Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
in Earth Law & Rights of Nature

Earth Law and the Rights of Nature:
From Inspiration to Global Legal Reality

This CLE program explores the rapidly growing Earth Law and Rights of Nature (RoN) movements, which depart from traditional environmental law by recognizing legal personality and rights for ecosystems and wildlife—an approach rooted in Indigenous legal thinking that has become established in parts of Latin America, taken hold across Europe, and increasingly shaped cases and legislation in the U.S. Participants will learn how Earth law applies across contexts from human rights and environmental protections to land trusts and corporate governance, examine the legal, scientific, and philosophical foundations of RoN, and track the global growth of these laws and policies. The program will also cover the pushback against RoN—including anti-RoN legislation in states like Idaho, Utah, and Florida—and survey how courts worldwide are ruling on efforts to expand legal protections for specific ecosystems and wildlife populations.

This program is qualifies for CLE credit in California, self-certification jurisdictions, and jurisdictions with reciprocity policies. Credit has been applied for in New York and approval is pending.

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  • The Earth Law and Rights of Nature (RoN) movements have gained significant traction in the past decade. Marking a departure from traditional environmental law, both Earth law and RoN are broadly based on the idea that elements of nature, including ecosystems and wildlife populations, can properly be accorded legal personality and enjoy the protections of certain rights. What was once an obscure legal theory has quickly become the subject of numerous cases and legislative actions in the U.S. and an impactful trend in international law.

    With roots in Indigenous legal thinking and relationships to traditional environmental law, RoN is an established (if contested) legal principle in some countries in Latin America and has taken root throughout Europe. This program looks at where RoN is today and where it appears to be heading, in the U.S. and around the world.

  • After completing this program, participants will be able to:

    • Grasp the diverse applications of Earth law, from human rights to clean air, water, and a healthy environment to nature-centric land trusts and corporate governance

    • Appreciate the legal, scientific, and philosophical foundations of Rights of Nature laws

    • Track the growth of Earth-centric and RoN laws and policies around the world

    • Understand the opposition to RoN, including anti-RoN laws in various U.S. states including Idaho, Utah, and Florida (possibly also the removal of RoN from Ecuador’s constitution)

    • Gain insights into how courts around the world are ruling in cases seeking expansion of Earth-centric and RoN protections, including legal recognition of specific ecosystems and wildlife populations

    • Format: Prerecorded Webinar

    • Cost: $79

    • Audience: Environmental lawyers, sustainability practitioners, government lawyers, legal academics, and judiciary members.

    • CLE credit: This program is qualifies for CLE credit in California, self-certification jurisdictions, and jurisdictions with reciprocity policies. Credit has been applied for in New York and approval is pending.

    • Financial Assistance: Earth Law Center provides financial assistance to attorneys who require it. Attorneys seeking financial aid should submit a Financial Aid Application prior to registering for the program. Learn more about our financial aid policy. Please note that financial aid applications are available only for attorneys seeking CLE credit in eligible jurisdictions and are processed separately from other educational offerings.

Animal Rights and the Rights of Nature: Legal Personhood, Bodily Liberty, and the Future of Nonhuman Advocacy

This CLE examines animal rights law's evolution beyond traditional welfare frameworks toward questions of legal personhood, bodily liberty, and standing for nonhuman animals, using Happy the elephant's habeas corpus litigation—led by faculty member Kevin R. Schneider—as a central case study. Participants will explore the distinctions between animal welfare, protection, and rights frameworks, examine functional personhood as a strategy for tailoring rights and remedies to nonhuman interests, and survey current litigation, legislative, and policy developments shaping the field. The program will also assess where animal rights and Rights of Nature intersect and diverge, and consider the practical challenges facing rights-based advocacy, including standing, representation, enforcement, and political backlash.

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Speaker

Kevin R. Schneider, Esq.
Earth Law Center

Kevin Schneider is counsel to the Earth Law Center, a US-based nonprofit advancing earth-centered laws. Since 2013, Kevin has devoted much of his legal career to expanding legal rights to animals and ecosystems. As executive director of the Nonhuman Rights Project (2015-22), he represented an elephant named Happy in a historic habeas corpus case in New York. He has authored several articles and textbook chapters, including for the first and second editions of the textbook Earth Law, and has delivered guest lectures at leading institutions including Harvard, Yale, George Washington University, Fordham, and NYU. Kevin holds a JD from Florida State University with a certificate in environmental and land use law and a BA in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is admitted to practice in New York and the federal courts.

Header Photo: Unsplash / Valentin Salja