PUBLIC POLICY CLINIC: Climate, Food, Trade, &
Human Rights (Harrison Institute)
Apply online at: www.law.georgetown.edu/go/clinic-registration
Faculty
What do students do
Semester or year-long
Open to
Prerequisite(s)
Credits
Meets WR requirement
Requires Student Bar
Certification
How many students
Conflicts
Average time
commitment
Seminar hours
Orientation
Information session(s)
Prof. Stumberg, Adj. Profs. Porterfield, Hoverter, Grannis, and fellow
Students support clients who shape and make public policy—from local to global.
They analyze lawmaking authority (in writing), develop options to change policy,
present work to clients and seminars, and help clients plan their strategy. Seminars
focus on strategy, analysis, and communication skills.
Year-long
All 2Ls and 3Ls (at least 31 credits)
All first year courses
14 (7 in the Fall and 7 in the Spring)
Yes
Yes
14
Handled on a case-by-case basis
25 hours/week, on average. Work on projects ends by May 15. Week one (Jan. 610) is a work week for this clinic.
Tues. 3:30-5:00 and Fri. 9:00-12:00
Mandatory orientation is on Thursday and Friday afternoons, August 27 and 28, the
week before classes start.
March 24th,
1:00 – 2:00,
McDonough 437
March 26th,
11:00 – 12:00,
McDonough 437
March 31st,
11:00 – 1:00,
McDonough 437
ABOUT THE PUBLIC POLICY CLINIC – The Harrison Institute For Public Law
The Harrison Institute supports actors who shape and make public policy. Some of our clients are nonprofit
coalitions that promote policy change at various levels – local, state, federal, and international. Others are
decision-makers – legislators, attorneys general, regulatory agencies, procurement agencies, and their national
associations.
Policy teams. Students in the public policy clinic analyze law-making authority, identify options for changing
policy, help our clients plan their strategy, and draft documents based on client choices. Students work in one of
four policy teams on questions such as these:

Climate – How can states sustain their role as innovators on climate policy? How can local governments
adapt to rising seas, hotter summers, and prolonged droughts? How can federal agencies support
adaptation by states through more flexible rulemaking?

Food and health – How can school districts purchase and serve healthier foods in schools? How can
they minimize the use of antibiotics for livestock in their supply chains? To what extent can school
districts apply social or environmental sustainability criteria when purchasing food?

Trade – Can foreign investors use trade agreements to limit tobacco-control measures? What kind of
safeguards would protect health measures, especially tobacco control, from international litigation? Can
trade rules be used to restrict fossil fuel subsidies that contribute to climate change?

Labor and human rights – Can governments use procurement policy to promote compliance with
internationally recognized labor and human rights standards? What is the strategy by which universities
can be regional or national leaders in respecting the dignity of work for both direct and contract
employees?
Policy skills. Our curriculum enables students to learn three skill sets that they can transfer to any job, anywhere:
 Strategy and accountability – includes strategic planning, theory of change, meeting management
 Research and analysis – includes interpreting statutes/treaties, analyzing legal authority, policy choices
 Communication – presentation skills, formatting visual information, writing process, writing/drafting skills
Clinical teaching methods. Students work at least 25 hours per week for two semesters. About half of this time
is structured interaction that creates a blueprint for independent student work. The rest is independent student
work. On average, our expectations for student-faculty interaction are:
•
Structured interaction – 12.5 hrs/wk.
• Seminars – 6.5 hrs/wk.
• Team meetings – 1.5 hrs/wk.
• Supervisor meetings – 1.5 hrs/wk.
• Client or constituency meetings – 2 hrs/wk.
• Peer critique – 1 hr/wk.
•
Independent student work – 12.5 hours per week. For every hour of highly structured time, students spend
an hour reflecting and developing their skills through planning, research and analysis, drafting, formatting
work products, and practicing presentations.
