An Instrumental Education

Maria Antonia Tigre, LLM '14, SJD Candidate

Maria Antonia Tigre a Pace Law LLM graduate ('14), Pace Law SJD candidate, and Senior Environmental Attorney at the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, recently published her book "Regional Cooperation in Amazonia: A Comparative Environmental Law Analysis," which provides a broad overview of the international, regional, and national laws applied to the Amazon rainforest and investigates efforts at regional cooperation for the protection of the Amazonian ecosystem, including an in-depth analysis of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). Learning about comparative environmental law from Prof. Nicholas Robinson, Ms. Tigre discovered how the field can be “fascinating,” as different countries find different legal alternatives to similar problems, especially in a shared ecosystem as the Amazon rainforest.

Ms. Tigre started her career in Brazil, where she worked in a boutique environmental law firm. She then advised infrastructure companies on environmental impact assessments, permitting procedures and environmental due diligences. Wanting to take her studies further, Ms. Tigre applied and was accepted into Pace Law’s LLM programs. She graduated magna cum laude with an LLM in Environmental Law and also an LLM in Comparative Legal Studies. Through Pace’s Environmental Diplomacy Practicum, she interned with the United Nations. She was assigned to the Mission of Saint Kitts and Nevis and focused on the impact of climate change on small island states.

After graduation, Ms. Tigre had a fellowship with the World Resources Institute, where she developed a toolkit for good governance in cities in developing countries, such as her hometown of Rio de Janeiro. As a senior attorney at the Environment Program at the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, Ms. Tigre provides pro bono legal support to environmental NGOs across the globe. Ms. Tigre is currently pursuing her SJD in Environmental Law at Pace. “I cannot overstate the usefulness of Pace’s LLM and SJD programs. The curriculum has made me a better attorney and in turn, a better advocate for my clients. In addition, it has made me an improved scholar in terms of research, writing, and teaching. As my supervisor both in my LLM and SJD thesis, Prof. Robinson has been instrumental in helping me shape my career in the US, and his support was paramount in publishing my first book.”

Other recent publications of Ms. Tigre’s include an article entitled ‘Cooperation for Climate Mitigation in Amazonia: Brazil’s Emerging Role as a Regional Leader’ in the Transnational Environmental Law (TEL) journal published by Cambridge University Press and a book chapter about the Dutch Urgenda Case, entitled ‘Trends in Climate Justice Litigation: The Dutch Case and Global Repercussions’ in Climate Justice: Case Studies in Global Regional Governance Challenges.