Our Mission: Training the next generation of marine law professionals.
The Marine Affairs Institute at Roger Williams University School of Law is a partnership of the law school, the University of Rhode Island, and Rhode Island Sea Grant. The Marine Affairs Institute is also home to the Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program. The Marine Affairs Institute/Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program prepares law students to enter the exciting field of ocean and coastal law and policy by providing them with strong academic credentials and practical experiences that help them be practice-ready upon graduation. The Marine Affairs Institute offers a wide variety of opportunities for students, including:
Through the partnership with the University of Rhode Island, students can obtain their J.D. at the law school and their Master of Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island in just three and a half years. Through the partnership with Rhode Island Sea Grant, law students can participate in the Rhode Island Sea Grant Law Fellow Program, an experiential education program that matches second and third-year law students with outside organizations seeking assistance with marine law or policy questions.
The Juris Doctor/Master of Marine Affairs builds upon the comprehensive base of marine law and policy courses offered at the School of Law and University of Rhode Island Department of Marine Affairs. In this program, students enhance their legal education and are positioned to holistically address today’s complex maritime, ocean and coastal legal issues.
Law students selected as Rhode Island Sea Grant Law Fellows conduct legal research and analysis on behalf of outside organizations on real-world issues in ocean and coastal law .
With courses taught by both tenure and adjunct faculty, the Marine Affairs Institute offers students a wide variety of academic experiences during their time at RWU Law.
Our research focuses on timely legal and policy issues raised by the development and use of the oceans and coastal zones.
The Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce (JMLC) is a scholarly publication devoted to all aspects of admiralty and maritime law.
As of January 1, 2021, the JMLC is under new ownership at the Roger Williams University School of Law.
The Marine Affairs Institute prepares students to become professionals in the field of ocean and coastal law. Many are working for the federal government, state government, private law firms, non-government organizations, academia, and have received prestigious post-graduate fellowships.
Read Porter is senior staff attorney with the Marine Affairs Institute at Roger Williams University School of Law and the Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program. Read directs the Sea Grant Law Fellow Program, an experiential education program in which RWU law students conduct legal research on behalf of outside organizations.
Read full storyRhode Island’s only law school acquires the U.S.’s leading maritime law periodical, a boon for the profession and students alike.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch relies heavily on an article by Professor David Logan in arguing that the court should have heard a challenge to its landmark 1964 holding in New York Times v. Sullivan.
This fall, RWU Law becomes one of just a handful of law schools nationwide to introduce a new required course on “Race & the Foundations of American Law” to its core legal curriculum.
DirectorMarine Affairs Institute & RI Sea Grant Legal ProgramAdjunct Professor of Law
Research Attorney Marine Affairs Institute & RI Sea Grant Legal Program
