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NOTE: Course offerings change. Faculty leaves and sabbaticals, as well as other curriculum considerations, will sometimes affect when a course may be offered.

JD/LLM in International & Comparative Law

JD/LLM in Law & Entrepreneurship

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Certificate in Public interest and Public Service Law

Areas of Study & Practice

Clear all filters 19 courses found.
Number Course Title Credits Degree Requirements Semesters Taught Methods of Evaluation

200

Administrative Law 3
  • JD elective
  • IntlLLM NY Bar
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Fall 21
  • Spring 22
  • Fall 22
  • Spring 23
  • Fall 23
  • Spring 24
  • Fall 24
  • Final Exam

A study of the legal framework governing administrative agencies under the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, with a particular focus on agency rulemaking and adjudication; Presidential power; Congressional control of agencies through statutes and other mechanisms of oversight; and judicial review of agency actions.

235

Environmental Law 3
  • JD elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Fall 21
  • Fall 22
  • Spring 24
  • Fall 24
  • Final Exam
  • Research and/or analytical paper(s), 5-10 pages
  • Class participation

This course examines the laws governing interactions between human activities and the environment.  These include the laws governing the air, water, toxic chemicals, hazardous waste, resource use, biodiversity and ecosystems, and climate change.  The course focuses on the U.S. legal system, with some comparative analysis of the law in other countries and international regimes.  The course assesses key features of these environmental laws, including the rationales for environmental protection (e.g. ethical, economic); the choice of regulatory policy instruments (e.g. standards, taxes, trading, information disclosure); and the roles of different levels of government (e.g. local, state, national, international), branches of government (e.g. legislative, executive/administrative, judicial), and non-governmental actors.  We will study how these laws handle key questions such as:  (i) How serious a problem is it?  (ii) How much protection is desirable, overall and regarding distributional impacts?  (iii) How best to achieve this protection?  (iv) Who decides and acts upon these questions?  The course helps develop critical skills including statutory and regulatory interpretation, regulatory design, policy analysis, case law analysis, and litigation strategy.   This course, Law 235, is intended for professional and graduate students, and is also cross-listed as Environ 835 in the Nicholas School of the Environment.  Law students (e.g. JD, LLM, SJD) should enroll in Law 235, while students from outside the Law School (e.g. MEM, MPP, MBA, MA, PhD) should enroll in Environ 835, and may contact the Nicholas School registrar, Erika Lovelace, e.love@duke.edu , with any questions about enrollment.  (The Law School and the professor teaching this course do not have “permission numbers.”)  For undergraduate students, the Nicholas School offers a different course, Environ 265.

298

Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy 3
  • JD SRWP, option
  • JD elective
  • LLM-ICL (JD) elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM writing, option
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Fall 21
  • Fall 22
  • Fall 23
  • Fall 24
  • Reflective Writing
  • Research and/or analytical paper
  • Group project(s)
  • Oral presentation
  • Class participation

This course explores laws and policies that affect decisions on United States ocean and coastal resources. We examine statutes, regulations, attitudes, and cases that shape how the United States (and several states) use, manage, and protect the coasts and oceans out to – and sometimes beyond – the 200-mile limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone. We cover government and private approaches to coastal and ocean resources, including beaches, wetlands, estuaries, reefs, fisheries, endangered species, and special areas.

320

Water Resources Law 2
  • JD SRWP
  • JD elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM writing
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Spring 22
  • Spring 23
  • Spring 24
  • Research paper, 25+ pages

This survey course examines the legal and policy issues governing water quality and resource allocation in the United States. Students will be introduced to both the Prior Appropriation systems of the western United States and the Reasonable Use systems dominating the eastern states. We will study key laws that affect water quality and quantity, including the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and others.  Students will also explore emerging issues in water policy, including the regulation of "forever chemicals," protection of wetlands, and mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, among other policy issues.  Throughout the course, students will study how environmental justice relates to water resource management.

