Boalt Hall offers specialization certificate in environmental law—and other paths as well
by Erica Winter
Having a certificate in a legal specialty is more than just proof of completion, says Professor Daniel Farber, Director of Boalt's environmental law program for the past three years. A certificate program moves the student away from "the cafeteria approach of law school education," says Farber. Of course, should they choose to do so, law students can go through the cafeteria line and, so to speak, "load up on desserts and skip the salad," says Farber; but if the student knows ahead of time that she wants to be an environmental lawyer, then she can "get a menu to show how to do it right."
Boalt's environmental law certificate program is one of the first in the nation, says Farber, and is one of the most prominent. Students do indeed come to Boalt specifically to study environmental law, although not necessarily for the certificate. Boalt's environmental law certificate demonstrates the school's commitment to the field, however, even for students who decide to take a more a la carte approach.
While there are usually 12 law students pursuing the environmental law certificate each year, Farber estimates there are many more who are involved in Boalt's prestigious Ecology Law Journal and in the Environmental Law Society.
Melissa Thrailkill came to Boalt Hall wanting to study environmental law and work on environmental justice issues, but she decided not to pursue the certificate. To receive the specialization certificate in environmental law, a student's choices are assigned after the first year. Thrailkill, who also has interests in broader civil rights law, found the certificate curriculum too limited because she had not yet decided exactly what path she wanted her legal career to take.
Despite not pursuing the certificate, Thrailkill is deeply involved in Boalt's environmental law community. She is active in the Environmental Law Society and an Executive Editor with the Ecology Law Journal. Last summer, Thrailkill worked with The Center for Law and the Public Interest, Santa Monica, which, among other projects, seeks to expand the green space available to people in low-income Los Angeles communities. She hopes to do public interest law after receiving her J.D.
Thrailkill's pursuit of public interest law and environmental law is just one example of environmental law's compatibility with several other fields.
In addition to public interest concerns, real estate and development have major environmental components, says Farber, in environmental impact and waste cleanup issues. Constitutional law and environmental law are linked through questions on federalism, property rights, and limits on interstate commerce. Also, environmental law is becoming more connected with international law and trade law, as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opens roads to trucks from Mexico with different emissions standards, for example.
Despite all these external connections, environmental law remains internally fragmented, notes Farber. Currently, in environmental law there are several detailed statutes addressing specific problems, such as clean air, clean water, and disposal of hazardous waste. The problem is that there is no link between these laws. There is no unified environmental statute, says Farber, such as the Unified Commercial Code.
Numerous snags result from the gaps between environmental laws, says Farber. Businesses have disparate and sometimes conflicting regulations to learn and follow. For example, a program to prevent air pollution may result in the production of hazardous solid residue, which is not addressed in air pollution laws. This waste might qualify for incineration under hazardous waste disposal rules, yet that same incineration might violate air quality laws.
And no law "trumps" another, so there is no way to determine which one would take precedence if two laws clash-or if they intersect. For example, says Farber, some water pollution is air pollution, such as when mercury form the air gets in to the water. Even when lawyers need to talk about both at the same time, the laws themselves do not. The Environmental Protection Agency does try to splice all the different legal ends together, says Farber, but it's a hard job, because the laws were all designed separately.
All of this makes the environmental specialty "fascinating," says Farber, and strangely similar to being a tax lawyer, requiring a large time investment to master complex regulations and rules.
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