, moral integrity and humane vision," he said. "We also will continue efforts to deliver a program that is affordable to students and prepares them for employment and long careers." Mihaly, who joined VLS in 2004, received his BA degree from Harvard College and his JD degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley. After service in the U.S. Peace Corps in Central America, he served with the environmental unit of the California Attorney General's Office and with the San Mateo County Legal Aid Society. In 1980, he co-founded Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger in San Francisco, one of the nation's leading public interest environmental law firms, and served as its managing partner for 17 years. Mattes is available to comment at 914.661.2096. Mihaly is available to comment at 202.957.8432. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802-831-1106, cell: 540-798-7099, home: 802-649-2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • Brown '12 Elected Head of National Black Law Students Association
    Vermont Law School student Kendra Brown '12 was recently elected national chair of the National Black Law Students Association. Brown and the other nationally elected officers were sworn in by Judge Ann Claire Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The election results were announced March 10 at the conclusion of the NBLSA's 44th annual convention in Washington, D.C. Brown, who for the past year served as chair of the NBLSA's Northeast Region, began her remarks by thanking God for sustaining her in her pursuits. She also thanked her parents, including her mother, who was in the audience. Brown told NBLSA members and the organization's supporters that more work needs to be done in a number of areas, especially in strengthening the programming and opportunities available to BLSA and in pursuing advocacy at the national level during a presidential election year. The NBLSA's national conventions bring together attorneys, policy makers, lawmakers and others for a discussion about the state of the legal profession for minorities. The NBLSA, whose board of directors is composed of elected students from law schools, is the nation's largest student-run organization representing nearly 6,000 minority law students from more than 200 chapters and affiliates throughout the United States and six other countries. Brown has received numerous honors while at VLS, including a Vermont Law School Merit Scholarship, the NBLSA Sandy Brown Memorial Scholarship and the VLS David Firestone Scholarship for Campus Involvement.