327

Energy Law 3
  • JD elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Fall 21
  • Fall 22
  • Fall 23
  • Fall 24
  • Final Exam
  • Class participation

The course will examine the legal framework governing energy production and consumption in the United States, and policy approaches for balancing energy needs with other societal goals. The course will include three main modules: (1) electricity sector regulation; (2) energy resources for electricity generation; and (3) oil and gas law. Key themes will include:

(1) The historic origins of public utility regulation;
(2) The major U.S. laws that govern energy production and use;
(3) The distinct roles of the federal and state governments; and
(4) Efforts to manage competing societal interests

Final grades will be comprised of the following:

  1. Final exam, open book/open note one day exam:
  2. Case study discussion leader: 
  3. Class participation and current events: 

The case study will be a group project where students will be assigned a case study. The group will lead the class discussion and exercise on the case study. In addition, each student in the group will prepare a 3-page policy brief that advocates for an outcome to a decision maker. The grade will be based on both the group discussion and the policy brief.

Students will also be responsible for submitting discussion questions on the readings and short reflections on current events weekly. Students must submit questions for at least 10 weeks.

368

Natural Resources Law and Policy 2
  • JD SRWP, option
  • JD elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM writing
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Fall 21
  • Fall 22
  • Fall 23
  • Research paper, 25+ pages
  • Class participation

The law of how we use nature - timber, mining, bioversity, fisheries, water rights, and agriculture. Also an introduction to the historical and constitutional geography of American public lands: the national parks, forests, wilderness system, and grazing lands, and disputes over federal versus local control of these. There is special attention to the historical and political origins of our competing ideas of how nature matters and what we should do with it, from economically productive use to outdoor recreation to preserving the natural world for its own sake. Attention also to the complicated interplay of science and law.

443

Environmental Law and Policy Clinic 4
  • JD elective
  • JD experiential
  • JD Standard 303(c)
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • PIPS experiential
  • Fall 21
  • Spring 22
  • Fall 22
  • Spring 23
  • Fall 23
  • Spring 24
  • Fall 24
  • Group project(s)
  • Practical exercises
  • Live-client representation and case management
  • Class participation

The Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic is an interdisciplinary clinic that represents non-profit community-based and environmental organizations throughout the region to address a wide variety of environmental concerns in a variety of different venues. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and engage directly with clients to develop legal and advocacy strategies, conduct site-based assessments, develop legislative and regulatory proposals, and participate in community outreach and education efforts. Students also may engage in litigation, regulatory, and policy proceedings as case needs dictate. Skills training is conducted in weekly seminars and case management meetings and emphasizes client counseling, legal and policy advocacy, networking and working with experts. Although the mix of topics addressed varies among semesters, common themes include environmental justice, climate change, water quality, natural resources conservation, endangered species protection, sustainable agriculture, public trust resources, and environmental health. Clinic faculty make an effort to honor student preferences for case assignments, consistent with case needs and each student’s objectives for professional growth and development.

Clinic Enrollment and Credit Policies

To enroll, law students must have completed their 1L year; Nicholas School students may enroll after their first semester with permission from the clinic's directors. International LLM students may enroll during their second semester with permission from the clinic's directors. Variable credit (4-6 hours) is allowed for law students with permission from the clinic’s directors.

Although not a prerequisite, students are encouraged to have completed Environmental Law, Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy, and/or Administrative Law prior to enrollment.

Ethics Requirement for Law Students

Students are required to have instruction in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct prior to, or during, enrollment in the Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. Examples of ethics classes that meet the requirement include Ethics in Action: Large Firm Practice (LAW 231), Ethics of Social Justice Lawyering (LAW 237), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering (LAW 238), Ethics and the Law of Lawyering in Civil Litigation (LAW 239), Criminal Justice Ethics (LAW 317) and Ethics in Action (LAW 539).

Important to Note: This course may not be dropped after the first class meeting. Students MUST be able to attend the day-long clinic intensive training session to enroll in this course.

