Tshering Dolkar (LLM ’18) to teach enviro law at Bhutan’s first law school


Tshering Dolkar, a 2018 graduate of the Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law LLM program at Lewis & Clark, will help design, teach, and coordinate the environmental law curriculum at the Kingdom of Bhutan’s first, and only law school.
The Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law was founded in 2015, by the promulgation of a Royal Charter by His Majesty the King of Bhutan. His Majesty envisioned that the law school would “provide legal education, facilitate research in law and related fields, [and] promote cultural enrichment and traditional values.” The formulation of a law school in a culture where the adversarial nature of Western legal practice is seen by some as opposed to Buddhism was so noteworthy that the NY Times wrote a 2016
story about the school.
Tshering Dolkar’s teaching and research specialty will be Environmental Law and Sustainable Development. The Kingdom of Bhutan follows the concept of “gross national happiness”, which includes the protection of the environment. “We are so proud of Dolkar,” said Janice Weis, Associate Dean and Director, Environmental, Natural Resources, & Energy Law program. “She follows a tradition for our graduates to spread the principles of environmental laws all over the world.”
Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law is located in Wood Hall on the Law Campus.
MSC: 51
email elaw@lclark.edu
voice 503-768-6784
Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law
Lewis & Clark Law School
10101 S. Terwilliger Boulevard MSC 51
Portland OR 97219
More Stories

Read GEI’s November 2025 Newsletter
Last year’s newsletter reflected on what GEI had accomplished in a “best of” moment of fun before the chaos and drama of the next administration descended on us. We never could have guessed what we were all about to face …

GEI in the news!
GEI staff attorney expressed concerns about Pacific Power’s decision to remove the Boardman to Hemingway planned transmission line from its Integrated Resource Plan. In response to a citizens’ request to revoke the certificate allowing condemnation of private property.
GEI, Sierra Club, Mobilizing Climate Action Together, and the Northwest Energy Coalition argued that the that the certificate was premised upon the transmission line’s “broad public benefits, not the needs of a single private entity.” Allowing PacifiCorp to change course would “violate the spirit and legal framework under which the line was approved by this commission,” Alex Houston, an attorney with the Green Energy Institute who represents the groups, told commissioners. It would also “harm Oregon customers and set a dangerous precedent wherein the justifications supporting issuance of a certificate may summarily be disregarded once the utility gets approval,” he said.

Announcing the 2025-26 Law Scholars for Change Scholarship Recipients
Meet three outstanding JD scholarship students committed to pursuing careers challenging industrial animal agriculture: Josephine Blatny, Camille Bond, and Nicole Wood.

Register for the NW Energy Coalition Clean & Affordable Energy Conference–December 3
How can we meet growing energy needs, prepare for extreme weather, and modernize the grid? Join the NW Energy Coalition in Portland on December 3 for expert insights, collaboration, and solutions at the Fall 2025 Clean & Affordable Energy Conference.
