New course gives law students insight into energy market regulation

The University of Calgary Faculty of Law has introduced the Dentons North American Energy Law Study Tour. Taught by Professor Fenner Stewart, the course gives upper-year law students an introduction to the overlapping regulatory patchworks of provincial, state and federal rules that direct the energy industry in both Canada and the United States, particularly focusing on the comparative study of Alberta and Texas as two key jurisdictions for energy production in North America. Through the course, which is unique to the University of Calgary, students are offered a dynamic introduction to the variety of regulatory approaches used to manage North American energy markets.

With generous sponsorship from Dentons Canada LLP, students in the law school’s International Energy Lawyers Program (IELP) will have the opportunity to accrue practical industry experience by travelling to Austin, Washington, D.C., and a Fort McMurray oilsands project to gain first-hand exposure to various components in the energy sector. Students will also attend events and lectures on relevant topics, including an energy conference in Houston hosted jointly by the University of Houston Law Center and the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. In addition, students will attend panel discussions and directly network and interact with key actors involved in regulation of Alberta’s energy industry. At the end of this course, students will present their research on an emerging energy policy issue to Dentons’ Energy and Regulatory groups.  

Chantal Carriere, a second-year student in the IELP, is specifically excited to be taking part in this course, because it “gives me the opportunity to interface and network with policy-makers outside of textbooks and gain unique insight into North American regulatory work.”

“It is so amazing to have the support of Dentons to offer this course to our students, and to create a unique learning opportunity in the area of natural resources, energy and environmental law,” says Stewart. “Students are able to get real-world experience and knowledge, which will better prepare them for their future legal careers, and to become key players in North America’s energy landscape.”