Range of services. Our clients ask us to:
 Analyze limits on lawmaking authority
 Analyze policy options at all levels – local, state, federal, and international
 Draft policy proposals – model legislation and agency rules
 Organize hearings or conferences and make presentations
 Prepare policy briefs and web pages for public education
 Train community leaders and build capacity of their institutions
 Create the legal structure for an association or network
 Support strategic planning
Focus on federalism. State governments represent local needs; they spend federal money; they regulate most
services; they link local and global interests. They are big enough to affect national policy, yet they are flexible
enough to adapt and experiment with policies that often paralyze Congress and federal agencies. Similarly, local
governments and school districts spend federal money in compliance with federal rules. They are local agents of
change as defined by a national strategy. The public policy clinic exposes students to these and other ways in
which the United States works well when it implements principles of federalism.
CLIMATE POLICY PROJECTS
The action on adapting to climate change has heated up in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene,
Christmas day tornados (2012), historic drought in the West (2012), and the hottest year on record (2014).
Clients & Collaborators
•
The Georgetown Climate Center was created in early 2009 at the request of leading foundations and state
governments to serve as a bridge between the states and the federal government and as a resource for states as
they develop their own climate policies.
•
State and local governments reflect the diversity of regional exposure to climate risks, economic development
interests, and political leadership. On behalf of the Georgetown Climate Center, we have worked directly
with state and local governments:
o Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation – including CA metropolitan areas
o California Air Resources Board
o Connecticut
o Chester, PA
o District of Columbia Department of Environment
o Green Infrastructure Advisory Group – including Denver, Detroit, Santa Fe, DC, Cambridge
o Maryland
o Milwaukee, WI
o Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
o New York City, NY
o New York state commissions on response to Hurricane Sandy
o Oregon Department of Public Health
o Virginia
o Virginia Beach, VA
o Western Adaptation Alliance – including Denver, Santa Fe, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas
•
Government associations request our presentations at their conferences and use our toolkits and policy models
o Coastal States Organization (CSO)
o West Coast Governors Alliance
o Western Governors Association
o Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM)
o National League of Cities
Recent and Potential Projects. Work in 2015 will continue in multiple dimensions of climate adaptation – rising
sea level, upland flooding, urban heat, and drought. We also plan to continue work on strategies for
intergovernmental cooperation such as regional alliances and interstate compacts.
•
Adapting to sea level rise – As the seas continue to rise, coastal communities face increasing flooding, erosion
and storm surge, which will destroy ecosystems and cause significant property damage. We are working with
state and local governments that seek to minimize these effects by adapting their coastal planning, flood plain
management and zoning laws. To date, we have developed a Sea Level Rise (SLR) Tool Kit analyzing 18
different land-use tools that governments could use to adapt. We drafted a model SLR ordinance, and tested
the model for state, federal and constitutional law barriers. We analyzed potential barriers to adaptation posed
by permit practices of the Army Corp of Engineers and the National Flood Insurance Program. We also
analyzed barriers to using disaster relief funding to adapt, and provided comments on how Congress could
amend the Stafford Act to allow for adaptive rebuilding post hurricane-Sandy. In 2015, we anticipate
continuing our work with coastal communities including Virginia Beach, VA.
•
Adapting to urban heat – Pavement and buildings lack shade and absorb heat; they make cities a “heat island”
compared to surrounding rural areas: on average, about 5 degrees hotter in the day and 20 degrees hotter at
night. Between 1979 and 2003, extreme heat caused more deaths (about 700 per year) in the United States
than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined. When you consider the predictions
for global warming on top of that, U.S. heat related deaths could rise to between 3,000 and 5,000 deaths
annually by 2050. We are working with local governments that want to reduce their heat island by using
built-environment approaches such as cool roofs, green roofs, cool pavements, and urban forestry. To that
end, we are developing a set of policy tools that include government operations (e.g., paving and other
infrastructure), mandates, incentives, and public education. Besides information about options, paying for
adaptation has been one of the biggest barriers in adapting to urban heat. We have conducted a short series of
projects examining potential federal sources of funding, as well as methods of financing adaptation and
strategies for local governments to support that financing.
