Faculty and Staff
BAILE Faculty
Professor David N. Cassuto
Executive Director
Professor Cassuto is the founder and Executive Director of BAILE and an expert in environmental law specializing in international comparative law, water law, property law and animal law. In addition to teaching the BAILE Environmental Law class, he runs training programs both in the United States and Brazil for Brazilian judges, lawyers and law students. He has published a number of path-breaking works in the field of environmental and cultural studies. A Portuguese speaker, he lectures frequently on these topics in both North and South America. Prior to joining Haub Law in 2003, he worked in private practice and held a clerkship on the Eleventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and visiting professor at several Brazilian law schools. He holds a BA from Wesleyan University, a JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a PhD from Indiana University.
Rômulo Silveira da Rocha Sampaio
Director for International Services
Professor Sampaio is an expert in issues relating to climate change, carbon sequestration and biofuels. He has also published in both Brazil and the United States on issues of international environmental law. Dr. Sampaio’s private law practice experience has focused on consulting with clients with multinational issues and he currently serves on the faculty of FGV Direito Rio law. He holds a Bachelors (LLB) and Masters (LLM) degrees in Economic and Social Law from the Pontific Catholic University of Parana – School of Law, Brazil as well as a Masters and Doctoral Degree on Juridical Sciences in Environmental Law (SJD), from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
Affiliated Faculty and Staff
Professor Heron José de Santana Gordilho
Regional Coordinator
Professor Gordilho is a scholar of both animal and environmental law animal law, having published a number of books and articles on both subjects. He is an environmental public prosecutor in Brazil and professor on environmental law at Federal University in State of Bahia and Catholic University. He was founder and first president of Abolitionist Institute for Animals and he founder and editor of the Brazilian Animal Rights Review, the first legal journal about animal rights in Latin America. Additionally, he created the Habeas Corpus on behalf of chimpanzee theory. He hold an SJD by the Federal University of Pernambuco and a post doc from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law.
Professor Tagore Trajano
Regional Coordinator
Professor Trajano is an expert in issues relating to Brazilian Constitutional and Environmental Law as well as Bioethics, and Animal Law issues. He has published articles in Brazil and the United States on Comparative Law issues. In addition, Professor Trajano is a practicing lawyer in Brazil and President of the Institute for Animal Abolitionist. He received his Postdoctorate in law from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law and his PhD and Masters in Public Law from the Federal University of Bahia. He has been a Visiting Researcher at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC / China), serves as the Editor of the Brazilian Animal Rights Review and has coordinated several World Conferences on Bioethics and Animal Rights. In addition to teaching postgraduate courses in environmental law at the Federal University of Bahia, Professor Trajano is a founding member of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Derecho Ambiental.