University of Miami School of Law Team Wins Third Annual Elisabeth Haub School of Law Environmental Law & Policy Hack Competition
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is proud to announce that for the second year in a row, a team of students from University of Miami School of Law won the third annual Elisabeth Haub School of Law Environmental Law & Policy Hack Competition. The Competition, developed by Haub Law and launched in 2020, is an environmental law and policy problem-solving event that invites students to propose an innovative and practical response to a current environmental challenge and awards seed funding to support implementation of the winning concept.
This year, the teams were invited to propose an innovative private environmental governance
intervention with the potential to spur meaningful on-the-ground environmental progress. Of the proposals received, four teams were selected to compete as finalists in Haub Law’s 2022 Environmental Law & Policy Hack Competition. The finalist teams were University of Vanderbilt School of Law, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, University of Miami School of Law, and Yale School of the Environment, Yale School of Management. During the final rounds of the Competition, each team was given a chance to explain their proposal to a panel of esteemed judges. The final round of this year’s Environmental Law & Policy Hack Competition was judged by María José Gutiérrez Murray, Senior Director of International Programs for Tradewater and Founder and Director of RE Consultoria, Roger Martella, Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer for the General Electric Company, and Maram Salaheldin, Attorney at Law, Clark Hill’s Environmental & Natural Resources and International Trade practice groups.
Ultimately, the judges selected the University of Miami School of Law team after thoughtful deliberation. The winning team consisted of students Vanessa Forbes-Pateman, Alyssa Huffman, Clara Tomé, Gabriella Berman, and Katie Geddes and were coached by Professor Jessica Owley. The team will receive a cash prize that goes toward implementation of their private environmental governance proposal, which has the potential to spur meaningful and positive environmental progress focused on a private solution to deep-seabed mining.
“This is the third year we have held the Hack Competition, and once again, the competing finalist teams have impressed us with the breadth of their knowledge and their proposals that have the potential to make positive and meaningful environmental progress,” said Haub Law Professor Katrina Fischer Kuh, who organized the competition and wrote this year’s Hack Competition problem. “All four finalist teams submitted proposals that would have great benefits to environmental law and policy, most notably the University of Miami team’s proposal provides real-life solutions to the environmental crisis of deep-seabed mining.”
The Hack Competition is intended to orient law students toward the development of practicable environmental policy; encourage students to collaborate with policy stakeholders, including from government and the community; catalyze the conceptualization and implementation of innovative solutions to pressing environmental problems; and further our commitment to advancing environmental protection. “All of the competing teams deserve huge congratulations for their efforts and performances were astounding. The level of research and understanding of in-depth environmental issues and nuances were truly impressive,” said Professor Achinthi Vithanage, Associate Director of Environmental Law Programs at Haub Law.
Last year, the University of Miami School of Law team won the second annual Elisabeth Haub School of Law Environmental Law & Policy Hack Competition. For more information about the competition, click here.
About Elisabeth Haub School of Law
Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law offers JD and Masters of Law degrees in both Environmental and International Law, as well as a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in Environmental Law. The school, housed on the University’s campus in White Plains, NY, opened its doors in 1976 and has over 9,000 alumni around the world. The school maintains a unique philosophy and approach to legal education that strikes an important balance between practice and theory. Haub Law launched its Environmental Law Program in 1978, and it has long been ranked among the world’s leading university programs, with a current #1 ranking by U.S. News and World Report.
