Law (LAW)

LAW 602B Environmental Diplomacy Practicum (4 credits)
This new course taught jointly with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies will engage students in legal and scientific research on environmental issues before the United Nations. Students in the 4 credit course (2 academic and 2 experiential) will learn the environmental diplomacy process, attend meetings and negotiation sessions at the United Nations and prepare an in depth research paper on a topic chosen to assist a delegation or member state better deal with environmental issues before the General Assembly or the Commission on Sustainable Development.

LAW 671 Administrative Law (3 credits)
This course is a study of the organization, function, and procedures of state and federal administrative agencies, including the investigatory, rulemaking, adjudicatory, and enforcement functions of such agencies, and judicial review of administrative action.

LAW 686A Environmental Regulation of Real Estate (2 credits)
Local governments have been delegated authority to protect many aspects of the environment. Although this authority has been rarely examined, the role of local governments in this area has expanded over the past several years and has evolved into a new field of law entitled “local environmental law.” Local environmental laws can now be identified and studied, such as laws relating to: erosion and sedimentation control, ridgeline protection, solid waste disposal, steep slopes, tree protection, and wetlands, to name a few. In addition to the advent of these local laws, environmental protection standards are often found in subdivision, site plan, and special permit regulations of local zoning ordinances. This seminar will explore the scope and extent of this delegated local authority in various states. A twenty-five page seminar paper is required, with the topic worked out individually between the professor and the student. Enrollment is limited to fifteen students.

LAW 689 Energy and Natural Resources Law (2 credits)
This course traces the evolution of the regulatory framework within which economic energy issues have been decided. It reviews the various systems which have been used to regulate both traditional and non-traditional energy sources, and examines the interaction among traditional public utility concepts, government social policies, and market forces. The legal aspects of energy conservation are considered.

LAW 715A Comparative Environmental Law (2 credits)
This course closely examines the rapidly growing field of public international law for environmental protection, and how it both affects and is shaped by environmental law in civil law, common law, and socialist law nations. Public and private environmental law is compared among these nations, with emphasis devoted to the distinctions between less developed and developed countries in pollution control, environmental impact assessment, and natural resource exploitation and conservation. The UNEP/IUCN National Conservation Strategy model is featured as a case study. Prerequisite: Environmental Law Survey; Comparative Law is recommended.

LAW 715A Comparative Environmental Law - Brazil (Summer Semester, 2 credits)
This course is similar in purpose to the Comparative Environmental Law course, but focuses on Brazil, a country with which Pace has had a long relationship. The course is a concentrated two week program taught in late May and early June in Brazil with the second week involving a field trip to experience Brazil's unparalleled natural resources.

LAW 728 Environmental Justice (2 credits)
This course explores the environmental justice movement from its political context and its commencement to current trends and future directions. The course critically examines charges of environmental racism and strategies for environmental justice by provoking in-depth analysis of pertinent case law, the major environmental equity studies and significant law review articles and statutes proposed to address environmental inequities. Course work examines whether environmental regulatory statutes and internal policies and procedures contribute to inequitable distribution of risk and reviews health studies which consider exposures minorities and poor people face and compares those exposures to environmentally triggered health consequences. Finally, the course focuses on strategies which successfully prevented siting of locally unwanted land uses and considers whether environmental benefits are inequitably distributed by race.

LAW 733 Land Use Law (3 credits)
This course encompasses in-depth study of the law of land use planning and zoning, both generally and as it has developed in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The constitutional and statutory basis of land use controls is thoroughly examined, along with contemporary procedures involved with land use changes, cluster zoning, contract zoning, planned unit developments, subdivision and site plan review, and environmental impact assessment. The course utilizes a combination of the casebook and problem methods, and pays some attention to practical problems of representing clients before municipal bodies.

LAW 735 Non-Profit Organizations (2 credits)
This seminar examines the scope and meaning of the non-profit concept; problems of non-profit corporations under state corporate law; introductory tax problems of exempt organizations such as obtaining federal and state exemption from tax and the unrelated business income tax; public accountability; state and federal supervision; lobbying limitations; competition with the for-profit sector, and investment policies and patterns of exempt organizations. A paper is required.

LAW 743 Historic Preservation Seminar (2 credits)
This seminar examines the law applicable to archaeological, architecturally significant and other historic structures and cultural sites. The legal rationale behind police power regulations is studied, as are the alternative means of protection at local, state and federal levels of government. Private property tools and tax incentives are reviewed. The conflicts between preservation laws and other social values, the use of religious sites protected by the First Amendment, and the scope of "regulatory takings" are featured as a case study. Students are graded based on class participation and either a research paper or a project applying preservation laws to an actual factual setting. Both papers and projects must be presented orally to the class and two tutorial meetings with the professor must be scheduled to explore either the paper's research or the project's preparation.

