MELP grads and their accomplishments

Graduates of Dalhousie Law School have benefitted from their education through the Marine & Environmental Law Programme and its faculty in a great many ways.

Dalhousie Law School grad Elizabeth May has worked on environmental issues for more than 30 years.

On the marine side, graduates are to be found practising shipping law in such maritime centres as Halifax, St. John's, Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, London, England, Rostock, Germany, Hong Kong, Malta, Mexico and Montserrat. Some are lawyers within the shipping industry and its bodies, such as the P & I Clubs and the Ship Insurance Institute of Norway. Others have attained senior positions in governments including the Office of the Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation, the Department of Justice of Canada, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of the Netherlands, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, and the Department of Fisheries of Thailand.

MELP has also provided the springboard for many careers as professors of maritime or environmental law. Graduates can be found teaching across Canada, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, China, Fiji, Germany, Indonesia, South Korea, Scotland, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and at the World Maritime University of Malmo, Sweden. Some have advanced to positions of responsibility for marine or environmental programs in their own countries. Two have been appointed to Associate Deanships, another was the Director of the Mediterranean Institute.

Environmental lawyers, building their skills through MELP, are practising in such cities as Halifax, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver in Canada, as well as other countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines. Many graduates have gone onto distinguished careers in governmental positions with such institutions as Environment Canada, Health Canada, the federal Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation.

Graduates have also directed environmental organizations, such as the Sierra Club of Canada and the East Coast Environmental Law Association. Others had pursued opportunities as environmental writers and expert consultants.

MELP has not only advanced the careers of many students but has also provided the opportunity for high academic achievements and awards. There have been postdoctoral appointments within MELP and from it to other institutions. MELP students have also won competitive writing prizes and other prestigious awards including the Amersinghe Fellowship in Law of the Sea.