Dr Alice Palmer

Overview

Dr Alice Palmer is a Senior Lecturer at Melbourne Law School and a Co-Director of the Art and Law Program of the Institute of International Law and Humanities (IILAH). She teaches international and domestic environmental law as well as subjects that examine the human rights and development dimensions of international environmental law. Her research spans theory and practice, addressing the interfaces between law and image with a focus on legal interpretation in international law, theories for the visual arts and philosophies of environmental aesthetics. Alice is also involved in projects assessing laws on waste management for UN and regional bodies and strategic analysis of climate litigation for the philanthropic sector.

Alice’s teaching and research draw on over 15 years’ experience in providing legal support to governments, international institutions, think tanks and campaign organisations as well as businesses. She was previously the Director of the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD), a not-for-profit organisation in London that advocated for the crafting, implementation and enforcement of international environmental laws by developing countries. A focus of her work at FIELD was the relationship between international trade rules and environmental protection. Before specialising in international law, Alice practised law with commercial law firms Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York and Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks (now Allens) in Melbourne. She also previously worked as a lawyer with the Law Institute of Victoria, focussing on reform in human rights and administrative law, and she has advised on refugee and migration issues in national and international contexts.

In addition to her teaching at Melbourne Law School, Alice has taught classes and courses on issues intersecting international environmental law at University College London, Kent Law School and University of Auckland. She has also contributed to subjects on refugee law at ANU’s College of Law and Columbia University. Alice has a PhD in law from the University of Melbourne, supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. She also has a Master of Laws degree from New York University, and she obtained her Bachelor degrees in Arts and Laws (with Honours) from the University of Melbourne. Her Arts degree included studies in art history, literature, politics and French language.

Other School and University responsibilities

• Coordinator, Research Support Program