Legal Research: Environmental Law

NOTE: This course is available as an In-Person Section or an Online Section. Each section has its own course description. Check the current catalog or WebAdvisor to see which section is offered in any given year.

Legal Research: Environmental Law - Professor Robert Truman

• Course Number: LAW-583-OL Online Section
• Course Type: Highly Specialized
• Credits: 2
• Enrollment Limit: 25
• Description: This course will be offered online with no scheduled course meetings. Students will gain advanced understanding of the legal resources and research techniques used in the practice of environmental, natural resources, and energy law. We will cover sources and techniques beyond those of introductory research courses, with an emphasis on administrative materials and advanced statutory research, as well as exposure to current awareness tools, topical databases, international environmental legal research, legislative tracking and history, science and statistics sources, cost-effective research strategies, and current and archived sources of government information.

  The course is designed to complement other environmental, natural resources, and energy law courses and clinics, and to allow students to apply knowledge gained in this class to their research, clinical, journal, and work experiences.

• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Regular exercises and short quizzes, class participation (through online discussion and, potentially, synchronous video chats), and a final research project on a topic within environmental, natural resources, or energy law of the student’s choosing. This final project may be related to a student’s Capstone or other writing requirement, clinical experience, internship/externship, or other work.
• Capstone: no
• WIE: no

Legal Research: Environmental Law - Professor Robert Truman

• Course Number: LAW-583 In-Person Section
• NOTE: This section will meet for two hours and run for the first seven weeks of the semester. Because of the shortened course structure, students may not add this course after the first class meeting.
• Course Type: Highly Specialized
• Credits: 1
• Enrollment Limit: 25
• Description: This one-credit course will provide in-depth exposure to the legal resources and the most effective research techniques used in the practice of environmental, natural resources, and energy law. There will be a strong emphasis on administrative law and the rulemaking process in addition to advanced statutory and case law research, and students will explore current awareness tools, specialized information databases, international environmental legal research, environmental dispute resolution resources, legislative tracking and legislative history, science and statistics sources, cost-effective research strategies, and current and archived sources of government information.

  The course is designed to complement other environmental, natural resources, and energy law courses and clinics, and to allow students to apply knowledge gained in this class to their research, clinical, journal, and work experiences.

• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Class participation, in and out of class exercises, and a final project on a topic within environmental, natural resources, or energy law of the student’s choosing.
• Capstone: no
• WIE: no