Careers and Alumni

The profession of environmental and natural resources law offers exciting opportunities for Lewis and Clark Law graduates, over a thousand of whom have gone on to interesting careers across the United States and all over the world.

The field is vast. Most of our graduates work in private law firms, government agencies, and nonprofit offices. Some work for international organizations; others teach environmental law in colleges or law schools. Some graduates find themselves in exciting non-traditional careers.

Lewis & Clark alums talk about their environmental law careers

Here are only a few examples of what our graduates are doing in the environmental and natural resources field.

Public interest litigation, lobbying and legislation

Karl Anuta '85, a partner in the Portland firm of Sokol and Anuta, has set numerous legal precedents as lead counsel in water and forest law cases.

Nina Bell '91 is executive director of Northwest Environmental Advocates.

Kristen Fletcher LL.M. '98 is Executive Director of the Coastal States Organization, representing the environmental interests of the governors of 35 coastal states in Congress.

Steven Kallick '83 is the director of the International Boreal Conservation Campaign for the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia.

Rob Lothrop '81 is the Manager of Policy Development and Litigation Support for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, where he has played a pivotal role in developing and implementing fish and wildlife measures in the Columbia River Basin.

Jon Lovvorn LL.M. '01 is vice-president and chief counsel for Animal Protection Litigation & Research for The Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C. 

Karen Russell '90, senior staff attorney at WaterWatch, is recognized as one of the foremost experts on Oregon water law and procedure. 

Law firms

Heidi Hughes Bumpers '81 is counsel at Jones Day in Washington, D.C., where she litigates RCRA enforcement cases, Superfund and natural resource damage cases, and EPCRA, OSHA, and asbestos enforcement actions.

Steve Doherty ‘84 is a partner in Smith, Doherty & Belcourt, PC in Great Falls, Montana. He also serves as the governor-appointed chair of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission.

Jeff Fereday '80 is a senior practitioner in the natural resources, environmental and energy group at the Boise, Idaho law firm of Givens Pursley LLP, where he represents municipal water suppliers, industrial clients, irrigators, land developers, mining companies and non-profit organizations in issues relating to environmental law, water rights, endangered species, wetlands, mining and public lands.

Jerry Fish '82 is a partner at Stoel Rives LLP in Portland, Oregon, where he handles cases relating to oil and gas exploration and storage, hydroelectric project relicensing and compliance, and mining for gold, silver, copper, coal and industrial minerals.

Thomas C. Jensen '80 is a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Washington, D.C., where he practices in the areas of climate change, energy and the environment.

Craig Trueblood '85 is a partner in the Seattle law firm of Preston Gates and Ellis, where he provides counsel for a diverse group of corporate and government clients in the areas of environmental, land use and real estate law

Government

Catherine Ciarlo '94 is the Portland mayor's tranportation policy advisor.

Margi Lifsey '00 is the Oregon Department of Transportation's Sustainability Program Manager.

James B. Martin '81 was appointed in 2010 to serve as the regional administrator for EPA's region 8 by President Obama.  Jim was formerly the executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, where he was responsible for broad-based health and environmental protection programs, including bioterrorism, disease prevention, control and epidemiology, and health statistics and vital records.

Peter Monson '82 is the Assistant Section Chief of the Indian Resources Section at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he has successfully litigated numerous and complex lawsuits involving water rights, hunting and fishing rights, land claims, mineral and oil and gas issues, Indian gaming, environmental issues involving Indian lands and natural resources, and defense of federal agency actions.

Phil Schiliro '81 is President Obama's liaison with Congress.

John Shurts '83 is the General Counsel in the Legal Division of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, a unique Congressionally-established organization that helps the Pacific Northwest states make critical decisions that balance the multiple purposes of the Columbia River and its tributaries.

Aunnie Steward '01 was hired by the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., through the honors program in 2003.  In 2006, she moved back home to Alaska to work for the U.S. Attorney's office where she prosecutes environmental crimes under federal environmental laws.

Kat West '97 is the Sustainability Manager for Multnomah County, Oregon.

Corporate in-house counsel and officers

Chuck D. Barlow LL.M. '95 is Assistant General Counsel, Environmental Division, at Entergy Corporation. He previously served as General Counsel of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Judith A. (Judi) Johansen '83 has served as president and CEO of Pacificorp and as administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration.  She is currently the president of Marylhurst University in Marylhurst, Oregon. 

Margaret Kirkpatrick '82 is Vice President and General Counsel for Northwest Natural Gas.

Academia

Daniel H. Cole '86 is the M. Dale Palmer Professor of Law at the Indiana University School of Law, where he teaches and writes on domestic and international environmental and natural resources law.

Barbara Cosens LL.M. '02 is Professor of Law in the Waters of the West program at the University of Idaho Law School, where she teaches and writes on water law and policy and on interdisciplinary methods in water resources.

Robin Kundis Craig '96 is the Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund Professor of Law at Florida State University College of Law, where she teaches and writes on all aspects of water law.

Elaine Hallmark '76 is the Director of the Oregon Consensus Program (OCP) in the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon and a veteran environmental mediator.

Arlene Kwasniak LL.M. '92 is a law professor at the University of Calgary in the province of Alberta, Canada, where she teaches and writes on natural resources, municipal, environmental, sustainability and conservation law and policy.

International environmental law

Carl Bruch '96 is the Senior Attorney and Co-Director of International Programs for the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C. where he draws upon his extensive experience internationally in helping countries develop and implement laws, policies, and institutional frameworks to effectively manage water resources, biodiversity, forests, and other natural resources.

Kim McCoy '07 is the International Executive Director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Takamichi Sekine, LL.M. '91, is a professor at the School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University, where he teaches courses in the areas of Environmental Law, Comparative Environmental Law, Environmental Assessment. He is also legal adviser for Japan’s largest environmental organization, the Nature Conservation Society of Japan, and a member of the Environmental Center of the Japan Bar Association. He has pioneered ground-breaking environmental public interest litigation in Japan.

Additional information

Our reputation as the country’s preeminent environmental law school and our network of more than 1,000 successful practitioners in the field provide our graduates with access to an international job market.

Each year, the law school honors two to three of our alumni as "Distinguished Environmental Alumni."  These are alums with at least 10 years of experience who have made significant contributions to the environmental or natural resources law or policy fields. More about our distinguished graduates

Our outstanding Career Services Office helps students find resume-building jobs during school, and helps alumni chart rewarding career paths after graduation.