•
Adapting to more intense rainfall – Urban areas have high proportions of hard surfaces, including paved
streets, alleys, sidewalks, and rooftops. In addition to creating higher temperatures in the city, these
impervious surfaces greatly increase the amount of runoff into sewer systems during rainstorms. This runoff
can carry pollutants like trash and oil into waterways, compromising water quality and potentially
contaminating water supplies. Many cities in the Northeast and Midwest are projected to have more frequent
and more intense rainstorms in the future as a result of climate change; they will need to prepare their
infrastructure to handle higher volumes of water more often while protecting those waterways. We are
developing a toolkit for local governments to help them plan and build that stormwater infrastructure to
handle future storms while capturing the benefits of “green” infrastructure such as access to green space and
better air quality.
•
Preemption of low-carbon fuel standards – States have developed some of the most progressive low-carbon
fuel standards and markets for carbon trading. The industry is challenging the leading state, California, on
constitutional and preemption grounds. We have assisted states with their analysis of state authority
(legislation, rulemaking, litigation) as they respond to the industry lawsuits.
FOOD & HEALTH PROJECTS
Clients & Collaborators

State and local legislators, agencies, and other allies – are taking the lead to improve the health and nutrition
of their communities. We have worked with:
o Baltimore Food Policy Task Force, along with the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
o Individual legislators in Maryland, California, Connecticut
o Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
o Maryland Attorney General, Office of Consumer Protection
o National Conference of State Legislatures
o School Districts: Des Moines, Grand Rapids, Houston, Milwaukee, Nashville, Oakland, Omaha
o Washington State Department of Agriculture
•
Non-profit organizations – are working to implement and guide change on the state, national, and international
levels in areas such as food and nutrition, health insurance coverage, and tobacco control. Over the past several
years we have worked with: School Food FOCUS, a project of Public Health Solutions (New York City).
o Center for Health Insurance Reform (CHIR), at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute.
o Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), a coalition of international NGOs that support tobacco control
legislation in countries around the world.
o National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), an independent academy of state health
policymakers working together to identify emerging issues, develop policy solutions, and improve state
health policy and practice.
o National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), a membership organization of state
and territorial AIDS directors that provides technical assistance and advocacy support related to
o
o
•
HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis.
School Food FOCUS (Transforming Food Options for Children in Urban Schools) and its regional
initiatives, which include the National Procurement Initiative, the Upper Midwest Learning Lab (school
districts of Chicago, Cleveland, Des Moines, Detroit Omaha, Minneapolis and Saint Paul) and the
Southern Learning Lab (school districts of Houston, Nashville, and Orange County (FL)).
Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network (WSFFN).
O’Neill Institute of National and Global Health Law – advances law as a fundamental tool for solving critical
health problems in global, national, and local communities. The Institute unites faculty from Georgetown’s
law and health campuses.
Recent and Potential Projects. Our most likely projects in 2015 involve work on purchasing school food – to
maximize nutrition and freshness, to minimize use of antibiotics, and to promote environmentally sustainable
sources. The likely projects focus on both health standards and business models for sustainable purchasing.
•
Food and nutrition – Obesity rates continue to rise, particularly in young children and low-income areas.
Children and adults in low-income areas do not have equal access to fresh fruits and vegetables in their
communities and suffer higher rates of obesity and diabetes. We partner with School Food FOCUS, which
supports large school districts that want to purchase unprocessed local food. To do so, they must figure out
how to adopt a local preference that complies with local, state, and federal procurement law. At the same
time, school districts are working to increase their economies of scale of through cooperative purchasing and
various contracting strategies. By June 2015, we will have worked with nine school districts.
•
Food and sustainability – As consumers, governmental entities like school districts have the potential to
change how food is produced. For example, school districts are working with producers to purchase chicken
that is raised with minimal use of antibiotics. They are also exploring standards to promote environmental
sustainability, including reduction of pesticides and other chemicals that are harmful to agricultural workers.
School districts that want to expand their food purchasing criteria to include sustainability must ensure they
have the legal authority to do so under state law and federal conditions of funding for school meals.
•
State role in reform of health insurance – While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) made significant reforms to
health insurance, states are at the forefront of implementing these reforms. With wide discretion on certain
policy matters, the approach to regulating insurance under the ACA can vary from state to state.