LAW 767A, 767B Environmental Litigation Clinic (6 credits)
The Environmental Litigation Clinic represents public interest environmental groups bringing citizen enforcement actions in state and federal courts on a variety of environmental and land use issues. The major client of the Clinic is the Hudson Riverkeeper, Inc. Amicus curiae briefs in significant national environmental litigation are also prepared. In addition to the casework, two weekly seminars focus on substantive environmental law and on lawyering skills encountered in major civil litigation. Skill areas include: case planning, integration of facts and law, client counseling, negotiation, drafting legal documents, and pre-trial and trial advocacy. The Environmental Litigation Clinic requires a substantial time commitment. Permission of the professor, based upon application, is required. Environmental Law Survey and Evidence are prerequisites, but sometimes may be taken simultaneously or waived. Environmental Law Skills and Practice is recommended.

LAW 772 Environmental Commercial Transactions (2 credits)
Every commercial law practice today requires environmental due diligence. This course examines the reporting requirements, audits, and other disclosures that the attorney must provide for the purchase or sale of real property, for mergers and acquisitions, for disclosures under the federal securities laws, and under environmental permitting for real estate development. The course examines warranties, covenants, and other representations available in structuring transactions to avoid or limit environmental liability. The course examines related issues of environmental income and property taxes.

LAW 775 Conservation Law (2 credits)
The protection of nature in parks, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges has produced a special body of law throughout the states and the one-third of the United States which constitutes public lands. Fish and game laws are examined along with newer regulations of private lands to protect ecological systems or rare geological features such as wild and scenic rivers. Marine sanctuaries, international parks, and habitat protection for migratory species are examined. The relative rights of Native Americans, private property owners, state governments, and federal agencies are analyzed.

LAW 784 Protection of Cultural Resources (2 credits)
The looting of archaeological resources not only is a local issue with respect to the actual removal of artifacts from the ground or from museums but it is also an international issue when those items are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars on the international black market. One report estimates that 80% of Pakistan's archaeological resources have already been destroyed by looters. Besides Pakistan, archaeological resources have been (and still are) being destroyed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Egypt, Italy, Syria, Iran and Malta. Even the United States is not immune. Ancient funeral pots from the Southwestern United States can fetch on average $50,000 to $60,000 a pot on the black market and other types of ceremonial or religious artifacts can also fetch tens of thousands of dollars. Between 1998 and 2001, there have been on average 230 federal prosecutions a year for the looting or attempted looting of archaeological sites situated on federal and Indian lands. This course will emphasize the historical development and continued evolution of laws designed to protect both archaeological resources and cultural property situated in the United States as well as "artifacts" and "objects of antiquities" transported to or sold within the United States. The course will begin with an overview of the major laws designed specifically to protect cultural and archaeological resources situated on Federal and Indian lands in the United States including various criminal statutes as well as those laws enacted to insure that artifacts or objects illegally removed from other countries can not be imported into the United States. In addition, common-law property issues, takings law, Native American rights, and maritime law (relating to historic or archaeological shipwrecks) will also be discussed.

LAW 796 Legal Management of Urban Environments (2 credits)
Principal responsibility for implementing environmental protection laws rests with the states. The varied state law approaches to environmental protection are compared. Federal delegation of many environmental laws to state and local government is examined. An entire body of environmental protection measures is found exclusively at the municipal level: the course examines how a local government integrates its land use, noise, wetlands, shade trees, refuse, and regulations through its administrative structure, to control issues as urban sprawl.

LAW 797A Environmental Law Seminar: Clean Air (2 credits)
This course, a seminar on current environmental law topics, involves in-depth analysis of selected environmental legal issues and policy problems. The seminar covers sophisticated legal and interdisciplinary issues of environmental decision-making, including economic and cost analysis, proof, identification of policy tradeoffs, environmental politics and similar issues. Topics to be covered ordinarily include a full semester seminar on the Federal Clean Air Act. Recommended: Environmental Law Skills and Practice.