443A

Advanced Environmental Law and Policy
  • JD elective
  • PIPS elective
  • PIPS experiential
  • Fall 21
  • Spring 22
  • Spring 23
  • Fall 23
  • Spring 24
  • Fall 24
  • Group project(s)
  • Practical exercises
  • Live-client representation and case management
  • Class participation

This variable-credit (2-4 credits) course builds on the training and work of the EL&PC and offers students the opportunity to develop case leadership and deeper client relationships. Students enrolled in the Advanced Clinic are required to participate fully in the case work portion of the clinic, performing at least 100 hours of client representation work (or more, depending on credit hours), and are required to attend weekly case management meetings. In addition, Advanced students must attend two discussion sessions with other advanced clinic students that will be scheduled after the start of the semester. Instructor permission and successful completion of one semester of clinical work are required to enroll.

520

Climate Change and the Law 2
  • JD elective
  • LLM-ICL (JD) elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Spring 22
  • Reflective Writing
  • Research and/or analytical paper(s), 5-10 pages
  • Research and/or analytical paper(s), 15 pages
  • In-class exercise
  • Class participation

This 2-credit seminar will examine global climate change and the range of actual and potential responses by legal institutions – including at the international level, within the United States and other countries (such as Europe, China, and others), at the subnational level, and at the urging of the private sector.

We will compare alternative approaches that have been or could be taken by legal systems to address climate change: the choice of policy instrument (e.g., emissions taxes, allowance trading, infrastructure programs, technology R&D, information disclosure, prescriptive regulation, carbon capture & storage, reducing deforestation, geoengineering, adaptation);  the spatial scale; the targets of the policy and criteria for deciding among these policy choices.  We will examine actual legal measures that have been adopted so far to manage climate change:  international agreements such as the Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), its Kyoto Protocol (1997) and Paris Agreement (2015), plus related agreements like the Kigali Amendment (on HFCs) and ICAO (aviation) and IMO (shipping); as well as the policies undertaken by key national and subnational systems.  In the US, we will study national (federal) and subnational (state and local) policies, including EPA regulation under the Clean Air Act, other federal laws and policies relevant to climate change mitigation, state-level action by California, RGGI states, and North Carolina. We will also explore litigation involving tort/nuisance civil liability and the public trust doctrine to advance climate policy. 

Questions we will discuss include:  How effective and efficient are the policies being proposed and adopted? What actions are being taken at the local, national and international levels, and which reinforce or conflict with one another?  Can current institutions and legal frameworks deal with a problem as enormous, complex, long-term, uncertain, and multi-faceted as climate change?  What roles do scientific research, technological breakthroughs, and economic realities play in shaping legal responses?  How should the legal system learn from new information over time? How should we appraise the United Nations climate negotiations, and are there other models for international cooperation?  How should principles of equity, just transitions, and intergenerational justice guide efforts to address climate change? Should greenhouse gas emitters (countries, businesses, consumers) be directly liable or responsible for climate change impacts and compensate victims for their losses?  What is the best mix of mitigation and adaptation policies?  How will climate policy be influenced by geopolitical changes such as the rise of China?  How should the law address extreme catastrophic risk?  How should geoengineering be governed? What is the best path for future climate policy? 

Students must read the assigned materials in advance of class, and participate in class discussion. Each student will submit a short (5-6 page) paper, addressing the week's readings (and adding outside research), for three (3) of the 12 class sessions (not counting the first class session). A sign-up sheet will be circulated at the beginning of the course for students to select the 3 topics/class sessions for which they will submit these 3 short papers (so that these papers are spread across the semester). In addition, each student will write a longer research paper (15 pages), due at the end of the semester. Grades will be based on: 33% class participation, 33% the 3 short papers, and 33% the longer paper.

557

Space Law / Law of Mars 2
  • JD SRWP, option
  • JD elective
  • LLM-ICL (JD) elective
  • IntlLLM writing
  • Spring 24
  • Fall 24
  • Reflective Writing
  • Research and/or analytical paper(s), 10-15 pages
  • Class participation

