Conservation Clinic students work on water quality issues with a woods restoration consultant and an Adventure Outfitters guide along the springs coast at the Florida Chassahowitzka River during a fall 2012 field trip.

By Francie Weinberg
Student writer

Looking for a chance to work with clients and make a difference in the world? Housed at the law school’s Center for Governmental Responsibility, the University of Florida Levin College of Law Conservation Clinic offers both law and graduate students the opportunity to work on cutting-edge environmental and land use law and policy issues.

The Conservation Clinic provides upper-level environmental law students and graduate students in conservation-related fields with exposure to environmental and land use professional practice, applied research and public policy analysis under the supervision of Professor Thomas Ankersen, the clinic’s faculty adviser.

Interested students need to have completed three semesters and can earn up to six credits in two semesters. Of the students who apply, Ankersen accepts between nine to 12 students per semester. While most accepted students are involved in the Environmental and Land Use Law Program, students in other areas can apply and can benefit from the clinic. The clinic emphasizes applied research and writing as well as speaking skills, and the ability to work with Ph.D. and other graduate students is a unique aspect of the Conservation Clinic.

After graduating from UF Law in 1986, Ankersen practiced in an environmental law firm in Miami for five years. He then spent a year with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund where he developed an interest in international law that brought him back to UF Law and a series of projects in Latin America, India and Africa.

Ankersen started the clinic in 2002 when faculty saw the need to expand its Environmental and Land Use curriculum and students were seeking skills training in the area. Over the past 10 years, the program has grown exponentially and the clinic is an essential part. The program is now fifth among public colleges and ninth overall, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.

“Anything that you can do to demonstrate that you have real world experience is going to help you get a job,” Ankersen said. “If you’re working on projects that require you to understand an area of law Florida’s water law and do an analysis for a client that leads to a change in the law, or even an internal decision that client makes, that’s something you’ll do when you’re practicing law. That’ll definitely be recognized by a potential employer – in addition to providing a public service.”

So many people are interested in the clinic’s services that Ankersen said they’ve had to turn projects away. He picks projects based on what he thinks students will get value out of, whether their work will have an impact, and if the client would be able to accomplish its goals without the help of the clinic.

Past projects have included drafting local ordinances and comprehensive plan amendments, obtaining environmental permits for coastal restoration and preparing contracts for environmental service payments. Clinic clients include the Sea Turtle Conservancy, the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education and the Blue Water Initiative. Occasionally students have opportunities to work on international law projects or with local governments.

Chelsea Sims (3L) began her work in the Conservation Clinic while studying abroad in Costa Rica. Her first project was for The Nature Conservancy, where she worked to help ensure that environmental service concessions benefit indigenous communities.

Sims then took on the Blue Water Intitiative, Inc., a reef restoration and conservation nonprofit, whose main project is removing tires from the Osborne Reef off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale. This reef was home to more than 1 million tires that were dumped in the 1970s in an attempt to create an artificial reef. Years of currents and hurricanes have become dislodged tires from the main tire field and they are destroying real reefs by bumping into and crushing them.

Sims helped the Blue Water Initiative obtain the necessary state and federal permits to remove the loose tires and dispose of them. She went with Blue Water Initiative members on their first dive to remove about 100 tires. The group no longer needs the clinic’s services, but asked Sims to remain on its board of directors to help with future legal issues.

“The clinic taught me real-world skills that cannot be learned through lectures and books,” Sims said. “It introduced me to a great network of people in the field I want to work in when I graduate, and it allowed me to work on a range of projects so I could discover what areas I would like to work in when I have my own career.”

The Environmental and Land Use Law Program, the Conservation Clinic and the Public Interest Environmental Conference all represent the College of Law’s commitment to developing the skills of tomorrow’s environmental lawyers to face tomorrow’s environmental problems.

Costa Rica

By Francie Weinberg
Student writer

The University of Florida Levin College of Law study abroad and exchange programs allow students to venture to the corners of the earth for beautiful views, delicious food and an international perspective on the law.

Students have the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica, South Africa or France. The only prerequisites are that students have completed one year of law school and are in good standing with the college. Programs are six weeks long and allow students to earn up to six credits.

Costa Rica, focusing mainly on environmental and international law, is situated in San Jose. It gives students the opportunity to explore the rainforests and rolling rivers while learning in a cross-cultural environment. The France program begins in Paris and then moves to Montpellier for the next four weeks. The program emphasizes business law and allows students to travel throughout Europe if they so desire. The South Africa program, offered again after a two-year hiatus, is set at the University of Cape Town, thought to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, offers a community service aspect in addition to regular courses.

“There are also native students who participate in all three of the programs,” said Michelle Ocepek, UF Law director of student programs. “Not every program offers that. Sometimes it’s just a group of Americans that show up to study, but in ours we try and do field trips and include local students so we can get more of the culture.”

Many students classify their study abroad trips as one of their best and most memorable college experiences. It allows them an opportunity to broaden their circle of friends, see the world and get to know the professors on a level they would not achieve in a classroom setting.

“The trip is really an opportunity to immerse yourself in French culture, rather than just experience France as a tourist,” said Adam Nicoll, a second-year law student. “Every morning I woke up and had breakfast before class at a little cafe around the corner from the university.  After a week of butchering the French pronunciation of ‘croissant’ and ‘cafe crème’ I established myself as a regular there and didn’t even need to order anymore; the couple that owned the cafe would just bring it over upon seeing me sit down. I didn’t get to just see the sights; I got to really know the culture.”

The faculty rotates on a year-to-year basis in order to keep the programs as up-to-date and modern as possible.

“I truly believe the program was made by the presence of our UF faculty members,” said Olivia Liggio, a second-year law student. “They really encouraged us to explore and experience our surroundings by planning excursions and they even helped us to figure out how to see the Tour de France, which was passing through a town nearby.”

Students must apply for the Costa Rica program with a letter of interest and a resume but France and South Africa are on a first-come, first-served basis. The second interest meeting will be in January. Additionally, if students wish to earn up to the full eight credits allowed during the summer, they may couple the study abroad trip with a class, an internship or an externship upon their return home.

The college also offers nine exchange programs around the world: Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel; Tel Aviv University, Israel; Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany; Leiden University, The Netherlands; Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Pontificia Universidade Catolica-Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; University of Cape Town, South Africa; University of Montpellier, France; and University of Warsaw, Poland.

These programs are a semester long and students go without the accompaniment of a faculty member. All of the exchanges are ABA-approved and students can earn up to one-third of their credits overseas. It is an opportunity to be immersed in the culture as well as improve language skills, as classes are often mostly native students rather than others participating in exchange programs. If students do not see a country or program they would like to participate in, they are allowed to participate in other ABA-schools’ programs.

The exchange programs offer new and different coursework for students, as well as a chance to make international connections and to learn a variety of perspectives about the law. There is also financial aid available.

“If students have a goal of studying abroad during their law career, it is best that they start early,” Ocepek said. “That way they can plan and they can be intentional about fitting it in to their legal career. I think it’s really easy to think that three years is a long time but it goes really quickly.”

For more information, visit http://www.law.ufl.edu/academics/academic-programs/study-abroad or contact Michelle Ocepek at 352-273-0620 or ocepek@law.ufl.edu.