Office of Marine Affairs

The Marine Affairs Institute/Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program at Roger Williams University School of Law educates and prepares exceptional marine law professionals and is the home of North America’s expert marine law and policy researchers, educators and conveners.  We achieve our goals by:

• Offering rigorous and diverse maritime and marine law courses.
• Providing full extracurricular opportunities to develop excellent research, writing and advocacy skills.
• Convening local, regional, national and international experts in a neutral forum to address relevant maritime and marine law issues.
• Leveraging unique institutional strengths and interdisciplinary approaches of our partners, Rhode Island Sea Grant and the University of Rhode Island.
   

Curriculum

Tracks:   Marine and Environmental Law
                 Maritime Law

Courses are taught by full professors as well as by expert practitioners. Core electives include:

Marine and Environmental Law:
Environmental Law
Fisheries Law and Policy
Legal Drafting and Advocacy: Environmental Law
Natural Resources Law
Ocean & Coastal Law
Wildlife and Wilderness Law and Policy

Maritime Law:
Admiralty
Maritime Practice and Procedure
Marine Insurance
Collision & Limitation of Liability
Energy Law in the Maritime Economy
Legal Drafting and Advocacy: Maritime Litigation
Marine Salvage
Law of the Sea
Maritime Litigation: The Whips & Whirls of an Admiralty Practice

Sea Grant Law Fellows
In partnership with the Rhode Island Sea Grant College Program, the Institute hires law students as Sea Grant Law Fellows to conduct legal research and analysis for government agencies, industry and non-profit organizations.  Fellows are supervised and work on timely legal issues such as fisheries management and coastal access, honing their legal research and writing skills while acquiring hands-on application of their classroom knowledge.  Constituents benefit from receiving balanced, neutral research while also providing students with real world experience.

Marine Affairs Joint Degree Program
Students interested in more extensive study of marine law and policy may simultaneously earn a JD from RWU and a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Rhode Island (URI) in 3 ½ years through sharing of selected credits.  Joint degree students enhance their legal education with additional courses at URI on economic, international and policy considerations, positioning them well to address today’s complex maritime, ocean and coastal legal issues.  Additional informatio is also available here.

Events
The Institute sponsors speakers, symposia, and inter-disciplinary training programs that provide law students and practitioners with opportunities to meet with other marine law professionals in both formal and informal settings to learn about recent developments in ocean and coastal law. Topics include marine renewable energy, international cargo liability, ecosystem based management and fishery law.  (See also Event Archives)

To be added to the Institute's mailing list, please e-mail the Institute at marineaffairs@rwu.edu.