Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Our Distinguished Graduates
Over 1,500 graduates of Lewis & Clark Law School are practicing in the environmental and natural resources law field around the world. Among them are mediators, law professors, corporate counsel, nonprofit litigators, and government officials. A number of graduates have developed innovative non-traditional environmental careers, using their law degrees in policy work.
The law school annually awards two or three of its many outstanding alumni for the Distinguished Environmental Law Graduate award, which recognizes significant contributions to the environmental and natural resources law field.
2012
Erik Lemelson ‘92.
Past Recipients:
2011
Janis Searle Jones ‘95
2010
Phil Schilliro ‘81
Kate Brown ‘85
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
Bowen Blair, Jr., ’80:
John C. Platt, ’73
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
• Portland, Oregon public interest environmental lawyer
• diverse practice in water law and forest law
• strong community service ethic
• founded the Environmental Practice Group at Stoel Rives
• practiced environmental law from the time the first U.S. environmental laws were passed
• ongoing mentor to Lewis & Clark law students
• won a record-setting settlement in an environmental enforcement suit
• serves as environmental counsel to Southern energy giant Entergy
• has held numerous positions within the ABA Section on Energy and Environmental Resources
• Executive Director of Northwest Environmental Advocates
• known nationwide for her water quality work
• pushes for advancement of water quality standards, TMDLs, and pollution control implementation
Bowen Blair, Jr., ’80:
• Senior Vice President of Trust for Public Land
• former Director of TPL’s six-state Northwest Region
• supervises TPL’s entire project portfolio of over $500 million of land
• M. Dale Palmer Professor of Law at the Indiana University School of Law
• teaches and writes about the law and economics of property, environmental law, international environmental law, natural resources, and environmental protection
• Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund Professor of Law at Florida State
• nationally recognized legal expert in “all things water”
• FSU Teaching Commendation for Excellence, 2008
• Partner in Smith, Doherty & Belcourt, PC in Great Falls, Montana
• governor-appointed chair of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission
• draws upon his natural resources experience from three terms in the Montana Senate
• senior practitioner, natural resources, environmental and energy group at the Boise, Idaho law firm of Givens Pursley LLP
• named one of the Best Lawyers in America in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
• partner at Stoel Rives LLP in Portland, Oregon
• practices natural resources law with an emphasis on oil and gas exploration and storage, hydroelectric project relicensing and compliance, and mining
• pioneer in environmental and public policy mediation
• director, Oregon Consensus Program
• founding partner, Confluence Northwest
• counsel, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in Washington, D.C.
• expert in complex hazardous waste enforcement cases
• former Section Chief, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Monitoring
• partner, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, LLP, Washington, D.C.
• nationally recognized expert in natural resources, energy and environmental law and policy
• former President and CEO, PacifiCorp
• former Administrator and CEO, Bonneville Power Administration
• distinguished career in energy law
• program director, International Boreal Conservation Campaign, Pew Charitable Trusts
• distinguished career in forest conservation
• Vice President/General Counsel, Northwest Natural
• former partner, Stoel Rives, environmental law practice
• Assistant Professor, University of Calgary Law School
• former Executive Director, UC Environmental Law Centre
• research and writing in environmental, conservation, natural resources, and municipal law and policy
• Manager of Policy Development and Litigation Support, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC)
• has played a pivotal role in developing and implementing fish and wildlife measures in the Columbia Basin
• founder, Resources Law Group, LLP
• former California Undersecretary of Resources
• author of a number of books on environmental issues
- • Regional Administrator, Region 8, EPA
• former executive director, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
• former director, University of Colorado Natural Resources Law Center
• award-winning litigator
• handles complex natural resource issues for the U.S. Department of Justice Indian Resources Section
John C. Platt, ’73:
• special assistant to the executive director for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
• policy advisor for treaty fishery issues since 1971
• senior staff attorney at WaterWatch
• recognized as one of the foremost experts on Oregon water law and procedure
• professor, School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University
• legal adviser for Japan’s largest environmental organization, the Nature Conservation Society of Japan
• brought landmark case to conserve Okinawan dugong
• general counsel, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
• expert on tribal reserved water rights and the Winters doctrine
• editor, Putting the Public Trust Doctrine to Work
• varied environmental law and policy practice, including serving as the director of the Coastal States Organization
• frequent Congressional testimony on fisheries, environmental law, constitutional law and international affairs
• 30-year leader of natural resource conservation efforts
• senior natural resource policy advisor for Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts
• commissioner and chair, Columbia River Gorge Commission
• partner, Preston Gates and Ellis, Seattle
• diverse practice in environmental, land use and real estate law
Contact Us
The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program is located in Wood Hall on the Law Campus.
Emailelaw@lclark.edu
Voice503-768-6649
Fax503-768-6751
Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program
Lewis & Clark Law School
10015 S.W. Terwilliger Boulevard, MSC 51
Portland, OR 97219


























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