Students from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Mexico visit the University of Houston Law Center to participate in the 2nd International Energy and Environmental Law Summer Course.
August 1, 2022 — Twenty students and a faculty member from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL) in Mexico visited the University of Houston Law Center to participate in the 2nd International Energy and Environmental Law Summer Course. The two-week intensive summer course allowed students to study energy and environmental law and be introduced to multifaceted legal avenues. The course was taught by Professors Victor Flatt and Julian Cardenas and faculty member Ricardo Colmenter.
The fields of law studied in Mexico at the bachelor’s degree level are not as specialized as the niche of energy law.
“However, after seeing energy law and environmental law in action, it is really amazing,” UANL bachelor’s student Frieda Arreola noted. “I am very thankful for being a part of this because I got to see a part of law that I didn’t know of.”
Since 2014, UH Law Center has cooperated with UANL on international energy law and international dispute resolution education in the energy sector at the UANL LL.M. program in Monterrey. The UH Law Center EENR summer program provides students at the Bachelor in Laws degree level with a unique exchange program centered on international energy and environmental law and broaden their career opportunities.
“Being at UH and being in the Energy Capital of the World, which is Houston, helped me learn where I want to focus my skills and what I want to learn,” UANL student Arreola said. “I think this is what I want to focus on as a lawyer now, energy law and probably environmental too.”
The first edition of the summer course took place in 2019. After Covid restrictions were lifted, UH Law Center did not hesitate to offer a second course where students were able to visit the Houston campus and gain hands-on experience in education and career development.
“The students took four hours of classes a day at the University of Houston and visited important businesses in the Energy Capital of the World,” Research Professor Julian Cárdenas Garcia said. “The course introduced students to active businesses and gave deep insight into both of the fields.”
Focused on international energy, environment and climate law, UH Law Center provided information for legal success, highlighting building business relationships and being hands-on in the selected field of study.
“Our training of attorneys internationally is a very important part of our Center's mission,” Dwight Olds Chair and Professor of Law Victor Flatt said. “As the only law school center addressing the intersection of climate, energy and environment in the world's energy capital, we are well positioned to work with stakeholders from around the world.”
Students visited the General Consulate of Mexico in Houston, hosted by Consul Alicia G. Kerber and met with the International Arbitration Team of Locke Lord Houston Office, including Paul Neufeld, Enrique Jaramillo and Professor Ann Ryan Robertson. The class also visited the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences and participated in a final career panel on international law that was hosted at UH Law Center with panelists from the law firms Reed Smith and
Eversheds Sutherland, including Danny Avila, Benjamin Antillón, Rodrigo González and Maria Cristina Ortegon.
“The University of Nuevo León puts in the effort to build relationships with UH and helps you to see how the law system works in the U.S., especially in Houston — the Energy Capital of the World,” Arreola said. “This allows you to see a lot of the culture and the field you are pursuing in unique ways.”