This course will address the past, present and future of space law – from its origins five decades ago, to the current era of explosive growth in spacefaring, to potential future human settlements on Mars and other planets. How well does current space law govern this expanding arena, and what kinds of new governance regimes are needed? The Outer Space Treaty (OST) was signed in 1967 when space exploration was just beginning and focused on the Cold War rivalry between the US and USSR. Today, 114 states are parties to the OST (with smaller numbers having signed its related accords on registration, liability, and other topics), and space activities are booming. Missions to the Moon have now been undertaken by the US, Russia, EU, China, India, and Israel, and missions to Mars by the US, EU, China, and the UAE. The US and Japan have each excavated materials from asteroids and brought samples back to Earth. In 2022, the US and EU launched DART, the first ever asteroid deflection test. Thousands of satellites are now orbiting the Earth, with many more to be added soon – for scientific, navigation, weather, military, intelligence, communications and commercial uses – including many operated by private actors such as SpaceX/Starlink and Amazon/Blue Origin. Non-state actors are developing their own terms for space rules. New space law is being developed, such as the Artemis Accords (2020; signed by 29 countries as of 2023), and the US statute on space resource ownership (2015). States and private actors are mulling plans to settle human communities on the Moon and Mars. Is the OST still adequate? What new approaches are needed?

We will investigate what current laws say about these efforts, and what will or should be the legal rules and norms for future missions and settlements off the Earth. Among the challenges for space law today are: reducing dangerous space debris in Earth orbit, and environmental impacts of launches; defining property rights to space resources, and liability for harm, thus motivating investment while avoiding resource depletion and ensuring equitable access; managing international space relations, space-based energy systems, climate engineering, and avoiding war in space; defending against large asteroid collisions and space weather; protecting against harmful contamination of the Earth and of other planets; considering whether to terraform other planets; and charting the legal rules for potential human settlements on the Moon, Mars, or other off-Earth locations (including laws for accidents, crimes, health, environment, marriage, divorce, citizenship, etc.). Envisioning and debating future space law off-Earth may also offer a useful lens for reforming laws on Earth today. And we will discuss who should decide these laws – e.g., each government that sends settlers, or each private company, or an international agreement, or the settlers themselves in their new home.

Students will write short and medium length papers (no exam). Grad/prof students outside the Law School may enroll if ‘space’ allows. No prerequisites.

566

International Environmental Law 2
  • JD SRWP, option
  • JD elective
  • LLM-ICL (JD) elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM writing
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • Fall 22
  • Fall 24
  • Research and/or analytical paper(s), 20+ pages
  • Class participation

This class explores international environmental law, one of the fastest growing fields of international cooperation. In 1972, there were only a smattering of international environmental treaties. Today, hundreds of agreements have been negotiated, covering such diverse topics as acid rain, depletion of the ozone layer, climate change, protection of biological diversity, desertification, and transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and chemicals.

This course will provide a general introduction to the basic concepts and mechanisms of international environmental law. The overarching question we will examine is: What role can law play in addressing international environmental problems? More specifically, we will ask:

  • Why do states cooperate in developing international environmental norms? What factors promote or hinder cooperation?
  • What legal mechanisms or approaches facilitate the development of international environmental standards?
  • What role do science and expertise play in international environmental cooperation?
  • What types of international environmental standards are most effective? How do we evaluate effectiveness?
  • What incentives do states have to comply with international environmental standards? What disincentives?

The course will be structured in roughly two parts.  In the first part of the course, we will discuss the background, history, and political economy of international environmental law, as well as some of the main principles of international environmental law.  In the second part of the course, we will examine in detail a number of environmental treaties—from areas such as ozone protection, climate change, marine pollution, fisheries protection, and biodiversity—in an effort to understand how international environmental law works, and doesn’t.  Students will be expected to participate in class discussions and write a 20+ page research paper on a topic of their choice. 

590

Risk Regulation in the US, Europe and Beyond 2
  • JD SRWP
  • JD elective
  • LLM-ICL (JD) elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM writing
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • IntlLLM Business Cert
  • IntllLLM IP Cert
  • Fall 21
  • Fall 22
  • Spring 24
  • Research paper, 25+ pages
  • Class participation

Faced with myriad health, safety, environmental, security and financial risks, how should societies respond?  This course studies the regulation of a wide array of risks, such as disease, food, drugs, medical care, biotechnology, chemicals, automobiles, air travel, drinking water, air pollution, energy, climate change, finance, violence, terrorism, emerging technologies, and extreme catastrophic risks. (Students may propose to research other risks as well.)

