Vt. Law School Again Ranked First in Environmental Law

Vermont Law School has once again been named as having the best environmental law program in the nation, according to the 2008 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools" from the April 2 issue of U.S. News & World Report.

To develop their rankings, U.S. News asked legal educators in several law specialties to identify the top programs. Vermont Law School has placed first 11 times since the environmental specialty rankings began in 1991 and has never placed lower than second.

"Our environmental law program now reaches from rural Vermont to Hong Kong, from land-use planning to global warming," said VLS President and Dean Geoffrey Shields. "We are committed to protecting our most valuable resource, our environment. I commend Karin Sheldon, Associate Dean for the Environmental Law Program, on her outstanding leadership."

Through its Environmental Law Center, VLS offers an environmental law and policy program that provides the most extensive selection of environmental law courses in the country. The Environmental Law Center provides a multi-disciplinary program in law, policy, science, and ethics to lawyers, law and graduate students, government officials, teachers, scientists, and citizen activists.

The ELC administers the Master of Studies in Environmental Law (M.S.E.L.) degree program for lawyers and non-lawyers, and the L.L.M. in Environmental Law, a post-J.D. degree for experienced attorneys who seek to specialize. Through its varied components—tthe summer session, the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, the Institute for Energy and the Environment, the Land Use Institute, and the Environmental Tax Policy Institute; the ELC offers unparalleled clinical, research, and experiential programs.

For more information, call (802) 831-1310, or go online to visit www.vermontlaw.edu.

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