Conference to Examine Future of Environmental Law

March 21, 2006

Mary Wood

Conference to Examine Future of Environmental Law The Virginia Environmental Law Journal will mark its 25th anniversary with an interdisciplinary conference March 29-31 that will address the challenges facing environmental advocates in the next quarter century. Scholars and practicing attorneys from government agencies, private firms, NGOs, and universities will gather at the School of Law for the event, "The Next 25 Years: Interdisciplinary Directions in Environmental Law." Charles Di Leva, the Chief Counsel of the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Practice Group at the World Bank, will deliver the keynote address Thursday, March 30, at 5 pm.

The conference, which features lectures, panel discussions, and a community service park clean-up, includes topics such as the 9/11 fund and its impact on environmental risk and regulation (with Ken Feinberg, former Special Master of the September 11 Victim's Compensation Fund and an adjunct professor at U.Va. Law); community gardens and open spaces in low-income and minority neighborhoods (with NYU law professor Vicki Been); environmental advocacy in the southeastern United States; environmental legislation; and environmental risk assessment and management.

U.Va. law students who have volunteered pro bono environmental legal services to local and national environmental organizations will be honored at a lunch Friday, March 31.

Published by U.Va. law students since 1979, the Virginia Environmental Law Journal is a leader in environmental legal scholarship. The journal focuses on state, regional, national, and international issues of environmental, preservation, land use, energy, and natural resources law, and publishes three to four times each year.

Conference events (except where noted) are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact J.R. Lederer at @email or (201) 519-7450

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 All events located in WB152 except where noted.
4:00-5:30 pm	New Directions in Environmental Law Introductory Remarks by U.Va. Law Dean John C. Jeffries Jr. Panelists: Robert Percival, Professor and Director of Environmental Law Program, University of Maryland School of Law Hope Babcock, Professor and Director, Georgetown Environmental Law Center-Environmental Justice Clinic Tom Sansonetti, Partner, Holland & Hart; former Chief, Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division
6:30-7:30 pm	Valuing Human Life: The 9/11 Fund and Its Impact on the Risk/Regulation Debate Ken Feinberg, Managing Partner the Feinberg Group LLP; Former Special Master, September 11 Victim's Compensation Fund; Adjunct Professor of Law, U.Va., Georgetown, NYU, and University of Pennsylvania
THURSDAY, MARCH 30 All events located in WB152 except where noted.
9:00-10:30 am	Welcome Breakfast (Stone Dining Room, Invited Guests ) With members of the National Advisory Board, local practitioners, U.Va. law faculty, and Dean Jeffries. Panel discussion moderated by Jon Cannon regarding the future of environmental law at U.Va. and beyond. Participants: Turner Smith, Partner, Hunton & Williams Richard A. Merrill, Daniel Caplin Professor of Law, University of Virginia Richard Collins, Director of the Institute of Environmental Negotiation; Professor of Urban Planning, University of Virginia Jon Cannon, Professor and Director, Center for Environmental and Land Use Law, University of Virginia School of Law Faculty of the U.Va. Law Environmental Program
12:00-1:30 pm	The Interpretation of Expansive Environmental Legislation and the Rebirth of the Common Law (Caddell Conference Room, Third Floor Slaughter Hall) Jason Czarnezki, Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School
2:00-3:00 pm	Growing Threats and Opportunities: Environmental Advocacy in the South Over the Next 10 Years Rick Middleton, President, Southern Environmental Law Center
4:00-4:45 pm	Restoring the Environment and Restoring Democracy Current issues in environmental law, protection, and management. Robert Adler, Professor, University of Utah School of Law
5:00-5:45 pm	Keynote Address: Global Approaches to International Environmental Issues Charles E. Di Leva, Chief Counsel, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development and International Law Practice Group, World Bank
5:45-6:30 pm	Panel Discussion of the Keynote Address Panelists: Turner Smith, Partner, Hunton & Williams Gary Guzy, Marsh & Co. Environmental Insurance and Risk Management Jon Cannon, Professor and Director, Center for Environmental and Land Use Law, University of Virginia School of Law
FRIDAY, MARCH 31
9:00 am	Breakfast Workshop (Stone Dining Room, Invited Guests ) With the National Advisory Board members regarding their role in the journal and in developing future environmental law practitioners.
12:00-1:30 pm	NGO Lunch and Pro Bono Drive Culmination Ceremony (WB105) Announcement of 250 hour pro bono initiative and projects that are available, as well as those which have been completed. Co-sponsored with the Virginia Environmental Law Forum and the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center. Participants: Rachel Doughty, Staff Attorney, Wildlaw, Asheville, NC Steve Roady, Attorney, Earthjustice Greg Edwards, Nature Conservancy VELF Pro Bono Coordinators
2:30-3:30 pm	Measuring the Value of Community Gardens and Other Open Space in Low-Income and Minority Neighborhoods (WB126) Vicki L. Been, Professor and Director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, NYU Law
4:00-5:30 pm	Panel Discussion and Student Workshop on Environmental Risk Assessment (WB126) Break-out groups of students and practioners applying concepts and techniques of environmental risk assessment and management to real world problems and contexts . Panelists: Andrew. J. Perel, Cadwalader, Wickersham, & Taft LLP, NY, Environmental Practice Group Richard A. Merrill, Daniel Caplin Professor of Law, Former Chief Counsel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Margaret Mellon, Director, Food and Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
5:30-7:00 pm	Environmental Law in the Next 25 Years(WB126) Speakers will lend perspective on the history of the environmental movement and especially the development of the environmental legal field. Panelists: Karin Sheldon, Director, Vermont Law School Environmental Program Nicholas A. Robinson, Co-Director, Center for Environmental Legal Studies, Pace Law School Steve Roady, Attorney, Earthjustice
7:00-8:00 pm	Conference Final Reception (Caplin Pavilion)

Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.

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