I’m often asked how an attorney becomes an “agricultural attorney.” The answer is simple: through knowledge. The best agricultural attorneys I know have two kinds of knowledge: they know agriculture, and they know the laws that affect agriculture. There are several upcoming events that can help attorneys and law students gain the legal knowledge required to be an agricultural attorney.
The National Agricultural Law Center is currently offering two opportunities for attorneys and law students:
1. Research Fellowships for Law Students. NALC employs law students in their second and third years as Research Fellows who help conduct legal research and writing projects. It’s an outstanding opportunity to gain research experience and access to the world of agricultural law. As a partner of the NALC, our OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program usually has one or two NALC Research Fellows working with us. For the upcoming term, specific research topics for NALC Research Fellows might include but are not limited to:
- Environmental regulation of agriculture;
- Food safety and food labeling;
- Agricultural finance and credit;
- Other relevant issues such as agricultural data and technology, land use, farm programs, local and regional food systems and agricultural labor;
- Legal issues of importance to underserved populations, including BIPOC, such as heirs property, access to credit, environmental law/justice and food system equity.
Interested law students must act quickly, as the fellowship applications are due April 5, 2024. Application information is available on the National Agricultural Law Center website.
2. Agricultural & Environmental Law Conferences. NALC is hosting two legal conferences this June: the Mid-South Agricultural & Environmental Conference in Memphis, Tennessee on June 6-7 and the Western Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference on June 13-14. We’ve attended the NALC conferences, and they’re excellent learning experiences that cover the breadth of topics we face in agricultural law. The conferences also allow attendees to interact with speakers and other attorneys from around the country, and law students are welcomed. Registration is now open for both conferences and is available on the National Agricultural Law Center website.
Two additional opportunities for agricultural attorneys and law students are on the horizon, and include:
- The Cultivating Connections Conference. Our program here at OSU, in partnership with Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation and the National Agricultural Law Center, is planning to host the second annual Cultivating Connections Conference for attorneys, accountants, appraisers, financial planners, and other professionals interested in farm transition planning. We welcome law students and other young professionals to join us. The conference will be in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 4 and 5, and registration will soon be available on our Farm Office website.
- The AALA Annual Educational Symposium. The American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) will host its annual conference on November 7- 9 in Memphis, Tennessee. The AALA also includes law students in its conference, and offers several activities for the students. The AALA is currently accepting presentation proposals for the conference and registration will open later this Spring on the AALA website.
If you are or want to be in agricultural law, don’t miss out on these opportunities to gain the critical knowledge necessary to be an agricultural attorney. Agriculture needs you!
Ohio Agricultural Law Blog 