Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is a private law and public policy graduate school in South Royalton, Vermont. It is the only ABA-accredited law school in the state. It offers several degrees, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy (MFALP), Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL), and dual degrees with a diverse range of institutions. According to the school's 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 61.5% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.

History

Founding

Vermont Law School was founded in 1972 by Anthony Doria and held its first classes in the summer of 1973 with 113 students in what was then known as the old South Royalton schoolhouse. One of the founding professors was Alan Weinberger. In December 1973, VLS was certified by the Vermont State Board of Education as an institution of higher learning. Doria resigned as dean of the school in 1974, after it emerged that he had been convicted of embezzlement by a Pennsylvania court in 1960, though the charges were later vacated. A full complement of classes were offered in the fall of 1975 after provisional ABA accreditation. The Law School's first class graduated in spring 1976.

Since 2000

From 1982 until 2011, Vermont Law School, along with William Mitchell College of Law, was one of two law schools in the U.S. to decline to receive federal funding under the Solomon Amendment. That statute passed by Congress required colleges and universities to allow military recruitment on campus or risk losing federal funding. The school is also part of FAIR Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, a consortium of 38 law schools and law faculties that challenged the Solomon Amendment in Rumsfeld v. FAIR and lost. Following the repeal of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' in 2011, the school has allowed military recruitment on campus. In 2018, the law school controversially stripped tenure from 75% of its faculty, citing financial exigencies. Vermont Law School was subsequently sanctioned by the American Association of University Professors for "serious departures by the administration and/or governing board from generally accepted standards of college and university government". Vermont Law and Graduate School has challenged many of the findings of the report. In 2022, the school added graduate programs and was renamed Vermont Law and Graduate School. It also added a hybrid JD program.

Academics

Vermont Law School was provisionally ABA accredited in 1975, and full approval in 1978. It has also been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) since 1980. VLS became a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1981. Vermont Law School also offers an Accelerated Juris Doctor program that allows JD students to graduate in just two years (as opposed to the traditional three-year JD program), through the completion of two full-time academic semesters during the summer. As well as the Juris Doctor (JD), the Law School offers several degrees and joint-degrees, as well as degrees with other universities. Degrees include Master of Laws (LLM) in American Legal Studies, Environmental Law, Food and Agriculture Law, and in Energy Law There is also a Master of Environmental Law and Policy (MELP), Master of Energy Regulation and Law (MERL), and Master of Food and Agriculture Law and Policy (MFALP). In 2022, the ABA's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar determined VLGS had failed to significantly comply with Standard 316, which was revised in 2019 to provide that at least 75% of an accredited law school's graduates who took a bar exam must pass one within two years of graduation. Graduates in 2019 had a 67.54% bar pass rate. However, VLGS had an 82.84% pass rate in 2018, and the school described the 2019 results as an anomaly. The ABA determined the school was back in compliance by March of 2023.

Joint programs

The Law School has partnered with different domestic and international universities to offer dual-degree programs. Domestic schools include: Yale School of the Environment (JD/Master of Environmental Management), Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth (MELP/Master of Business Administration), the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Natural Resources (MELP/Master of Science in Natural Resources), Thunderbird School of Global Management (JD/Masters of Business Administration), the University of South Carolina (MELP/JD), University of South Dakota (MELP/JD), and Northeastern University School of Law (MELP/JD). International universities include the University of Cambridge (JD/Master of Philosophy), Cergy-Pontoise University (France), and the University of Seville (Spain).

Julien and Virginia Cornell Library

The Julien and Virginia Cornell Library opened in 1991. The library contains over 250,000 print volumes, including primary and secondary legal materials focusing on state, national, and international law. The library also possesses a collection of microforms including congressional documents, state session laws, and briefs. The library's electronic collection includes access to LexisNexis and Westlaw and other online gateways and databases, as well as a large catalog of full-text electronic journals and books and databases offering primary legal materials. Vermont Law School maintains "an extensive interdisciplinary environmental collection, including journals, monographs, electronic resources, and other material related to the study of the environment and environmental law and policy."

Leadership

Deans

Presidents

Campus

Vermont Law and Graduate School's 13 acre campus is located in South Royalton in central Vermont. The campus is set just above the broad banks of the White River. The oldest and centermost classroom building on the campus is Debevoise Hall, the town's original schoolhouse, built in 1892. In 2005 the former town schoolhouse (the original Law School building in 1973) was renovated and renamed after one of the first deans of the Law School, Thomas M. Debevoise. Practicing what it preaches, the Law School emphasized environmental concerns in the renovation, as well as historical preservation and design efficiency. Debevoise Hall was the only LEED Silver Certified renovation building project in the state of Vermont. Debevoise Hall continues to serve as classroom space and now also houses administration offices, the Environmental Law Center, and the Yates Common Room. The James L. and Evelena S. Oakes Hall building was constructed and dedicated in 1998. Oakes Hall incorporates "green building" techniques along with the latest classroom technology. Jonathon Chase, the late former dean of the Law School, liked to joke that South Royalton was the only town in America "with a law school and no stop light." Vermont Law School holds the distinction of being the law school farthest from a traffic light. As of January 2021, South Royalton does not have a stoplight. In January 2020, VLGS opened a new satellite office in Burlington, which hosts the school's immigration law clinic and an additional admissions office.

Centers, institutes, clinics, and programs

Law centers and research institutes

Clinics and experiential programs

Employment

According to Vermont Law School's official 2018 ABA-required disclosures, 61.5% of the Class of 2018 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. Vermont Law School's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 29%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

Tuition and financial aid

JD tuition for 2018-19 is $48,254. 67.4% percent of students receive some sort of scholarship.

Publications

Vermont Law School students publish two legal journals, the Vermont Law Review and the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, on a regular basis several times a year in print and online. In addition to regular publication, both journals sponsor annual symposia.

Notable faculty

Notable trustees

Notable alumni