GAINESVILLE, Fla. – June 13, 2008 – The world currently faces shortages of water, increasing developmental pressures and the threat of climate change. To prepare a new generation of environmental lawyers to meet these challenges, the University of Florida Levin College of Law now offers a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Environmental and Land Use Law. Although other law schools offer LL.M. degrees in environmental law and related areas, UF’s program is the first to combine environmental and land use law in a one-year, post-juris doctor degree.

“The environmental problems we’re facing are so fundamental and serious that the laws and policies we will need to adopt are inevitably going to go beyond the bounds of what we have traditionally thought of as environmental law,” says Alyson Flournoy, UF professor of law, research foundation professor and director of the college’s Environmental and Land Use Law Program.
 
“We need a new generation of environmental lawyers who focus on drafting instruments and contracts that satisfy both environmental and business concerns,” Flournoy says. “We are finally coming to grips with the fact that ‘business as usual’ is unsustainable. Corporations, governments and nongovernmental organizations will need to hire new lawyers who blend traditional skills with a broader knowledge of environmental laws and policy.”