The Earth Rights Research and Action (TERRA) Clinic

Course Description

The Earth Rights Research and Action (TERRA) Clinic combines the tools and tactics of international environmental law and human rights to preserve the conditions for life on Earth for current and future generations of humans and non-humans. Working closely with NGOs, scientists, lawyers, social movements, UN agencies, and grassroots communities from around the world, TERRA students work on cases and projects involving creative legal actions in multiple jurisdictions, transnational advocacy campaigns, and strategic research and communications.

In line with the clinic’s collaborative and global approach, TERRA projects are conducted in close partnership with organizations, communities, and individuals in different regions of the world. All TERRA projects involve students in immersive fieldwork in diverse regions of the world.

Learning Outcomes

As studies in social innovation and creative lawyering show, solutions to the increasingly complex threats to life on Earth require interdisciplinary tools, effective collaboration across national and organizational borders, and systemic approaches that capture the interconnections between environmental and social challenges. Upon successful completion of the seminar and clinical components of the TERRA Clinic, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge and skills.

• Knowledge of environmental and human rights law
• Strategic building and prototyping of legal actions
• Identification of issues in emerging legal contexts
• Translation of science into legal arguments
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Design-thinking
• Legal / advocacy writing  

Clinical Credit Structure and Time Commitment Expected

This clinic is time intensive. Students should make a time commitment commensurate with the full credit load for the course.

Application Procedure

Please submit the standard application, transcript and resume on-line via CAMS. Selected students may be contacted for an interview.

There is a separate application form for LL.M. students. Please use that form and submit it along with a resume and unofficial transcript to CAMS. Please be advised that the deadline for LL.M.s is different than the deadline for JDs, and is posted on the Clinic Application Timelines page. Selected LL.M. students will be contacted for interviews in the summer as part of the selection process.

* 4 clinical credits and 3 academic seminar credits are awarded in the Fall; 4 clinical credits and 3 academic seminar credits are awarded in the Spring. The total for the year is 14 credits.