  • Vermont Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments at Vermont Law School
    SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- The Vermont Supreme Court will oral arguments in six cases starting at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28, in Oakes Hall  in the high court's annual session at Vermont Law School. The court will consider the following cases: • In re Joint Petition of Green Mountain Power Corp. et al., 2011-277 & 2011-366/367, 9:30 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.: These consolidated cases concern Green Mountain Power Corp.'s development of a wind turbine project in Lowell, known as the Kingdom Community Wind Project. The Public Service Board (PSB) issued a certificate of public good (CPG) in May 2011, approving the project subject to certain conditions. The nearby towns of Craftsbury and Albany, along with a citizens group called Lowell Mountains Group, Inc., appeal the issuance of the CPG and related orders. The appellants allege that the PSB erred in numerous findings and rulings, including issues surrounding noise standards, habitat fragmentation and associated easements, economic considerations and the loss of natural communities. The appellants also argue that their due process rights were violated because the PSB did not hold a public hearing before issuing two orders (concerning habitat mitigation and the economic viability of the project) after it already issued the CPG. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources appears as an appellee only with respect to the question of whether the project will have an undue adverse effect on the natural environment. • State v. Vuley, 20 11-087, 10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.: The defendant appeals his convictions for two counts of first-degree arson arising from repeated fires at his home in Colchester. The defendant claims that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that it could use the so-called "doctrine of chances," which holds that certain uncommon events are unlikely to occur repeatedly by accident, to find that he "willfully and maliciously" set the fires. He argues that this instruction violated his constitutional right to due process by allowing the jury to find that he possessed this state of mind in setting the fires based solely on the number of fires. He also argues that the trial court erred in denying his motions to sever the trials for each offense and to dismiss the charges, and that there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions. • State v. Paro, 2011-184/185, 11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: The defendant, who has entered a conditional guilty plea to DUI, appeals the trial court's denial of her motion to suppress evidence obtained after a traffic stop. A Hartford police officer observed the defendant idling her Chevrolet pick-up truck in the parking lot of Northeast Foreign Cars in the middle of the night. Having been burglarized before, the business was on the Hartford Police Department's "directive patrol list." Mindful of these past crimes and thinking it strange that an American-made truck was idling at a foreign car repair shop at such an hour, the officer decided to investigate further. As the officer turned his cruiser around, defendant drove off. Based on these facts, the officer executed a traffic stop, after which the defendant was arrested for DUI. The defendant claims that the traffic stop was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution. She argues that the officer did not have "reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity" before making the stop, as required by both constitutions. As a result, she argues that the evidence obtained after the stop should be suppressed. • State v. M.W., 2011-229, 1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.: Does a statute restricting competency evaluations of defendants violate the separation of powers doctrine by divesting trial judges of the power to order a competency evaluation at the Vermont State Hospital? The statute at issue, 13 V.S.A. § 4815(g)(1), provides that a court "shall not order" an inpatient examination unless a mental health professional determines that the person is in need of treatment. The defendant was arraigned and the judge ordered an outpatient competency evaluation, which determined that he may be suffering from a mental illness. While free on conditions of release, the defendant was arrested for illegal trespass. The court then ordered a mental health screening, which determined that he suffered from a medical condition, not a mental illness. Thus, because defendant was not a person "in need of treatment," the court did not send him to the state mental hospital, but set conditions of release and bail. The State's Attorney argues that the statute usurps the trial judge's authority. The Attorney General has intervened and argues that the interlocutory appeal should be dismissed as moot or as improvidently granted, and that the statutory restriction does not violate the separation of powers doctrine. • Shattuck v. Peck, 2011-145, 2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: This case involves an attempt to use the equitable powers of the court to divide property after a long-term romantic relationship. Appellant Victor Shattuck and appellee Donna Mae Peck were involved in a romantic relationship for more than 12 years. The parties were never married, but they lived together, shared expenses and coordinated estate planning. In the 1990s, they shared a residence on her property in Springfield. By 1999, Shattuck had purchased land in Cavendish. They agreed to transfer their respective properties to each other as joint tenants, each with a survivorship right. In 2005, the couple moved to a newly constructed home on the Cavendish property and began renting out the property in Springfield. They later became concerned that the rental income would adversely affect government benefits she was receiving on account of a disability. Accordingly, she quitclaimed both the Springfield and Cavendish property to Shattuck and he arranged financing to pay off the Springfield mortgage and refinance outstanding debt on the Cavendish property. Although the couple lived together as a family in Cavendish, the record indicates that Peck paid "rent." In 2007, both parties executed wills naming each other as residuary beneficiaries. In 2010, they broke off their relationship and Shattuck moved out of their shared residence in Cavendish. He later filed a complaint seeking her eviction from the property, a writ of possession and past due rents. She counterclaimed that the Cavendish property, as well as another property in Springfield, were the subject of a partnership between the parties. The Civil Division found Peck had failed to present sufficient evidence that either a partnership or constructive trust was created, and it resolved all issues in favor of Shattuck. Peck appeals. • Columbia v. Lawton, 2011-151, 2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.: This case presents a constitutional question. In short: What rights does a man have who claims to be the biological father of a child when another man has already been legally declared the child's father pursuant to Vermont's parentage statute? A putative biological father brought an action to establish parentage over a 2-year-old child. However, a previous parentage order had already determined that a different man is the child's father. The section of the parentage statute on "standing" reads: "An action to establish parentage in cases where parentage has not been previously determined either by an action under this subchapter or by adoption, may be brought by a . . . person . . . alleging himself . . . to be the natural parent of a child." 15 V.S.A. § 302(a) (emphasis added). It was this section of the parentage statute that the trial court ruled precluded the present putative biological father from seeking to establish parentage (because parentage had already been established as to someone else). Both the mother and the putative biological father were pro se during the first round of arguments in this matter. The putative father argued that he received no notice of the earlier parentage action, and therefore had no opportunity to attempt to assert his rights to parentage. Recognizing the constitutional concerns that the case raised, the Court sought additional briefing from Court-appointed counsel.  Vermont Court Rules apply for media coverage. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235,jcramer@vermontlaw.edu  

  • Vermont’s Top Judge to Give VLS Commencement Speech
    SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Reiber will deliver the keynote speech on May 19 at Vermont Law School's 37th annual commencement. The public is invited to attend the 10 a.m. event on the South Royalton town green. Reiber, who graduated Suffolk Law School in 1974, served in private practice in Rutland and as a partner in the law firm Kenlan, Schweibert & Facey from 1986 until his appointment as an Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court in 2003. He was sworn in as Chief Justice in 2004. Honorary degrees will be given to Reiber; Mark Tercek, president of the Nature Conservancy; and Edwin Colodny, a former VLS trustee, former president and CEO of US Airways, former interim president of the University of Vermont and former interim CEO of Fletcher Allen Health Care. More information is available at our Commencement pages. CONTACT: John Cramer, Associate Director of Media Relations, Vermont Law SchoolOffice: 802.831.1106, cell: 540.798.7099, home: 802.649.2235, jcramer@vermontlaw.edu

