EPIC Energy Law and Policy Clinic Students Present Research Findings to California Energy Commission

Sacramento (May 17, 2018) - University of San Diego School of Law students travelled to Sacramento on May 17, 2018 to present findings from a semester-long research project to the California Energy Commission (CEC). The project was part of the Law School’s Energy Law and Policy Clinic, which matches law students with a state agency to conduct legal and policy research on energy and climate issues.

“We are pleased to have partnered again with the CEC’s Chief Counsel’s Office on this project,” Joe Kaatz, EPIC staff attorney and adjunct professor of the Clinic. “We believe that providing students with opportunities for experiential learning is an essential part of their legal training. And, through the Energy Law and Policy Clinic, students can have an impact on California energy and climate policy through their work with our partner state agency.”

This year, students presented findings on a confidential research topic to an audience that comprised a Commissioner, the agency’s Chief Counsel, other attorneys, and key staff. 2018 marks the 11^th year of the Energy Law and Policy Clinic. Over that time, EPIC has partnered with the CEC, California Public Utilities Commission, and California Air Resources Board. The Energy Law and Policy Clinic seeks to enhance a range of skills, including: legal research and analysis; legal writing and editing; client relations; legal ethics and duties; project collaboration; and oral advocacy.

For more information about the Energy Law and Policy Clinic, see the EPIC website.

About EPIC

The Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) is a non-profit academic and research center of the University of San Diego School of Law that studies energy policy issues affecting the San Diego region and California. EPIC integrates research and analysis, law school study, and public education, and serves as a source of legal and policy expertise and information in the development of sustainable solutions that meet our future energy needs.

About the University of San Diego School of Law

The University of San Diego (USD) School of Law is recognized for the excellence of its faculty, depth of its curriculum, and strength of its clinical programs. Each year, USD educates approximately 800 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world. The law school is best known for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest and taxation.

USD School of Law is one of the 84 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school’s faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks 35th nationally and 6th on the West Coast among U.S. law faculties in scholarly impact and 24th nationally and 6th on the West Coast in all-time faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.