Our Work and Impact
The Rural Economic Development Clinic works with individuals and organizations to assist in providing tools for successful business operation. For example, a potential client might be an agricultural producer who needs help drafting a contract to market goods using the Community Supported Agriculture model or to sell produce to local restaurants. Other services could include:
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Legal assistance with business entity formation
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Reviewing contracts
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Reviewing leases for wind or solar energy
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Reviewing leases for oil or gas extraction
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Developing model agreements or ordinances
If you would like to apply for legal assistance from the clinic, visit this webpage to learn more.
Faculty Supervision
Professor Ross Pifer is the director of the Rural Economic Development Clinic as well as the Center for Agricultural and Shale Law. His research focuses on shale gas development and the interface between agricultural and residential development. He has been an attorney with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of General Counsel, and he has advised military personnel and commands in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Great Britain, and Germany while on active duty with the U.S. Army JAG Corps at the Netherlands Law Center. He has presented widely throughout Pennsylvania, as well as nationally and internationally, on shale gas and agricultural law topics to audiences comprised of judges, attorneys, legislators, government officials, landowners, and the general public.
Related Courses
Corporations
This course primarily addresses organization and operation of commercial organizations in the Anglo-American community. Preliminarily, sole proprietorships and partnerships are considered, after which corporations-for-profit are emphasized with some attention to business trusts and non-profit corporations. In the corporate context, duties of promoters, directors, officers, and other insiders are considered.
Sales
Article Two of the Uniform Commercial Code is an integrated body of statutory law that prescribes the rights and obligations of parties involved in transactions in goods. The course reviews general principles of contract law and contrasts them with the approach adopted in Article Two, while emphasizing the special techniques of statutory construction utilized in interpreting a code as opposed to an isolated statute. Course topics are: code methodology, contract formation and interpretation, performance obligations, breach and remedies.
Secured Transactions
This course deals with the creation, enforcement, and priorities of personal property security interests under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and related statutes. It addresses: (a) encumbrances on consumer, commercial, and industrial goods, (b) inventory and receivables financing for manufacturers, distributors, and dealers, and (c) personal property agricultural financing. Relevant provisions of other Articles of the UCC and other state and federal statutes are integrated into the course as required.
Agricultural Law
This course introduces students to the range of current and emerging issues that confront agricultural producers, agri-business firms, and other segments of that broader sector of the economy referred to as the "food industry." The course will address a variety of issues including the history and objectives of agricultural policy, land use planning for agricultural activities, resource use and allocation, industrialization in the agricultural sector, intergenerational transfers of farm businesses, international trade, and ethical issues that confront practitioners.