Janet Neuman
Professor of Law, Retired

• Administrative Law, 
• Mining & Mineral Law,
• Property,  
• Water Law, 
• Water Policy Seminar, 
• Graduate Environmental Law Seminar

B.A. summa cum laude 1975 Drake University
J.D. 1979 Stanford Law School
Member, Phi Beta Kappa

Professor Neuman joined the Lewis and Clark faculty in 1992 after serving as the director of the Oregon Department of State Lands, where she oversaw the state’s management of Common School Fund lands and natural resources; before becoming director, Ms. Neuman had been the agency’s assistant director for resource management. Prior to working in state government, she was a commercial litigator in private practice in both Minnesota and Oregon, handling trial and appellate work in state and federal court. Currently, she serves as Senior Counsel to her previous law firm of Tonkon Torp LLP, periodically consulting with the firm’s environmental and natural resources practice group, with an emphasis on water law matters.

Professor Neuman is on the Board of The Freshwater Trust, a non-profit conservation group. She is past president of the Oregon Water Trust (a non-profit entity restoring instream flows through acquisition of water rights), and a former member of the State Board of Forestry, appointed by the governor of Oregon. Professor Neuman also served on the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission by appointment of President Clinton; the Commission released a comprehensive report in 1998 about the recommended future role of the federal government in western water management.

Professor Neuman co-directed the law school’s Natural Resources Law Institute. She served as the law school’s first Associate Dean of Faculty from 2005-2008, supporting the faculty’s efforts in teaching, scholarship, and community service. Her research interests are in the area of water and natural resources law, and she is a frequent speaker and writer on topics of water law and policy.