Below is a selection of recent news highlights featuring members of Vermont Law and Graduate School’s faculty and staff.

Pat Parenteau, professor of law emeritus and senior fellow for climate policy, environmental law center

Homeowners Sue Oil Companies as Climate Damage Drives Up Insurance Rates
December 5, 2025
Inside Climate News
Pat Parenteau, emeritus professor of law, is quoted about Kennedy v. Exxon et al., the first lawsuit to target fossil fuel companies over dramatic increases to home insurance premiums.

Brett Stokes, director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at VLGS.

Trump’s Deportation Campaign Has Hit Vermont. Immigrants Say They’re Here to Stay.
December 8, 2025
Vermont Public
Brett Stokes, director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic, reflected on the fallout from the first year of the second Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policy.

Liz Turner, visiting assistant professor with the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems

Liz Turner: How Municipal Policy Can Shape the Future of Urban Agriculture
December 11, 2025
iGrow News
Liz Turner, visiting assistant professor with the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, discussed the spread, advantages, and challenges associated with urban agriculture in the United States.

Todd Howland, interim director of the Environmental Justice Clinic

President Trump’s Tariffs Require Human Rights Guardrails
December 15, 2025
Berkeley Journal of International Law
Todd Howland, interim director of the Environmental Justice Clinic, argues that the Trump administration’s use of tariffs without regard for human impact violates international and human rights law.

Jared Carter JD'09, professor of Law

Winooski Superintendent Files Lawsuit Over Airport Search of Devices
December 15, 2025
Seven Days
Wilmer Chavarria, the Winooski Superintendent who was detained following a trip to Nicaragua, has filed a lawsuit arguing that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security violated his Fourth Amendment rights when his electronic devices were searched by border agents without a warrant. Jared Carter JD’09, professor of law, is quoted.

Delcianna Winders, Director of Animal Law and Policy Institute and Associate Professor

Return of ‘The Jungle’: Advocates Say Migrant Kids Continue to be Exploited Inside US Chicken Houses
December 30, 2025
Community Sentinel
Delcianna Winders, director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute, is quoted about the alleged violations of child labor law in the U.S. poultry industry, drawing parallels to Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel and exposé of Chicago’s meatpacking district.