Public Interest Environmental Law Conference
March 1-4 2018
From Thursday, March 1st to Sunday, March 4th, The University of Oregon will once again be home of the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC). Starting in 1983, PIELC has facilitated hundreds of workshops and panels that focus on an array of topics from international environmental law to water rights to treaty rights and beyond. Members of the CLDC staff and advisory board will be speaking on some of the panels. Here is where and when you can find them:
Friday, March 2nd:
Panel 4: 11:40-12:55
*The Limits of Law: Rethinking the Role of Law and Legal Work in the Anthropocene (Law 175) This panel will examine the role of law and legal work in contemporary environmental movements. While significant gains for the environment have been won through litigation and legal reform, panelists contend that movements generally overestimate the ability of law to meaningfully address existing environmental crises. Drawing on their experience in the legal profession, panelists will critique autonomous conceptions of law and offer a framework to reconsider the role of law and legal work in today’s environmental movement.
Panelists: Lauren Regan, Civil Liberties Defense Center; Cooper Brinson Civil Liberties Defense Center
Saturday, March 3
Panel 6: 9:00 – 10:15 A.M.
*SLAPP, RICO and other Industry Attempts to Chill the Climate Movement (EMU 119) Lawyers will discuss the basics of SLAPP and RICO suits, including those currently being litigated against environmental organizations. Updates and information on how you and your organization can prevent and prepare for industry legal attacks will be provided. This panel is for lawyers who might be willing to defend activists and orgs as well as organizers and activists who need more info so as not to be chilled in their first amendment political activities.
Panelists: Lauren Regan, Civil Liberties Defense Center; Tom Wetterer or Deepa Isaac, Greenpeace U.S.
Panel 8: 1:55-3:10
*In-Depth Digital Security and Security Culture for Earth Defense Movements and Supporting Attorneys (Law 282) Effective social movements working to oppose powerful extractive industries face government and private efforts to disrupt and neutralize them. Familiar corporate online platforms offer convenience but cannot be trusted to respect the confidentiality of activists or their allied attorneys. We will discuss alternative platforms, apps, and technologies for encrypted communications and the security culture best practices essential to sharing information safely and effectively. We address what platforms/apps/technologies can be trusted with what types of information and which work best in a variety of settings. There will be plenty of space for Q&A on barriers people face in adopting encrypted communications so bring your challenges to us and help us develop best practices as a community of resistance!
Panelists: Erin Grady, Civil Liberties Defense Center; Michele Gretes, Civil Liberties Defense Center
Sunday March 4th
Panel 11- 10:35-11:50
*State and Corporate Surveillance Capabilities (Law 281) We will provide case examples, tips, and traps regarding government and corporate surveillance of climate activists and frontline communities, their campaigns, and their lawyers, and why everyone needs to take security issues seriously to be a serious activist, advocate or attorney. We will overview known and suspected surveillance capabilities of state and corporate opponents and provide guidance on developing a digital security threat model..
Panelists: Lauren Regan, Civil Liberties Defense Center; Glencora Borradaile, OSU/ Civil Liberties Defense Center