Water & Environmental Law

The biggest recent example of environmental injustice includes the Flint water crisis, where the residents of a town in Michigan lost access to the most basic survival need – clean drinking water. The issue disproportionately affected minorities and low socio-economic classes that could not fix the problem, find other sources of water, or leave. 

Environmental racism generally results from the actions of large companies and the government. In those situations, it can be hard to feel as if you have the ability to enact change as an individual. But you do. 

McGeorge School of Law has two programs that lead to environmental impact: an LLM and an MSL program in Water and Environmental Law. The degrees provide value to land use planners, engineers, environmental consultants, public information officers, lobbyists, public agency and legislative staff, and others who seek expertise in this continually evolving field without a law degree.

Addressing Environmental Justice

In order to achieve environmental justice, there are two frameworks that must be addressed: stopping environmental wrongs and promoting environmental goods. Environmental bads involve toxins, carcinogens, and other toxins that disproportionately affect people of color. Environmental goods involve access to recreational opportunities, parks, and greens.

Clean energy, clean air, and access to public health for all income communities are all aspects of environmental equity. 

Achieving Environmental Justice

The one true way to achieve environmental justice is to redistribute the power. The decision-making must revert to the vulnerable communities that are impacted by environmental justice issues. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that can happen in a day. There are plenty of steps in between that can be taken, including:

1. Education of pressing issues and effects of practices and policies that are in place
2. Elevation of the voices of the communities that are impacted
3. Advocating for policies that help the community
4. Continuous accountability demanded from those in charge
5. Participation in the decision-making process
6. Promotion of environmental health

What Can You Do?

Obtaining your MSL or LLM degree in Water and Environmental Law opens up possibilities to enact change. Planners and engineers are a line of defense in ensuring that environmental hazards don’t make their way out to the community. Lobbyists advocate, pressuring elected officials to do what is good for their constituents. They become experts in their field, using their knowledge to let politicians know what is happening on the ground. Legislative staff can help create policy. Consultants assess the risk and advise projects on a path with little destruction. There are many options that the advanced degree can help you achieve. 

McGeorge’s MSL and LLM programs provide the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills that are critical in today’s complex regulatory environment. We have a distinguished faculty of experts in the field. Plus, our program is online, allowing students location and scheduling flexibility. Whatever other obligations you have in life, our online, asynchronous program lets you seamlessly integrate your education into them. 

For those not looking for a Juris Doctor who work in the legal or environmental field, our MSL gives you legal education without having to become a lawyer. And for attorneys who want to dive into their specialty, the LLM program is a perfect fit. What are you waiting for? Contact our admissions office today to join the environmental justice movement.

Always the Right School

Margaret’s first job after graduating was focused on water law in Arizona, and she has continued to hone her skill in her chosen area of practice ever since. Only recently retired, she stays busy teaching for her alma mater and pursuing research projects in the area. “There’s a growing number of us who call ourselves water law nerds. That is our area of interest and expertise,” she says with a smile.

On a more personal note, when Margaret’s children were in high school, she did not want to be tied to the private practice schedule of deadlines and client commitments but wanted to remain active in the field. So she went back to McGeorge, studied some more, and in 2009 received her JSD, this time in International Water Law. This added degree rounded out her education and provided a global perspective.

Water Law’s Unexpected Social Impact and Importance

There is so much more to water law than many prospective students might imagine. Here’s some context: Margaret grew up in New Mexico, where interaction with the native peoples was quite common. In law school, her background with water law led to a clerkship and first job with a firm representing many Native American tribes in Arizona. This sub-specialty, as she calls it, has remained close to her heart and motivating in her career.

Her private practice, focused on representing several tribes and organizations with a focus on tribal government and tribal water rights. “It’s a fascinating, personally rewarding, and fun experience working with tribal leaders and helping them understand the complexities involved,” she remarks. “I often would describe myself to tribal councils as a translator; my job was to take the legal complexities of water law and the added complexities of tribal rights, and translate them into a way that these leaders could make informed decisions about what they needed to do to protect their people for their future sustainability and their viability as a government.” 

The Far-Reaching Value of a McGeorge Degree

Her work also touched upon the effects of climate change on the water sources for these tribes, such as the diminishing quantity of water in the crucial Colorado River. On facing these harder truths, Margaret attests “I think it’s critical. Water allocations in the West are based on historical norms that are no longer present.” From a tribal to federal level, planning infrastructure, delivery of supplies, and economic returns all depend on the physical landscape. “Knowing as much about meteorology and climate as possible for a non-scientist and the legal structures that will still apply even though the natural environment is rapidly changing, is critical to being able to work in our future with variable conditions.”

Margaret knows the deeply applicable value of her degree and learned experience. “That’s what I have been able to bring to the table for my clients; a very broad perspective on legal systems gained from practice and study.” As conditions change, we need to be able to offer proposals for future water uses that are informed by what is happening in other locations. “That’s the value of the different programs that McGeorge offers: courses in the domestic water and environmental laws of the United States and courses in international water and environmental law. I took advantage of this 40 years ago, again in 2009 in the graduate program and current students have these same opportunities.” she adds. 

Study Now, Assure a Exciting Future

Both climate change and social impact are pivotal issues to consider when going into water law. In a field inextricably focused on the future, prospective students naturally want to choose a cutting-edge program with the longevity to match. “In water law, McGeorge has always had the leading experts,” Margaret assures. “If you want to learn from the practitioners in the field who have written the seminal textbooks, McGeorge is the place to be.”

The credentials are unmatched. Interested in international water law?

The leading scholars and practitioners are right here. In fact, Margaret recently published an article about water law in the latest edition of Western Legal History, a Ninth Circuit Historical Society Journal. In her important piece she illuminates tribal water rights and provides an historical perspective on the legal principles and language used. The paper’s second part provides a guide to a few key water terms frequently in the news related to the Colorado River, often incorrectly. Learning from faculty members like Margaret is one one the greatest assets McGeorge can provide its students. 

We Need People Like You to Find Solutions

On top of these advantages for water law study specifically, McGeorge is one of the leading institutions in Government Law and Policy, a field you need to understand in order to lead in this area – what is our future going to be, and how are we going to meet the increasing demand with decreased supply?

“As a water lawyer, the most conflict over water occurs when you don’t have enough of it. Then you need creative, learned people to find solutions. Dealing with that variability and addressing those issues is going to require more people.” This is how you know that your advanced degree from McGeorge comes with immense growth potential and upward mobility; you can be one of the people who works for a better future through the study of water law.