LAW 797C Environmental Law Seminar: NEPA/SEQRA (2 credits)
This seminar will deal with federal and state environmental impact procedures required by NEPA, the New York State Environmental Quality Act (SEQRA) and little NEPA's from other states. Impact assessment is essential to real estate development, government projects, and a wide range of law practices. The subjects covered will include the legislative history and development of the case law, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations, the State Regulations, and the environmental assessment process and the work of attorneys, planners, and professionals of other disciplines in the process. This course is open to all students without pre-requisites, and students will take a final examination at the end for the course. Students who wish to do a research project for the Upper Division Writing Credit, can apply to the instructor and do this in lieu of the exam.
LAW 797F Environmental Law Seminar: Coastal & Marine Law (2 credits)
Our coasts and oceans present a unique natural and legal environment. They are subject to a complex mix of common law private and public rights and interests, international customs and principles, and statutory mandates and protections. The aim of the course is to examine in some depth various elements of that mix, focusing on the most significant features of state, federal and international coastal and ocean law and the relationship between them. Through a combination of lectures, problems and case studies, students will become familiar with the laws and policies relating to water quality and habitat protection, fisheries and marine wildlife preservation, ocean energy and mineral resources, pollution of coastal and ocean waters, and management of the coastal zone. Recommended: Environmental Law Survey.

LAW 797H Environmental Law Seminar: Compliance and Enforcement (2 credits)
Sound legislation is the foundation for effective environmental programs. However, even the best legislation will not succeed in the absence of well-structured compliance and enforcement programs. This seminar will explore the full range of compliance and enforcement programs starting with the question of what motivates compliance and then examining the role of compliance assistance, civil and criminal enforcement, and citizen suits. The course will conclude with a review of the economic and ethical forces that motivate compliance with environmental laws. The course will provide students the background they will need to understand and deal with compliance and enforcement programs whether they are working in government, an advocacy organization or the private sector. A unique feature of the course is that it will be integrated with a major international conference on environmental compliance and enforcement (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium) to be held at the law school from October 16-20, 2006. Students will have an opportunity to meet and interact with environmental enforcement experts from around the world through the Colloquium

LAW 802 Science for Environmental Lawyers (2 credits)
Most environmental issues involve the attorney in a close professional working relationship with experts in the biological and physical sciences, or on technical fields such as engineering or hydrology. This interdisciplinary course examines the recurring issues of ecology, toxicology, epidemiology and Pollution control engineering which arise in an environmental law practice. This course is required for LLM students and recommended for JD students.

LAW 815 Animal Law (2 credits)
This course explores the animal law movement from its inception to its current status. This course examines the development, scope and current application of anti-cruelty laws governing laboratory test animals, trapping, animal fighting, animals used in entertainment, animals used for religious purposes or for educational purposes, and humane slaughter. The relationship of humane animal laws to conservation oriented fish and game laws is studied. Federal and selected state laws on transportation of animals and on zoological gardens are reviewed. The course studies law reform, resources, expanding the scope of animal law, and the connection between environmental issues and animal issues at both the local and global levels.

LAW 821 Environmental Law Externship (4 credits)
Students spend twelve hours a week prosecuting environmental law violations in various environmental law enforcement agencies, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Westchester County District Attorney, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the environmental justice project of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Student work and the practice experience are further reviewed in a weekly seminar session with the faculty supervisor. The seminar also compares the approach to legal issues and environmental problems of government lawyers and "public interest" lawyers and systematically analyzes topics such as the authority of the courts, the scope of judicial review, the relationship between administrative agency records and litigation, available remedies, and state-federal relations, as they arise within the framework of the clinical experience. Environmental Law Survey is required but may be taken concurrently. Permission of the instructor is also required.

LAW 840 Toxic Torts (2 credits)
This seminar addresses a variety of issues presented in personal injury and property damage cases arising from the exposure to toxic substances. There are a rapidly growing number of injuries caused by toxins in our environment, including, among other substances, asbestos; Agent Orange; dioxin; PCBs and other chemicals in the groundwater near hazardous waste sites; prescription drugs; and chemicals in the workplace. Persons exposed to these toxins are seeking a remedy in the courts, and these actions are demanding new ways of dealing with traditional tort concepts such as causation; statutory time limitations; prospective injury; fear of future illness; and medical monitoring. Scientific uncertainty about the effects of many toxic substances on humans creates special problems of proof. A substantial research paper is required in lieu of an examination.

LAW 841 Hazardous Waste (2 credits)
This course explores the law of hazardous waste disposal and of the remediation of contamination from past, mostly unregulated, disposal of hazardous waste. The primary focus of the course is on the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and their state counterparts. It emphasizes the analysis of complicated and interrelated statutes and regulations. The subject matter and the course represents the most active area of practice in contemporary environmental law. Prerequisite: Environmental Law Survey and Environmental Skills and Practice.