Understanding how and what actions states are taking is a critical step to inform federal and state
policymakers of the changing insurance landscape. We support organizations like the Center on Health
Insurance Reform (CHIR) in its efforts to monitor and analyze state implementation of the ACA.
•
HIV/AIDS and health reform – State health departments play a vital role in providing access to testing and
treatment for HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis; they receive a majority of funding from federal and state
governments. The Affordable Care Act expands eligibility for Medicaid and private insurance to previously
uninsured Americans including individuals living with HIV/AIDS. However, with more HIV/AIDS clients
eligible for insurance, federal and state funding may be cut. State health departments are assessing the
capacity to bill third parties like Medicaid and private insurance for the services they provide, but they need to
know whether state law limits their legal ability to do so. Partnering with the National Alliance for State and
Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), we have provided an overview of five states and their laws related to
state health department billing. We plan on continuing our partnership with NASTAD.
•
Genetic discrimination – People are increasing their use of genetic testing to learn about their dispositions to
disease and hereditary traits. In May 2008, the federal government enacted the Genetic Information and
Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits the use of genetic testing for employment or health
insurance. GINA specifically omitted long-term, disability and life insurance, and it left states to regulate this
area. Genetic tests marketed directly to consumers can be misleading and potentially harmful to consumers;
state governments can take action to prevent these harms by policing the advertising of tests.
TRADE POLICY PROJECTS
The trade team analyzes the impact of global agreements on domestic policy, and it designs policies to work in an
international market. Recent projects have focused on investment, services, and procurement.
Clients & Collaborators
•
Nonprofit organizations ask us to educate their constituencies and help develop their strategies for policy
change.
o Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA)
o Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
o Health Justice, Manila
o Heinrich Boell Foundation
o Greens Group of the European Parliament
o Sierra Club
o Presbyterian Church USA, World Mission – Peru
o Mesa Tecnica de La Oroya, Peru
o Friends of the Earth, USA
•
State legislative committees request our testimony at oversight hearings and analysis for corresponding with
congressional delegations and U.S. trade negotiators.
o Maine – Maine Citizens Trade Policy Commission
o Vermont – Study Committee on International Trade and State Sovereignty
o Washington – Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Trade Policy
o Utah – Utah International Trade Commission
•
Government associations request our presentations at national conventions and use our analysis for
corresponding with congressional committees and U.S. trade negotiators.
o National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)
o National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL)
o Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee (IGPAC)
o National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
o National Association of Counties (NACO)
o International Municipal Lawyers’ Association (IMLA)
•
International organizations request analysis and presentations to international meetings.
o South Centre, Geneva
o Third World Network, Geneva
o Framework Convention Alliance, Washington and Geneva
o National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), Johannesburg
o International Labor Organization (ILO), Washington Office
Recent and Potential Projects. The trade team has recently worked on the following topics, any of which may
continue into 2015. The most likely projects involve how the major negotiations (TPP and TTIP) cover tobacco
trade and foreign investor rights.
•
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) – The United States is leading negotiations to create the TPP a
“21st Century Trade Agreement.” Starting with 12 countries, it is likely to become the largest trade
agreement outside of the WTO. Negotiators are drafting chapters that are WTO-plus – expanding rules and
coverage beyond the baseline of WTO agreements. Our clients have ask us to identify ways in which the TPP
could shrink the policy space for governments to provide or regulate services, investments, procurement, and
products that affect public health.
•
Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – Even before the TPP is completed, the Unites
States has fully engaged with the European Union to negotiate a trans-Atlantic agreement with a similar range
of impacts on regulatory authority, exacerbation of climate change, public health controversies including
tobacco trade, and foreign investor rights.
•
Using TTIP to reduce fossil fuel subsidies – The European Commission estimates that TTIP will make climate
change worse for a number of reasons, including more cross-Atlantic trade in fossil fuels and indirect
stimulus to consume fossil fuels in places like China. The Greens Group in the European Parliament
responded by asking the Harrison Institute to prepare a paper that explains how the TTIP negotiators could set
trade rules to limit fossil fuel subsidies. Progress in the TTIP would create momentum for wider subsidy
reform in the G-20, where efforts to limit fossil fuel subsidies has stalled.
