Meet The Panelists:Careers in Environmental Law

GGU Law is proud to host a panel of distinguished lawyers, including three alumni, for Careers in Environmental Law this Wednesday beginning at 5:15 pm in room 6624. A networking reception with food and beverages will follow. You can learn about the background of each panelist below:

Robert Byrne (GGU LLM 02): Mr. Byrne has practiced law in a variety of settings since 1984. Currently, he is supervising deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice, assigned to the Natural Resources Law Section. Mr. Byrne supervises all San Francisco and Oakland attorneys representing over 120 state agencies responsible for making and enforcing environmental laws in California. He previously worked for the Attorney General’s Energy Task Force, investigating and prosecuting violations of state and federal laws, including antitrust laws, by the electricity and natural gas industries. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Byrne was vice president and general counsel of a Florida financial institution where, among other duties, he supervised the remediation and sale of environmentally contaminated commercial real estate. Mr. Byrne was a litigation associate in New York and New Jersey, handling CERCLA/Superfund and toxic tort cases, and served as a criminal prosecutor and judicial law clerk following his graduation from law school. He is an honors graduate of Rutgers University and Seton Hall Law School, and holds an LLM in environmental law from Golden Gate.

Kristin Henry (GGU JD 02): Ms. Henry first joined the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program as a law student intern. After receiving her law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law in May 2002 she became the Law Program's first Environmental Law Fellow. After serving as both an intern and a fellow, Kristin is now an Environmental Law Program Staff Attorney. Ms. Henry spent her undergraduate years at Boston University obtaining a degree in environmental policy and analysis. Upon graduation she traveled throughout South America. She took a position as a Campaign Director with the Public Interest Research Group, and then began attending night law school.

Anjali Jaiswal: Ms. Jaiswa is a NRDC senior attorney and co-director of NRDC’s new India initiative, which is focused on increasing U.S. and India cooperation on climate and energy. Since joining NRDC in 2001, Ms. Jaiswal has advocated before various U.S. agencies and courts focused on energy efficiency, water resources, and public health. With NRDC’s litigation and energy programs, Anjali focused on challenging coal-fired power plants in the Midwest and strengthening the Department of Energy and California’s efficiency standards for major appliances. With NRDC’s urban program, she has worked on clean water campaigns and coastal sewage plant upgrades before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In connection with her work at NRDC, Ms. Jaiswal was a fellow in the Nehru Fulbright Indo-American Environmental Leadership Program in 2005 based in New Delhi, India. Prior to joining NRDC, she clerked for U.S. Magistrate Louisa S. Porter in the Southern District of California. She is a graduate of Hastings College of Law and received a B.S. in environmental sciences from the University of California, Riverside. Ms. Jaiswal also studied international environmental law at the University of Leiden, Netherlands in 1998 and environmental sciences in New Delhi, India in 1994.

Andrea Leisy (GGU JD 99): Ms. Leisy joined Remy, Thomas, Moose & Manley, LLP in 1999 as an associate and became a partner in 2005. Her practice focuses on land use and environmental matters, with an emphasis on issues arising under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the State Planning and Zoning Law, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the state and federal Endangered Species Act, the Integrated Waste Management Act, initiative and referendum law relating to land use matters, and other relevant land use and environmental statutes. She represents public agencies, project proponents, consulting firms, non-profit organizations, and individuals throughout all phases of the land use entitlement and permitting processes, including administrative approvals and litigation. Ms. Leisy also serves on the Editorial Board of the Climate Change Law & Policy Reporter which provides monthly articles and updates on Climate Change related regulations and other developments. Ms. Leisy received her undergraduate degree from University of California at Berkeley in 1994, where she completed a double major in Legal Studies and Ethnic Studies. She received her law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law in 1999. While in law school, she clerked at the United States Attorneys’ Office, Environment and Natural Resources Division, California Department of Water Resources, California Indian Legal Services and worked with the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic.

Letitia Moore: Ms. Moore got her JD from Boalt School of Law. During law school, Ms. Moore interned with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region IX, Office of Regional Counsel in San Francisco, and the California Department of Justice, Criminal Law Division, also in San Francisco. Ms. Moore was also involved in the management of a free legal assistance clinic specializing in unemployment insurance, the East Bay Unemployment Law Clinic (EBULC). At EBULC, Ms. Moore's duties included counseling claimants, representing claimants before administrative law judges, and preparing appeals to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. EBULC closed upon the establishment of the Berkeley Community Law Center.
In 1989, Ms. Moore joined the Air & Toxics Section of the EPA, Region IX, Office of Regional Counsel. Ms. Moore worked on implementation and enforcement of environmental requirements concerning clean air and toxic pollution until 1996. In 1996, Ms. Moore moved to the Hazardous Waste Branch of the EPA, Region IX, Office of Regional Counsel. Ms. Moore currently works for EPA on matters involving regulatory enforcement, state authorization, oversight of federal facility cleanup, Superfund cost recovery, and implementation and enforcement of Community Right-To-Know requirements.As an Assistant Regional Counsel with EPA, Ms. Moore works with a variety of professionals -- scientists, engineers, toxicologists, adminstrators -- to protect public health and the environment. Ms. Moore interacts with employees and representatives from state agencies, regional boards, environmental organizations, private industry, small and large corporations, and cities. A large part of her work for EPA involves negotiating agreements, sorting through complex and sometimes conflicting information, practical implementation of policy decisions, and conflict resolution.