Environmental Law Program

Miami Law’s Environmental Law Program is unique due to its South Florida location, enabling the focus on the prism of issues affecting the environment — from maritime to real estate to land use to the cruise industry to environmental law to law of the sea. The Program also offers a unique intersectionality with other University of Miami graduate programs in marine affairs, land use, architecture, and business. With a Concentration in Environmental Law and an Environmental Justice Clinic, the program trains students to become future attorneys, policy makers, and scholars in the field of environmental law locally, nationally, and internationally.

Concentrations, Joint Degrees

Concentrations

For students who want to delve more deeply, Miami Law enables them to focus their studies via the Environmental Law Concentration or Area of Focus. Students who meet all requirements receive a notation on their official transcript. See list of available courses in the concentration.

Related concentrations include:

Joint Degrees

For even more in-depth specialization, the Program builds on the University of Miami's outstanding interdisciplinary and joint degree programs—unmatched by any other law school—so law students can get the background they need, especially for more grounding in related sciences.

J.D./M.P.S. - Marine Ecosystems and Society – with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS)
J.D./Ph.D. - Environmental Science and Policy - with the Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy
J.D./LL.M. - Maritime Law - courses in this program partner with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS)
J.D./LL.M. - Real Estate/Property Development - courses in this program partner with the School of Architecture, the College of Engineering, and the Herbert School of Business

Experiential Learning: Clinics, Moot Competitions, International Study

Environmental Justice Clinic

The Environmental Justice Clinic (EJC) advocates for and seeks to empower low-and moderate-income communities who disproportionately bear the environmental, economic, and health burdens of the development, implementation, and enforcement of the law. It was launched in 2016 as Environmental Justice Project in Miami Law’s Center for Ethics and Public Service under Professor Tony Alfieri and later became full-fledged clinic. Learn More

National Environmental Moot Court Competition

Hosted by Pace Law School and well-known for its challenging problems, the event attracts teams from all over the United States. In 2022 Miami Law won the competition and in 2021, UM Law sent its first team and won first place. Learn More

International Environmental Moot Court Competition

The Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition is the world's largest moot court competition devoted exclusively to global environmental challenges. Regional rounds are held in Africa, East Asia, Eastern and Central Europe, Ireland, India, Latin America, North America, and Southeast Asia. The International Finals are held at Stetson University College of Law. In 2023, Miami Law won the competition. Learn More

Pace Environmental Law & Policy Hack Competition

The Law and Policy Hack is an exciting competition organized by Pace Law School. In it, students are given a real life problem and work with an interdisciplinary team to propose a solution. Miami Law sent a team for the first time in 2021 and placed in the top three and qualified for the finals. Learn More

United Nations Climate Change Conferences

Professor Jessica Owley and students attended the UN Conference in Egypt in 2022 and attended the United Nations COP25 climate change conference in Madrid in December 2019. Owley has applied for the University to become a United Nations accredited observer and UM was provisionally approved for official accredited observer status at the climate change treaty-making talks. She sees the annual meeting as an invaluable learning tool for her U.N. Negotiations course. Learn More

Student Organizations

Environmental Law Society

Examines policy issues and career opportunities in environmental law and promotes the environmental interests of the school and students to the local and national community. It also hosts lectures and networking opportunities. Learn More

Maritime Law Society

The maritime law society educates its members in the field of maritime law and supports the area’s maritime community via lectures and events with the Admiralty Bar. Learn More

Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law Society

The society focuses on several aspects of real estate law including real estate transactions, development, probate, trusts & estates, construction, finance, and hospitality. Learn More

Student Animal Legal Defense Fund

This program enhances the welfare and legal status of all nonhuman animals; its primary goals are to educate concerning the issues and laws that affect animals and to influence positive change. Learn More

Partners, Collaborators, Affiliates

University of Miami Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy
University of Miami Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS)
U-LINK- University of Miami Laboratory for Integrative Knowledge - this supports multidisciplinary collaborations needed to address complex societal problems; Miami Law was part of a team that was awarded a grant for “On the Move: Climate Migration and Retreat in South Florida, the Caribbean, and Beyond” and was a creator of the Climate and Racial Justice Talks in 2021.
Miami Climate Alliance – our Environmental Justice Clinic collaborates with community partners, such as the Miami Climate Alliance, to further the energy justice movement.

Library

With over 630,000 volumes and volume equivalents (microforms), the Miami Law Library is one of the largest legal research libraries in the Southeast. Among the special subject strengths represented in the collection are ocean law, environmental law, foreign and international law, and a rare books section of documents from complex Everglades litigation.

See the Everglades Collection

Lectures & Events