  • Week of Feb. 27
    Orion Magazine had an article in its March/April issue by Professor Gus Speth titled "America the Possible: A Manifesto, From decline to rebirth." It was the first of a two-part series based on his forthcoming book "America the Possible: Roadmap to a New Economy," which Yale University Press will publish in September. Wisconsin Public Radio also talked to Speth about his research. The Boston Globe on March 4 reviewed Associate Professor Brian Porto's new book titled ""The Supreme Court and the NCAA: The Case for Less Commercialism and More Due Process in College Sports." In his Sports Illustrated column March 3, which was mentioned twice by The New York Times (here and here), Professor Michael McCann analyzed the potential legal fall out from the New Orleans Saints' bounty system. He also spoke to Atlanta 790 The Zone and SiriusXM NFL Network. ESPN TrueHoop spoke with Professor Michael McCann on March 3 about "building the modern athlete," including genetic testing, performance-enhancing drugs, sleep, and brain-training programs. The New York Daily News talked to Professor Michael McCann on March 2 about legal accusations that a major video game company is exploiting college and professional athletes. ESPN NBA Today interviewed Professor Michael McCann on March 2 about the legality and race implications of the NBA's age limit. CCTV Center for Media & Democracy's Channel 17/Town Meeting Television spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on Feb. 29 about the legal dispute over the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Yahoo! Sports talked to Professor Michael McCann about lawsuits filed by former NFL players that accuse the league of failing to protect them from brain trauma. ClimateWire spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau for a Feb. 28 story about TransCanada's plans to build a southern segment of the contentious Keystone XL pipeline. The Associated Press, whose story was carried by CNBC, Yahoo! Finance and other media, Vermont Public Radio and WAMC Northeast Public Radio spoke with Professor Pat Parenteau on Feb. 27-29 about Entergy's appeal of a federal court decision in the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant legal fight.

  • Dapolito '12 Explores Yemen's Unrest
    Vermont Law School student Mollie Dapolito '12 recently published an article in the ILSA Quarterly that explored antigovernment protests and other issues facing Yemen. The article, titled "After Winter in Yemen, Comes an Arab Spring," appears on pages 23-24. Yemen has been in turmoil since January 2011 when demonstrators called for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. His vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, was sworn in as president on Feb. 25 in an election in which he was the only candidate. Protesters remain on the streets, calling for reform of the impoverished nation's military and other institutions. Published by the International Law Student Association, the ILSA Quarterly is an academic magazine that features articles written by students, scholars and practitioners concerning timely issues of international law and related topics.

  • The Economist, Other Media Cite Nuclear Studies by Energy Researcher Cooper
    In a recent article on the nuclear power industry in the United States, The Economist cited a study by Mark Cooper that examined the financing of nuclear plants. Cooper, who is senior research fellow for economic analysis at Vermont Law School's Institute for Energy and the Environment, found that in constant dollars the cost of nuclear power roughly quintupled between the 1970s and the early 1990s. He also found that initial cost projections tended dramatically to underestimate actual costs, as the Vogtle experience would seem to bear out. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently approved its first-ever combined construction and operation licences to the Atlanta-based Southern Company to build two new reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. It was the first approval of the construction of a new nuclear reactor in the United States since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. Also, the Des Moines Register, Seattle Times and other media recently talked to Cooper about his report titled "Nuclear Socialism Comes to the Heartland of America: Early Cost Recovery for New Nuclear Reactors in Iowa and The Return of Electricity Rate Shock."

  • Prof. Sovacool to Help Author IPCC Climate Change Report
    Vermont Law School Associate Professor Benjamin Sovacool has been invited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be a contributing author to its Working Group II, which deals with climate change adaptation, of the forthcoming Fifth Assessment chapter on "Rural Poverty and Livelihoods." Sovacool is among thousands of scientists from all over the world who contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary basis as authors, contributors and reviewers. The IPCC is currently organized into three Working Groups and a Task Force. The Working Group II assesses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, negative and positive consequences of climate change and options for adapting to it. It also considers the inter-relationship between vulnerability, adaptation and sustainable development. The assessed information is considered by sectors (water resources, ecosystems, food and forests, coastal systems, industry, human health) and regions (Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Latin America, North America, Polar Regions, Small Islands). The IPCC is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change, its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts and options for mitigation and adaptation.  The IPCC has completed four full assessment reports, guidelines and methodologies, special reports and technical papers. The IPCC reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. It does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters.

