9th Marine Law Symposium (Nov. 2012)

Shifting Seas: The Law's Response to Changing Ocean Conditions

November 14 & 15, 2012
Roger Williams University School of Law

This Symposium examined the laws and policies that are implicated as climate change impacts coastal and ocean environments. The land-sea boundary is shifting, ocean water is warmer and more acidic, fluctuating weather conditions and storms increasingly impact coastal communities, and the melting Arctic ice cap raises new international boundary and resource exploitation issues. These changes trigger many corresponding legal considerations for natural resource managers, planners, attorneys, insurers and law enforcement entities.  At this Symposium, experts and legal practitioners from governmental bodies as well as private industry, academia and non-profit organizations explored the state of the law, how disputes have been handled to date, and what may be on the horizon. Attendees took away the law and policy tools necessary to engage in these rapidly changing issues, and an understanding of the natural and social science behind changing coastal and ocean conditions.

R.I. Coast at Center of Marine Climate Crisis
Tim Faulkner, ecoRI
November 16, 2012

Recordings

OPENING and DR. WILLIAM B. CURRY, KEYNOTE SPEAKER

DR. LAURA PETES, KEYNOTE SPEAKER

GEOFF FEINBERG, KEYNOTE SPEAKER

J. DAVID BREEMER, KEYNOTE SPEAKER

PANEL 1

PANEL 2

PANEL 3

PANEL 4

PANEL 5

PANEL 6

Planning Committee

Terra Bowling, Research Counsel, National Sea Grant Law Center
Michael Burger, Associate Professor, Roger Williams University School of Law
Michael J. Daly, Esq., Associate, Pierce Atwood
Susan E. Farady, Director, Marine Affairs Institute/RI Sea Grant Legal Program, Roger Williams University School of Law
Kristen Fletcher, Executive Director, Coastal States Organization
Dennis Nixon, Associate Dean, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
Robbin Peach, Executive Director, Collaborative Institute for Oceans, Climate and Security, University of Massachusetts Boston 

If you have any questions, please contact the Marine Affairs Institute at marineaffairs@rwu.edu or 401-254-5392.

Close Course Type Descriptions

Course Types

We have classified RWU Law classes under the following headers. One of the following course types will be attached to each course which will allow students to narrow down their search while looking for classes.

Core Course

Students in the first and second year are required to take classes covering the following aspects of the law—contracts, torts, property, criminal law, civil procedure, and constitutional law, evidence, and professional responsibility.  Along with these aspects, the core curriculum will develop legal reasoning skills.

Elective

After finishing the core curriculum the remaining coursework toward the degree is completed through upper level elective courses.  Students can choose courses that peak their interests or courses that go along with the track they are following.

Seminar

Seminars are classes where teachers and small groups of students focus on a specific topic and the students complete a substantial research paper.

Clinics/Externships

Inhouse Clinics and Clinical Externships legal education is law school training in which students participate in client representation under the supervision of a practicing attorney or law professor.  RWU Law's Clinical Programs offer unique and effective learning opportunities and the opportunity for practical experience while still in law school.