Across these diverse contexts, the course focuses on how regulatory institutions deal with the challenges of risk assessment (technical expertise), risk perceptions (public concerns and values), priority-setting (which risks should be regulated most), risk management (including the debates over "precaution" versus benefit-cost analysis, and risk-risk tradeoffs such as countervailing harms and co-benefits), and ongoing evaluation and updating.  It examines the rules and institutions for risk regulation, including the roles of legislative, executive/administrative, and judicial functions; the challenge of fragmentation and integration; the roles of oversight bodies (such as judicial review by courts, and executive review by US OMB/OIRA and the EU RSB); and the potential for international regulatory cooperation.

The course examines these issues through a comparative approach to risk regulation in the United States, Europe, and beyond (especially those countries of interest to the students in the course each year).  It examines the divergence, convergence, and exchange of ideas across regulatory systems; the causes of these patterns; the consequences of regulatory choices; and how regulatory systems can learn to do better.

This is a research seminar, in which students discuss and debate in class, while developing their own research.  We may also have some guest speakers.  Students' responsibilities in this course include active participation in class discussions, and writing a substantial research paper.  Students’ papers may take several approaches, such as analyzing a specific risk regulation; comparing regulation across countries; analyzing proposals to improve the regulatory system; or other related topics.

This course is Law 590, cross-listed as Environ 733.01 and PubPol 891.01.  Graduate and professional students from outside the Law School should enroll via those Environ and PubPol course numbers, and may contact the Nicholas School registrar, Erika Lovelace, e.love@duke.edu, or the Sanford School registrar, Anita Lyon, anita.lyon@duke.edu, with any questions about enrollment.  (The Law School does not use “permission numbers.”)

617

Environmental Law Readings Workshop 0.5
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • Fall 21
  • Fall 22
  • Spring 23
  • Fall 23
  • Spring 24
  • Reaction Papers

The Workshop introduces LLM students in the Certificate in Environmental Law program to core readings on different topics of environmental law. Students are assigned readings selected by the faculty members teaching environmental law. Each class meeting is conducted by a different member of the faculty in environmental law. Students will write a paper in reaction to the readings, and the course will be graded credit/no credit.
**This class is available only to International LLMs who are pursuing the Certificate in Environmental Law. **

NOTE: This course receives 0.50 credits a semester for a total of 1.0 credits for the year course.

636

Food, Agriculture and the Environment: Law & Policy 2
  • JD SRWP
  • JD elective
  • JD Standard 303(c)
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Fall 21
  • Fall 22
  • Fall 23
  • Fall 24
  • Reflective Writing
  • Research and/or analytical paper(s), 10-15 pages
  • Oral presentation
  • Class participation

“Food,” “agriculture,” and the “environment” are distinct American mythologies tied to our basic physical needs and imbued with significant cultural meanings. They are also deeply entwined. We all eat three or so times a day, and each of those meals arrived on our table at the very end of a dizzying journey through our national—and increasingly global—food and agriculture system. It’s a system that causes startling environmental harms; think water and air pollution, pesticides, greenhouse gases, non-human animal welfare, deforestation, soil depletion, wetlands destruction, fisheries collapse, and on and on. Yet notions of “agricultural exceptionalism” exempt agriculture from many of our nation’s environmental laws.

Undergirding the system are the people who help put food on our tables. The food and agriculture system depends on immigrants who toil in the field and on slaughterhouse lines even as it romanticizes the Jeffersonian ideal of the solitary yeoman. It co-opts the knowledge of Black, Indigenous and people of color under terms like “sustainable” and “regenerative” without reckoning with land theft, enslavement, or the patterns of discrimination and land loss that persist today.

This course will survey how law and policy created and perpetuate the interrelated social, economic and environmental iniquities of our modern food and agriculture system. More optimistically, we will study how law and policy can address systemic issues and move us toward values of equity and environmental justice, conservation, restoration, community health and economic sustainability. We will pay special attention to the federal farm bill, which is due for reauthorization in 2023.

