Environmental Practice: Business Transactions

This seminar will examine environmental issues that arise in business transactions.  Over the course of the semester students will work in groups - taking on the role of an assigned corporation.  Students will examine issues involving identification, evaluation and allocation of environmental risks from the perspective of the assigned corporation.  The course will cover corporate activities associated with operations, capital improvement projects, and the purchase and sale of business entities.  Within that corporate context the seminar will focus on practical skills such as identifying environmental risks, deciphering technical reports, performing transactional due diligence, and working with technical consultants and regulatory agencies.  The seminar will also address issues that are increasingly influencing corporate behavior such as sustainability, corporate social responsibility, ecosystem services, social license, climate change, and environmental markets.    Students should be committed to a high level of participation both in and out of the classroom.  Students will be graded based on class participation, a group project, and a short final exam.

Prerequisite: Environmental Law (or instructor permission).