•
Tobacco in trade and investment agreements – For over a decade, Congress has prohibited U.S. negotiators
from using trade agreements to promote tobacco trade to undermine restrictions on tobacco products imposed
by other countries. Nonetheless, the past eight U.S. trade agreements eliminate tobacco tariffs and provide
investors with rights similar to those Philip Morris is using to challenge tobacco control in Australia and
Uruguay. We are working with an international coalition that seeks to protect tobacco-control measures from
being challenged under trade and investment agreements, including the TPP and TTIP.
•
Foreign investor rights – Foreign investors are using some of the 3,000 International Investment Agreements
(IIAs) to challenge regulations in the public interest: tobacco controls, mining permits, and hazardous waste
regulations, to name a few. For the past 10 years, we have worked with clients and collaborators in the
United States, Europe, Asia and South America on reform of IIAs. Several countries have begun to limit their
IIAs so that foreign investors do not have greater rights than under the national constitution. The United
States proposes investment chapters in the TPP and TTIP as well as new bilateral investment treaties (BITs)
with China and India.
•
Trade limits on domestic regulation – A coalition of countries in the WTO is pushing for “disciplines” on
domestic regulation of services that, if adopted, would limit the power of governments to regulate service
industries (energy, banking, hazardous waste, etc.) and alter the constitutional balance of power between the
federal government and states. We are working with both national and sub-national governments that seek to
moderate these proposals in keeping with state practice in domestic law.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR PROJECTS
Clients & Collaborators
•
The Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor promotes innovations in policy to promote
broadly shared economic justice and respect for the dignity of labor. The Initiative unites Georgetown’s
faculties in law, history, business, and foreign service.
•
Nonprofit organizations ask us to develop model policies for governments and institutions.
o International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), which consists of 27 organizations
including a steering committee of Amnesty International, EarthRights International, Global Witness,
Human Rights First, and Human Rights Watch
o Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium, which consists of three states (Maine, New York and
Pennsylvania) and 13 cities (including Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Fe,
and Seattle)
•
International organizations have requested analysis and presentations.
o International Learning Lab on Procurement and Human Rights, convened by ICAR and the Danish
Institute for Human Rights
o International Labor Organization (ILO), Washington Office
Recent and Potential Projects. Two of our recent projects are likely to continue into 2015 – procurement and
human rights and implementation of a just employment policy at private universities. The likely projects focus on
both human rights standards and business models for organizational or supply-chain management.

Procurement and human rights – In 2012, the insignia of U.S. military services were found in the rubble of
factory fires that killed thousands of apparel workers in Bangladesh. Apparel is one of several sectors—also
including electronics, food, and logistics—in which suppliers run a high risk of human rights abuses.
Contractors tied to the deaths in Bangladesh said they had no idea they were sourcing from these factories.
The Harrison Institute responded by leading ICAR’s effort to publish Turning a Blind Eye, which analyzes
each stage of federal procurement. Policies are in place to combat human trafficking and forced child labor.
Yet agencies are still blind to other human rights abuses—like life-threatening conditions, illegal child labor
and wage theft—when they purchase from global supply chains. Our work on U.S. procurement in 2015 is
likely to focus on Executive Branch authority to expand protection, risk assessment for human rights abuses
(including unsafe conditions, child labor and wage theft), and strengthening systems for contractor
accountability. In addition, we may also support an international learning lab that enables agencies from
different countries to compare and collaborate on innovations in procurement to protect human rights.

Just employment policy for Jesuit universities – Georgetown University became a leader within the network
of Jesuit universities when it adopted a Just Employment Policy (JEP) that commits the university to pay a
living wage, provide a dignified workplace, and respect the right to organize unions. In 2013, Pope Francis
stressed that a living wage is a foundation of human dignity and a central tenet of Catholic teaching. In 2014,
the Harrison Institute worked with the Kalmanovitz Initiative to develop a model JEP and a policy guide to
assist both students and administrators as they seek to elevate the status of low-wage workers in a climate of
intense budget pressures. We continue to support outreach and education to implement the model JEP.