Course format and expectations: Students will be expected to stay up on all readings, participate in weekly discussion boards, prepare several presentations and written assignments throughout the semester, and engage in the seminar each week. As a final assignment, each student will write a 10-15 page law or policy paper on a topic that they will develop in consultation with the rest of the class and the instructor. There will be an additional, optional opportunity to visit a local farm.

 

644

Bass Connections 1-3
  • Other

About Bass Connections

Bass Connections is a university-wide program that offers graduate and undergraduate students immersive research opportunities through more than 60 year-long project teams each year. On Bass Connections teams, graduate and professional students, postdocs, and undergraduates work together with faculty and outside experts to conduct cutting-edge research on important issues such as health inequality, environmental sustainability, human rights, educational opportunity, and medical ethics.

Teams generally work together for nine to 12 months. Participating students usually receive academic credit (see below for crediting options for Law students), although students in specialized roles may sometimes serve in a paid role.  

Team members blend their diverse skills and expertise, allowing students of all levels to learn and contribute. Their work results in policy recommendations, journal articles, new datasets to inform future research, health interventions, novel modes of delivering social services, prototypes, museum exhibits, future grants, and more.

Opportunities to Participate

For more information about how to apply, please visit the Bass Connections website.

Crediting Options for Law Students

Law students who are interested in participating in Bass Connections have the following crediting options:

  • Teams led by a Duke Law Faculty Member: If a Duke Law faculty member leads a Bass Connections team, Law students are eligible to receive Law School credit (up to three credits per semester). Upon being accepted to join a team, students must apply for approval to receive Law School credit by documenting the law and policy work (research, drafting, etc.) they will be undertaking as part of the team and the amount of time they will spend on the project. Such students should contact Dean Lacoff or James Lambert.
  • Teams without Duke Law Faculty Members: Some Bass Connections team are grappling with legal matters but do not include a Duke Law faculty leader. While Law students are encouraged to participate on these teams, students would not be eligible for Law School credit. Such students could opt to use their non-Law credit, noting that each student is only permitted three such credits. Students may also petition the Law School’s Administrative Committee for permission to apply up to three additional credits. Such appeals must demonstrate the rigor of the project and the connection to legal matters. Students interested in participating in these projects should contact Dean Lacoff or James Lambert.
  • Other options: Some students participate on Bass Connections teams in a paid capacity, particularly if they are serving in a leadership/project management role on the team. Each team is structured differently. It is at the discretion of faculty team leaders whether they offer paid roles. Law students may not earn academic credit if they are paid for their work.

Some students also participate on Bass Connections teams in an extra-curricular capacity because they are passionate about the topics, see sufficient professional benefits to participation, and/or because the topic aligns with their own research/career interests.

In some circumstances, Duke Law students may also document leadership or other skill development through a Bass Connections team experience that may count toward the professional development graduation requirement. Please contact a career counselor if you are interested in pursuing this option.

Benefits of Participation for Professional Students

Project teams offer professional students an exciting opportunity to apply coursework to a concrete problem, access professional development resources, expand academic and professional networks, and build career-enhancing skills to stand out on the job market. Professional students play a crucial role on Bass Connections teams, often serving as subject area experts, project managers or sub-group leaders, and mentors for undergraduates. In recognition of the important leadership role that professional students play on teams, Bridget Eklund JD’ 21 was awarded the 2021 Bass Connections Award for Outstanding Mentorship

Bass Connections teams offer professional students the opportunity to plan and implement complex projects, work in teams, mentor and lead others, and communicate across boundaries to find solutions to complex challenges – skills that are crucial for successful careers in almost any field.

Duke Law Participation and Testimonials

Past Law students have participated on a wide range of teams, including those working on issues related to ethics, the environment, privacy and security, intellectual property, labor, health, and education.

Among many research outcomes, these teams have:

  • collaborated with federal and state policymakers on Medicaid reform;
  • developed cybersecurity guidelines to protect individuals’ and families’ personal data;
  • examined incentive-based approaches to endangered species conservation on private lands;
  • explored how governments and professional associations set and enforce codes of ethics in competitive industries such as law, athletics and business;
  • produced documentary films on the environment and peacebuilding in post-conflict zones; and
  • written policy proposals to inform animal waste management practices in the United States.

