Water law symposium to explore species protection and water supply topics

Jan 24, 2023
Butte Creek Spring Run Salmon

Butte Creek Spring Run Salmon. Photo by John Sherman, 2021.

The University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and six partnering schools will host a symposium consisting of prestigious water law speakers and practitioners discussing hydropower, agriculture, Indigenous Peoples, and innovation in reconciliation between water supply and species protection. McGeorge School of Law will host the 19th Annual California Water Law Symposium on Saturday, February 4, 2023 in Sacramento, California.

This year’s symposium, “Diverse Needs: Species Protection and Water Supply,” will run from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT, in the Lecture Hall at McGeorge School of Law. The event is open to the public and free for students. Attendees have the opportunity to earn up to 5.5 MCLE credits. 

Register and preview the complete symposium schedule. 

Second-year McGeorge School of Law students Devynn Azevedo, Alli Cassing, and Allison Marcus are serving as symposium chairs.

“My fellow co-chairs and I have had the unique opportunity to collaborate with students from six other northern California law schools in order to bring diverse perspectives together on complex water issues,” Marcus said.

McGeorge School of Law Professor Jennifer Harder serves as a faculty advisor for the symposium. Harder teaches courses in Water, Environmental, and Administrative Law at McGeorge. She also serves as co-director of McGeorge’s Water & Environmental Law Concentration and as the Faculty Director for Online Learning.

“The McGeorge School of Law co-chairs and their peers have worked hard to craft a thoughtful program on the all-important issue of integrating species and water. We all look forward to welcoming the water community to McGeorge on February 4,” Harder said.

The program will feature a keynote presentation by Rene Henery, PhD, who serves as the California Science Director for Trout Unlimited, the U.S.’s oldest and largest salmon conservation organization. Henery’s work focuses on cultivating spaces for collaborative engagement around freshwater systems and the diverse life and communities that they connect. He works extensively in California’s Central Valley on the science and policy of river and floodplain restoration and in the Sierras and Cascades on the restoration of mountain meadows.

“We are so grateful for the community we have made in planning for this event. Having Rene Henery start off the day with his eloquent words of healing and change within conservation will be very inspiring for the water community,” Azevedo said.

​Symposium speakers and panelists include:

  • Marianna Aue, Staff Attorney, State Water Board Office of the Chief Counsel
  • Keali'i Bright, Deputy Secretary for Climate and Energy, California Natural Resources Agency
  • Andrea Carmen, Executive Director, International Indian Treaty Council
  • Daniel Cooper, Founding Partner, Sycamore Law Group; Co-counsel for San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper
  • Vicky Espinoza, Strategic Restoration Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy
  • Ada Fowler, PhD, Mount Shasta-Klamath Senior Project Manager, Cal Trout
  • Dana Heinrich, Attorney, California State Water Resources Control Board
  • Shannon Little, Attorney, Office of the Chief Counsel, Department of Fish and Wildlife
  • Sarah Null, PhD, Associate Professor, Utah State University
  • Kate Poole, Senior Director, Water Division Natural Resources Defense Council
  • David Rose, Attorney, California State Water Resources Control Board
  • Stephanie Safdi, Supervising Attorney, Stanford Environmental Law Clinic
  • Rebecca Smith, Partner, Downey Brand
  • Morning Star Gali, California Tribal Liaison, International Indian Treaty Council
  • Kelly Taber, Attorney, Somach Simmons & Dunn

Participant schools include Golden Gate University School of Law; Stanford Law School; University of California, Berkeley School of Law; University of California College of the Law, San Francisco; University of California, Davis School of Law; University of San Francisco; and University of San Francisco School of Law.

"It has been great getting to know and working with students from other law schools who share an interest in water law. We are looking forward to hosting the event,” Cassing said.

The symposium is sponsored by Downey Brand LLP, Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan LLP, Griffith, Masuda, & Hobbs, Hanson Bridgett, Khan, Soares & Conway LLP, Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard, Remy Moose Manley, LLP, Somach Simmons and Dunn, and Water and Power Law Group PC.

Scholarship associated with the symposium will be published in the California Water Law Journal. Questions? ​​Contact waterlawsymposium@gmail.com.

For more information about McGeorge School of Law’s degree offerings related to Water and Environmental Law, visit the links below:

For more information about McGeorge School of Law, visit our website. 

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McGeorge School of Law