Alternative worker strategies – The labor movement in the United States is entering a period of both
significant challenges and significant opportunities. The percentage of American workers in unions was
11.3% last year – the lowest level of union membership in almost 100 years. A recent court decision has
called into question the continued viability of the National Labor Relations Board, and strategic litigation by
employers has chilled efforts to organize workers. Yet despites these obstacles, there has also been a
proliferation of new approaches to labor advocacy, ranging from worker centers that provide services to
immigrants and other marginalized workers to internet based advocacy campaigns. In 2013, the Harrison
Institute worked with the Kalmanovitz Initiative to map the legal environment for these new worker
strategies. For example, we analyzed the implications of recent Supreme Court decisions on the First
Amendment for labor advocacy and protections in the National Labor Relations Act for “concerted activity”
by union and non-union workers.

Procurement without sweatshops – Following the lead of universities, a growing number of state and local
governments seek to avoid purchasing apparel (e.g., uniforms for police and athletics) that is made in
sweatshops. In 2012, we worked with the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium (16 cities and states) to develop
model purchasing policy for cities and states to set standards that reward decent working conditions in the
apparel sector (e.g., purchasing police uniforms). The model policy enables a government to evaluate a
supplier’s capacity to manage its own supply chain, comply with workplace laws in the country of production,
and honor core labor standards of the International Labor Organization.
CLINIC WORK AT END OF SEMESTER
The Harrison Institute depends on its students to complete the work commitments they make to their clients or
project teams. This requires careful planning throughout the year in order to create reasonable expectations. If
students do not complete their work commitments by the last day of class, the Institute requires that they do so by
May 15th.
SELECTION CRITERIA/APPLICATION PROCESS
Application Process
•
Information session. Attend an applicant meeting/information session to learn more about what the clinic
entails. Sign up for one of the meetings below by sending an email to stumberg@law.georgetown.edu. If you
cannot make these times, send an email to the same address.
o Tuesday, March 24th, 1:00-2:00,
McDonough 437
o Thursday, March 26th, 11:00-12:00, McDonough 437
o Tuesday, March 31st, 11:00-12:00, McDonough 437
•
Application deadlines. Submit your online clinic application by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8th. The
general application asks you to rank up to three clinics. As part of your application, you upload your resume,
transcript, a general statement of interest and up to three statements for specific clinics.
•
Supplemental preference form. If you rank the public policy clinic, we ask that you include a project
preference form (to rate your interest in potential projects) as part of your clinic-specific statement of
interest. You can copy this form from page 13, paste it into a Word document, and type in your preferences.
Please include this preference form in the same document (i.e., as page two) as your clinic-specific statement
of interest.
Criteria for Selecting Students
•
Matching interests. Students often have strong preferences for working on certain projects and low interest in
others. As part of your clinic application, we ask you to upload a supplemental preference form; it asks you
to rate your interest in potential (not guaranteed) projects on a scale of 10. We would prefer to accept
students who have strong interest in the projects we have to offer.
•
Personal commitment. We look for evidence of the personal commitment that is necessary to sustain the
effort and specific kind of activities that our practice requires. We look for this in the experience shown on
your resume and in your answers on our information form, which asks you to relate the clinic to your past
experience, future plans, personal learning goals, or other reasons for personal interest.
•
Personal preparation. Many of our projects require competency in a particular legal subject such as coastal
land use controls, public procurement, international trade law, or international human rights. We usually
show a preference for students who have prepared themselves by learning a language or taking relevant
courses prior to starting the clinic – in law school or before. Advance preparation accelerates a student’s
capacity to serve our clients and enables the clinic to function as a capstone experience that integrates and
applies knowledge gained through classroom courses.
•
Student diversity. Diversity strengthens our seminar, teamwork, and client relations. The Harrison Institute
affirmatively recruits students with language abilities, minorities, women, and students with diverse political
backgrounds. We also value graduate training or work experience in non-legal disciplines.