Here’s what a few Duke Law alumni have had to say about their Bass Connections experience:

The best thing about my Bass Connections project was that, much like in the real world, the “problem” we sought to address had never been answered – it was not an assignment generated to test a skill set, but rather a totally open-ended question.
-
Anna Johns Hrom JD ’16, PhD ’18 (Law Clerk, U.S. Courts)
 

As a result of having worked with a multidisciplinary team, my writing changed and improved my goal of reaching wider audiences…Back in Brazil, my experience with Bass Connections is also informing how I am building and leading teams of researchers and policy analysts.
-Daniel Ribeiro, SJD ’18 (Prosecutor, Ministério Público of the State of Rio de Janeiro)
 

Through Bass Connections, I had the chance to meet with highly specialized practitioners that have been doing fascinating work on environmental peacebuilding. The [experience] also gave me an opportunity to step out of my usual activities…and do things I had little experience with, like drafting a script for a documentary or thinking about how certain images might help communicate the environmental impact of armed conflict in different regions of the world.
-Xiao Recio-Blanco, SJD ’15 (Director of the Ocean Program, Environmental Law Institute)
 

Bass Connections provided [our team] with an opportunity to work across disciplines to solve a complex and multifaceted problem and to develop a meaningful solution to that problem—one that has the potential to have tangible benefits in the real world. It is exactly the type of opportunity that I had been looking for when I decided to apply to Duke in the first place: to take my education beyond the classroom to make a difference in the wider world.
-Matthew Phillips JD ’20 (Founder, Phillips Admissions)

 

647

Research Tutorial: Marine Species at Risk in a Changing Atlantic 3
  • JD elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • PIPS elective
  • Fall 22
  • Research and/or analytical paper
  • Oral presentation

Professors Michelle Nowlin and Steve Roady are working with colleagues at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and the Environmental Law Institute to organize a workshop that will take place on November 3-4, 2022 at the Duke in D.C. office.  The workshop, Transboundary Marine Species at Risk in a Changing Atlantic: Taking Stock of Canadian and US Scientific and Governance Responses, Enhancing Future Cooperation, will bring together marine scientists, government experts, and legal scholars to assess the population and recovery status of species at risk of extinction due to habitat degradation, incidental impacts of commercial activities, and climate change; compare national approaches to species management and protection; assess the effectiveness of existing agreements; and  explore ways to improve bilateral and regional cooperation and address changes in migration patterns as the ocean warms.  This Research Tutorial provides students at the Law School and the School of the Environment with the opportunity to engage with experts and contribute to this workshop.  Students would conduct legal research and literature reviews and develop case studies that they would present at the workshop.  Students also would attend the full two-day workshop, serving as rapporteurs of the different sessions, and then work with the workshop’s steering committee to produce a report of the proceedings.

At the federal level, the regulatory regimes for the management and conservation of ocean life forms present different issues in the USA and Canada.  As a general rule, this country’s environmental laws provide more robust protections than those in Canada.  At the same time, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been more aggressive than its US counterpart (the National Marine Fisheries Service) in efforts to limit damage to such species as endangered whales.  The ability of these two agencies to work cooperatively in a constructive fashion is growing in importance as climate change is driving more ocean species to shift the balance of their activities from one side of the USA/Canada border to the other.  With specific species (e.g., the right whale, the blue whale, and the American eel) as the focus of case studies, students in this tutorial would engage in comparative analyses of the differing regulatory approaches in the two countries and endeavor to formulate suggestions for improvement. 

Enrollment requires instructor permission, and applicants should have both interest in this field and some background in/academic focus on marine species, international or environmental law, and government policy/governance.   Students interested in applying for the course should submit a short (250-500 word) statement of interest about why they would like to enroll in the course and highlighting coursework and/or experience. Statements should be sent to Professor Roady sroady@duke.edu, no later than 4 pm on Friday, June 17.  Students will be notified before the first registration window opens on Tuesday morning so that you can factor the seminar into your semester credit load. 

