OU Law Names Leadership for New LL.M. Program

NORMAN – An expert in energy and natural resources law and a research and writing specialist have been appointed to guide the new John B. Turner Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program in the University of Oklahoma College of Law, Dean Joseph Harroz announced today.  The new 24-credit program, which begins August 2011, is the first LL.M program in the United States focusing on the fields of energy, natural resources, and indigenous peoples.

OU Law Professor Owen Anderson will serve as director of the program, which will provide students with an additional year of education after receiving their Juris Doctor in Law, and former OU law library research assistant, David Dye, will serve as assistant director.

"Professor Anderson has extensive experience in energy and natural resources law, and Mr. Dye is an accomplished OU law alum who previously assisted students in the OU Law Library," Harroz said. "I am confident that this program will excel under their leadership."

Anderson, an OU law faculty member since 1992, is the Eugene Kuntz Chair in Oil, Gas and Natural Resources. He has lectured worldwide on domestic and international oil and gas law. He is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee in Scotland and serves on the LL.M. visiting faculty at the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney. Anderson has authored numerous articles on oil and gas law and serves on the Board of Editors for the Oil and Gas Reporter and the Texas Title Standards. A member of the Oklahoma, Texas, and North Dakota bars, he serves as a Commissioner for the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and is a member of the American Law Institute. In addition, he is a trustee of both the Eastern and Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundations; a member of the International Oil and Gas Educational Center Advisory Board of the Center for American and International Law in Dallas, Texas; and a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.

Dye earned his Juris Doctor from the OU College of Law in 2009 after serving six years in the U.S. Army National Guard. After law school, he provided research and writing support to the appellate division of the U.S. Attorney's office. Dye also worked as a research assistant for three years at the OU Law Library. As associate director for the LL.M. program, Dye will assist Anderson in recruiting efforts. He also will serve as a campus liaison for international students enrolled in the program.

OU LL.M. program applications and additional details are available at www.law.ou.edu/llm.

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CONTACT: Evie Klopp Holzer, (405) 831-0709