STUDENTS – 2014-15
Climate team
George Lee
Chris Mattox
Kayley McGrath
Sydney Menees
gdl9@law.georgetown.edu
cbm70@law.georgetown.edu
km1070@law.georgetown.edu
sam349@law.georgetown.edu
Food and health team
Han Cho
Suneel Jain
Austin Moody
hc533@law.georgetown.edu
sj533@law.georgetown.edu
adm229@law.georgetown.edu
Trade team
Daphne Lin
Chris Mattox
dzl2@law.georgetown.edu
cbm70@law.georgetown.edu
Human rights and labor
team
Eleanor Erney
Gabrielle Gould
Joe Shantz
ece11@law.georgetown.edu
gkg5@law.georgetown.edu
jjs257@law.georgetown.edu
CLINIC STAFF
Offices are located on the first floor of McDonough Hall, suite 120
Robert Stumberg, Director, 202-662-9603, stumberg@law.georgetown.edu
Matthew Porterfield, Senior Fellow, trade & labor
Sara Hoverter, Staff Attorney, health & climate
Jessica Grannis, Staff Attorney, climate
Robert Stumberg
Director and Professor of Law, stumberg@law.georgetown.edu
BA, with honors, Macalester College; JD, Georgetown University; LLM Georgetown University. His past
positions include policy director at the Center for Policy Alternatives and legislative counsel for Montgomery
County, MD. He has 40 years of experience in policy topics that include international trade and investment,
climate adaptation, community food systems, economic development, and housing policy. His recent publications
include Turning a Blind Eye? Respecting Human Rights in Government Purchasing (International Corporate
Accountability Roundtable, 2015), Safeguards for Tobacco Control, 39 AM. J. LAW & MED. 382 (2013); and The
WTO, Services and the Environment, in HANDBOOK ON TRADE AND THE ENVIRONMENT (2008).
Matthew Porterfield
Senior Fellow (trade, human rights & climate) and Adjunct Professor, porterfm@law.georgetown.edu
BA, University of Vermont; JD, Magna Cum Laude, Vermont Law School; LLM, Georgetown University.
Before Georgetown, he practiced environmental law in Washington, DC. His recent publications include: State
Practice and the (Purported) Customary International Law Prohibition on Uncompensated Regulatory
Expropriation, 37 N.C. J. INT’L LAW & COMM. REG. 159 (2011); Philip Morris v. Uruguay: Will Investor-State
Arbitration Send Restrictions on Tobacco Marketing up in Smoke? INVESTMENT TREATY NEWS QUARTERLY
(with Christopher Byrnes; summer 2011); U.S. Farm Subsidies and the Expiration of the WTO’s Peace Clause, 27
U. PA. J. INT’L ECON. L. 999 (2007); and An International Common Law of Investor Rights?, U. PA. J. INT’L
ECON. L. (2006).
Sara Pollock Hoverter
Staff Attorney (health & climate) and Adjunct Professor, smp32@law.georgetown.edu
BA, Yale University; JD, Cum Laude, Georgetown University; LLM, Advocacy, Georgetown University. Her
area of concentration is health policy, including climate change and public health, Medicaid, state and federal
health reform, improving school nutrition, and the use of community health workers to reach vulnerable
populations. Past positions include: law clerk at the National Partnership for Women and Families, research
assistant for the Center for Law and the Public’s Health, and program associate at the DC Appleseed Center.
Recent publications include Human Health Impacts of Climate Change: Implications for the Practice and Law of
Public Health, J. LAW, MED. & ETHICS, with Jill Krueger and Paul Biedrzycki (forthcoming 2015), Adapting to
Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments (2012), Compendium of Federal Programs with Potential for Use
in Urban Heat Adaptation (Georgetown Climate Center, 2013), and guest editor, Legal Solutions in Health
Reform, J. LAW, MED. & ETHICS, Symposium issue (Fall 2009).