  • Weeks of Feb. 13-Feb. 20
    The Motley Fool talked to Mark Cooper on Feb. 24 about financing of nuclear power plants. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment. 95.7 The Game (San Francisco) talked to Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 24 about National League MVP Ryan Braun winning his appeal of a positive steroid test result. The New York Times spoke with Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 22 about the sports eligibility of college students who transfer to another school, including those who have received an undergraduate degree. FierceEnergy spoke with Professor Michael Dworkin on Feb. 22 about cost allocation, resource planning and other issues facing the smart grid. The Boston Herald talked to Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 21 about sexual assault allegations against two Boston University hockey players. Vermont Public Radio, the Burlington Free Press, WPTZ (twice) and other media spoke with professors Pat Parenteau and Cheryl Hanna on Feb. 20-21 about Vermont's appeal of a federal court ruling that limits the state's authority over the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. WPTZ also spoke with Adjunct Professor Peter Bradford. Vermont Public Radio, SNL Financial and other media talked to Kevin Jones, smart grid project leader, on Feb. 20-24 about the Institute for Energy and the Environment's research into the roll-out of smart grid technology by Central Vermont Public Service and six other utilities across the country. The Economist cited Mark Cooper's research in a Feb. 18 story about the nuclear power industry and the costs of financing new nuclear plants. Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment. The Orlando Sentinel spoke with Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 18 about whether the University of Central Florida may get a major discount on the tax it was supposed to pay for moving from Conference USA to the Big East. NPR's "Only A Game"  spoke with Associate Professor Brian Porto on Feb. 18 about his new book "The Supreme Court and the NCAA: The Case for Less Commercialism and More Due Process in College Sports." Vermont Public Radio talked to Professor Cheryl Hanna on Feb. 17 about the Vermont Legislature's debate over whether to repeal a law that allows parents to skip vaccinating their children. MassLive and other media spoke with Assistant Professor Laura Murphy, staff attorney with Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, on Feb. 17 about the impact of hot water discharges into the Connecticut River from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Asian Correspondent profiled Vermont Law School in a Feb. 16 story about leading environment programs for Asian students. WCAX talked to Kat O'Neill '11 on Feb. 16 about the latest edition of the Legal Rights of Women in Vermont handbook. The Burlington Free Press spoke with Professor Cheryl Hanna on Feb. 14 about a federal court hearing in Vermont that was held behind closed doors. The Des Moines Register,  Seattle Times and other  media talked to Mark Cooper on Feb. 14 about his report titled "Nuclear Socialism Comes to the Heartland of America: Early Cost Recovery for New Nuclear Reactors in Iowa and The Return of Electricity Rate Shock." Cooper is senior research fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment. WNST Baltimore talked to Professor Michael McCann on Feb. 14 and Feb. 22 about the murder trial of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend. The Chronicle of Higher Education talked to Associate Professor Brian Porto on Feb. 13 about whether the NCAA treats athletes fairly in its eligibility and enforcement actions.

  • Human Rights Case in Supreme Court: Vermont Law School Expert Available to Comment
    SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. -- Vermont Law School Professor Stephanie Farrior, an international human rights expert and former legal director of Amnesty International, is available to comment on today's U.S. Supreme Court case involving Royal Dutch Shell Oil, which is accused of aiding and abetting the Nigerian government in committing atrocities in the 1990s. Farrior can be reached at 802.831.1373 and sfarrior@vermontlaw.edu. "This is one of the most important human rights cases before the Supreme Court in years," said Farrior, who oversaw Amnesty International's legal work during the Pinochet extradition hearings and helped to found the Center for Justice and Accountability, which helps survivors of torture and other severe human rights abuses hold their persecutors accountable. At issue in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum is whether foreign nationals in the United States can sue corporations or other entities in U.S. courts under the Alien Tort Statute for alleged violations of human rights committed abroad. The case has potential ramifications for American and international law and for corporate responsibility for human rights around the globe. 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

  • VLS Students Advance in National Animal Law Moot Court Competition
    Four Vermont Law School students turned in stellar performances at the 9th annual National Animal Law Competitions (NALC), which were held Feb. 24-26 at the UCLA School of Law. Monica Miller '12 and Meredith Crafton '12 advanced to the quarter finals of the moot court competition against Yale, the University of Chicago and Lewis & Clark. Krystil Smith '13 and Michelle Sinnott '13 won the Best Brief Award for receiving the highest appellate brief score overall. The VLS team was coached by Assistant Professor Pamela Vesilind. More than 70 law students represented nearly 30 of America's best law schools at NALC this year. NALC is an inter-law school competition presented by the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark in collaboration with the Animal Legal Defense Fund. NALC, which was hosted by Harvard Law School for the past eight years, provides law students from across the United States with an opportunity to develop knowledge in the field of animal law, while honing their written and oral advocacy skills. The event is composed of three separate competitions: Legislative Drafting & Lobbying Competition; Closing Argument Competition; and Appellate Moot Court Competition.

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