714

Coastal Resilience in the Face of Climate Change 2
  • JD elective
  • LLM-ICL (JD) elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM writing, option
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Spring 22
  • Research and/or analytical paper(s), 15-20 pages
  • Group project(s)
  • Class participation

This seminar will provide students an opportunity to engage closely with emerging law and policy issues associated with the need to increase coastal resilience in the face of climate change.  The recent experiences of both North and South Carolina with Hurricane Florence have highlighted the need for coastal communities to address a wide range of issues associated with climate change.  In addition to designing approaches to increase resilience when faced with storms and rising sea levels, these issues include: (1) information-gathering (via maps, drones, and scientific research about coastal/ocean processes); (2) law and policy refinements (via statutes, regulations, and guidance); and (3) possible litigation to develop useful common law doctrines relevant to the tidelands and the public trust.  Through the use of current cases and policy issues under debate in coastal communities, students will work together to research the most salient questions presented by these issues.  They will analyze relevant facts, laws, policies, socio-economic considerations, and local ordinances, and prepare proposed solutions to these questions in the form of advisory memos and recommendations.  

737

Environmental Litigation 2
  • JD elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • PIPS elective
  • Spring 22
  • Spring 23
  • Research and/or analytical paper(s), 10-15 pages
  • Practical exercises
  • Class participation

During the past 40 years, environmental litigation in the federal courts of the United States has played an important role in shaping our quality of life.  Federal statutes designed to improve air and water quality, manage waste, protect species, and establish rules for the management of ocean resources have spawned numerous federal cases – some filed by affected industry, some by the government, and others filed by conservation groups and private citizens.  The resulting precedents affect many aspects of the environment in which we live.

This course introduces students to the progression of a hypothetical environmental case in United States federal courts.  The course begins with the appearance of a potential client, addresses several considerations relevant to a decision whether to file a complaint, examines discovery planning and execution, studies the preparation of dispositive motions, and concludes with an overview of the appeal process.  The course assumes that the hypothetical case will be decided on motions for summary judgment or for injunctive relief.  Therefore, class discussions focus on the manner in which such a case unfolds, with particular attention to developing both the facts and the theory of the case, framing pleadings, and designing and managing discovery.  The course explores these subjects from the perspective of counsel for defendants as well as for plaintiffs.  Students should emerge from the course better equipped to handle various practical aspects of litigation.

741

Climate Change and Financial Markets 2
  • JD SRWP, option
  • JD elective
  • LLM-ICL (JD) elective
  • IntlLLM-SJD-EXC elective
  • IntlLLM writing
  • IntlLLM Environ Cert
  • IntlLLM Business Cert
  • Spring 22
  • Spring 23
  • Spring 24
  • Research paper, 25+ pages
  • Oral presentation
  • Class participation

This course will focus on one of the most important elements in combatting, adapting to and mitigating the impact of climate change, namely the role of finance.  We will review the status of climate change science to gain an understanding of the challenge facing all of us.  Recognition and commitments by governments, including most particularly the United States, China, and Europe, will then be reviewed, before we consider the multiple linkages between finance and climate change, including the adverse impact of cryptocurrency.

Against this introduction the course will then delve into the various dimensions of financial markets and the players involved.  This is important to understand the broad ranging impact and opportunities for addressing climate change.  Once the markets and market participants are understood, the course will review the diverse roles of government agents and regulators, each of whom can have a far-reaching impact in shaping the markets and market behavior.  We will also assess the recognition of the challenge by financial market participants and their actual and potential responses to it.

A particularly thorny area is that of market analytics.  Many market operators claim to be “green,” but at this point the methods for determining the veracity of the claims remain very underdeveloped and often contradictory.  We will consider what has still to be done before we can really evaluate the “green” performance of firms and funds.  We will also face the real challenges that such firms face when trying to adapt.

The course will conclude with an assessment of the overall state of financial markets as one of the most important arenas in the struggle to meet the great challenges posed by climate change.

Course Credits

Semester

JD Course of Study

JD/LLM in International & Comparative Law

JD/LLM in Law & Entrepreneurship

International LLM - 1 year

Certificate in Public interest and Public Service Law

Areas of Study & Practice