Water law attorney Janet Neuman has joined Tonkon Torp as chair of the firm's water law practice.
Considered one of the foremost water lawyers in Oregon, Neuman is a professor and former Associate Dean of Faculty at Lewis & Clark Law School. She co-directs the school's Natural Resources Law Institute. She is currently on sabbatical from the law school.
"When it comes to water policy and water law, we consider her to be the finest attorney in Oregon. We are delighted to have Janet re-engage with our firm as we build our water law practice to serve government entities and private sector clients," said Michael M. Morgan, managing partner at Tonkon Torp.
Neuman was an associate at Tonkon Torp from 1981 to 1987. She left the firm to become Assistant Director for Resource Management at the Oregon Department of State Lands. She subsequently served as that department's director from 1991 to 1992.
A frequent speaker and writer on water law and policy, Neuman is past president of the Oregon Water Trust and a former member of the State Board of Forestry. She served on the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission, appointed by President Clinton, which in 1998 released recommendations on the future role of the federal government in western water management. She is a member of the Board of Directors of The Freshwater Trust.
Neuman graduated from Stanford Law School. She earned her undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Drake University.