LAW 842 Environmental Litigation Seminar (2 credits)
This seminar examines a variety of litigation issues in the environmental arena, including typical EPA enforcement proceedings from governmental inspections and initiation of proceedings through final resolution, challenges to federal governmental permitting decisions (such as those of the Corps of Engineers), citizens' suits, and CERCLA litigation. It identifies and considers procedural, evidentiary, ethics and substantive issues which arise in these matters from the perspective of the government, private parties and public.

LAW 844A Mass Torts (2 credits)
The seminar provides an examination of the special procedural, ethical and process issues raised by interstate mass environmental and toxic tort litigation for substances ranging from asbestos to PCBs to second-hand smoke. The course provides a groundwork in class action, consolidation, discovery, pretrial procedure, trust fund, insurance, and bankruptcy issues, together with an exploration of special ethical issues raised by class action and consolidation related lawsuits and settlements. Attention is directed to use of statistics to prove causation. There is no final examination. A substantial research paper is required in satisfaction of the course.

LAW 845 International Environmental Law (2 credits)
International agreements and organizations address a wide range of environmental protection issues. The course examines the Environmental Law of the Sea and regional seas conventions, the treaties on migratory species, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), air pollution control treaties, and transboundary environmental issues. The role of the United Nations and other multilateral agencies is examined. Prerequisite: International Law. Recommended: Environmental Law Survey.

LAW 856 Environmental Law Survey (3 credits)
Environmental law has become an integral part of most law practices in the United States today. This course provides an introduction to the framework of the major federal environmental statutes and how the lawyer encounters them in practice (the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and laws on solid and hazardous materials and wastes). Throughout the course, problems of professional responsibility are integrated into consideration of the substance of each Statute. This course is a foundation course for the advanced specialized environmental subjects, and provides the generalist with a solid understanding of the legislative, administrative and judicial system of environmental law today.

LAW 857 Environmental Law Skills and Practice (4 credits)
Using a single statute, the Clean Water Act as a sample, this course introduces the student to interpreting and working with complex statutes and regulations. Through a series of exercises and simulations it explores basic administrative and regulatory processes, such as rule making, permit issuance and enforcement. It explores how the three branches of government, in with federal and state governments, interact to develop environmental laws and policy and the role of lawyers in that process.

LAW 865 Health and Safety in the Workplace (2 credits)
Concern over safety and health in the workplace has evolved into one of the major legal issues of our time. Asbestos, lead, carcinogens, toxic chemicals, VDTs, etc. have and are continuing to be the subject of major civil and criminal actions. In addition to state legislation directed at health in the workplace, there is the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Occupational Safety and Health Law is an introductory course which seeks to impart a basic understanding of the nature and origins of the problem, and society's attempts to address it. The issue of health in the workplace, however, cannot be viewed in isolation. It overlaps with other areas of law, such as environmental protection, health and employment law. Thus the course also attempts to demonstrate this interrelationship. Public Health Law is recommended, but is not required.

LAW 895 Environmental Externship in Washington (6 credits)
The Environmental Externship has two components: (1) a one-week classroom seminar conducted at Pace; and (2) seven weeks of supervised field work with a mentor attorney in a federal environmental agency, congressional office, public interest environmental organization or other appropriate institution located in the Washington, D.C. area. The program is supervised by full-time faculty members at Pace, and an adjunct professor in Washington, D.C. Students maintain work logs and journals, participate in a weekly seminar conducted by the Washington faculty member, and produce a substantial paper. This externship is designed to allow students to gain practical experience in the environmental legal arena with special emphasis on the type of legal work conducted in Washington, D.C. but in a controlled learning situation which enriches the students' more traditional academic instruction. The externship work is supervised primarily by the placement attorneys, but with support from Pace faculty. The students may engage in a variety of work, including analyzing legislative and regulatory issues, drafting advice memoranda, assisting with briefs and other legal activities. Some weekly seminars are devoted to discussion of individual assignments, for mutual consultation. Some fieldwork may be library research or other tasks related to the individual placements. Placements may include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Departments of Justice, Interior, Energy and Agriculture; the Council on Environmental Quality, committees and subcommittees of Congress with environmental and land use responsibilities; and environmental public interest organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation and the National Audubon Society. Trade associations and private law firms offering pro bono placements may also participate. Permission of the professor, based upon application and usually interview, is required. Environmental Law Survey is a prerequisite.

Note: Some courses may not be offered each semester. Some courses run only once per academic year, or every other academic year. Search the class schedule for current offerings.