Jessica Grannis
Staff Attorney (climate) and Adjunct Professor, jcg68@law.georgetown.edu
BA, University of Chicago; JD, Cum Laude, University of California Hastings; LLM, with distinction,
Georgetown University. Prior to the Harrison Institute, she was staff counsel for two California state agencies,
the State Coastal Conservancy and the Ocean Protection Council. Prior to her work in state government, she
worked as an associate for a civil litigation firm focusing on real property disputes. Recent publications include:
Coastal Retreat Measures, in THE LAW OF ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE: U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL
ASPECTS (2012) (with Prof. J. Peter Byrne); Coastal Management in the Face of Rising Seas: Legal Strategies for
Connecticut, SEA GRANT LAW AND POLICY J. (2012); and contributing author to the Technical Input to the 2013
National Climate Assessment on Coastal Impacts, Adaptations, and Vulnerabilities, which was used to draft the
2014 NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT.
Jason Newman
Adjunct Professor, newman@law.georgetown.edu
BA, Boston University; JD Georgetown University. Jason Newman founded the Harrison Institute, and after he
retired, continues to serve as adjunct professor. Before coming to Georgetown in 1971, he served as Counsel to
the D.C. City Council and the Montgomery County Council, as well as Special Counsel in the Office of Economic
Opportunity. He also was a member of the congressionally appointed commission that established Home Rule for
the District of Columbia in 1973. He is also the founder of an international citizen education project, Street Law
Inc., which operates in 47 states and many other countries. Since retiring from Georgetown, Professor Newman
has served as Executive Director of the Cayman Brac University Medical School.
Deborah Sy
Adjunct Professor, debbysy1@gmail.com
BS (cum laude), University of the Philippines; LLB (with honors), University of the Philippines; LLM (with
honors), Global Health Law, Certificate in WTO Studies, Georgetown University. Deborah Sy is a legal advisor
and research collaborator for Harrison Institute projects on how trade and investment agreements affect tobacco
control. In Manila, she is director of HealthJustice, a nonprofit organization that provides legal advice to public
officials on public health, food and drug regulation, intellectual property, taxation, trade, transparency,
governance, enforcement, and women & children’s rights. She is also legal advisor to the Southeast Asia
Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the University of the
Philippines.
Public Policy Clinic – Harrison Institute for Public Law
Supplemental Application 2015 – Project Preferences
Copy, paste and upload this preference form as page 2 of your clinic-specific statement of interest at
www.law.georgetown.edu/go/clinic-registration.
You can also email this form to Stumberg@law.georgetown.edu
Name: _____________________________
Preferences: Please rate your level of interest in the following teams and potential fall-semester projects
(not guaranteed). Use a scale of 10 – with 10 being highest.
____ Climate team – general interest
Adapting to sea level rise (SLR)
____ Model policies for adapting to sea level rise in Virginia
____ Legal analysis of local authority to implement SLR adaptation policies
Adapting with green infrastructure (GI)
____ Model policies – building codes, zoning codes, streetscapes, etc.
____ Delegation of local authority to implement GI policies
____ Mapping of federal resources for GI
____ Private financing options, government strategies to support them
____ Food and health policy – general interest
Food & Nutrition
____ Purchasing local food by schools and hospitals
____ Use of antibiotics in livestock
____ School food contracting and supply chains
____ Sustainability standards in food procurement – environmental and labor standards
Affordable Care Act
____ Comparison of state regulation of various ACA provisions
____ Effect on state/local HIV/AIDS programs
____ Trade policy – general interest
Tobacco and trade
____ How tobacco companies are using trade and investment rules to “chill” the most robust regulation
____ Safeguards for tobacco control in current trade negotiations – Pacific (TPP) and Atlantic (TTIP)
____ Options to reform existing trade and investment agreements
____ Significance of arguments and decisions in pending trade and investment disputes
International investment agreements
____ Investment negotiations with the European Union (TTIP)
____ Bilateral investment negotiations with China and India
____ Potential to amend existing investment treaties (BITs and investment chapters of FTAs)
Other potential trade-related topics
____ Risk of conflict between trade rules and measures to protect human rights (including
procurement)
____ Options for trade rules that limit fossil fuel subsidies – negotiations with the European Union
____ Impact of trade rules on climate change policies
____
____
____
____
____
____
Human rights and labor – general interest
Protecting human rights and avoiding sweatshops in U.S. government purchasing
Protecting labor rights in contracts for government procurement of food
Supporting an international learning lab on procurement and human rights
Developing a “Just Employment Policy” for private colleges and universities
Developing policies that support the “Alternative Labor” movement