Meet Our Team

Vic Sher has spent his career developing and prosecuting unparalleled legal strategies to protect people and the planet. Over the past 30 years, he has achieved exceptional success—as a litigator, a consultant and as the leader of the world’s largest public interest environmental law firm—on behalf of communities and non-governmental organizations against the world’s most powerful polluters and largest law firms. Beyond representing public agencies and organizations in active lawsuits, Vic consults on effective litigation strategies with government agencies, national and local non-profit organizations, and attorneys around the country.

From 1998 through 2011, Vic’s practice focused solely on representing public water suppliers and other public agencies in lawsuits against the manufacturers of toxic chemicals polluting drinking water sources. He was a partner with Miller & Sher in Sacramento from 1998 through 2002, then founder and principal litigator with Sher Leff LLP in San Francisco from 2003 through 2011. In 2009, Vic served as New York City’s lead trial counsel in City of New York v. ExxonMobil, a federal jury trial over MTBE contamination in Queens that resulted in a verdict for the City of $104.7 million. His team was recognized as a Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year finalist. In a federal multidistrict litigation, In Re: MTBE Litigation, involving hundreds of public water agencies around the country, Vic was designated by the court as national co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs. He also represented numerous public water agencies and utilities in matters involving a variety of chemicals including MTBE, TCP, DBCP, PCE, and DDT.

Vic practiced with the public interest law firm Earthjustice (then known as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) from October 1986 until June 1997, including as its President from 1994 to 1997. As President, he acted as the CEO for the world’s largest public interest environmental law firm, with 50 lawyers in ten offices. The American Lawyer called some of his work during this period among the “most important public lands management litigation in this country’s history.” The ABA Journal noted that Vic’s lawsuits caused a “dramatic new direction in forest policy” for tens of millions of acres of federal forests, “forcing an end to business as usual”. He also litigated many cases to protect communities from toxic chemicals, preserve endangered ecosystems and species, conserve public lands, and improve air and water quality.

Named a 2011 LawDragon 500 lawyer and a Northern California Super Lawyer since 2005, Vic received a Pew Scholarship in Conservation and the Environment in 1992, and shared the Natural Resources Council of America Award of Achievement for Policy Activities in 1993. The American Lawyer Magazine named him for its 1997 “Public Sector 45,” a list of “45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives”. Vic is a 1976 graduate of Oberlin College, where he was Phi Beta Kappa, received high honors, and was awarded the Comfort-Starr Award for excellence in the study of government. He received his law degree in 1980 from Stanford Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review.

For nearly fifteen years, Matt has represented public entities in large individual actions, as well as plaintiffs in complex litigation. Matt currently serves a counsel for several states, counties and cities in litigation related to climate damages, water and land contamination, and natural resources damages involving myriad petrochemical, agrichemical, and other man-made chemicals.

Recently, Matt served as trial counsel for California’s toxics agency arising out of its largest-ever contaminated site cleanup, which was caused by airborne lead emissions. California Dep’t of Toxic Substances Control, et al. v. NL Indus., Inc., et al., No. 2:20-11293-SVW-JPR (C.D. Cal.) As lead counsel working on behalf of water providers on Long Island, Matt helped secure more than $65 million in consent judgments and settlements arising out of contaminated drinking water. Bethpage Water District v. United States of America, et al., (EDNY Case No. 22-cv-2050); South Farmingdale Water District v. United States of America, et al., (EDNY Case No. 22-cv-2051). Matt’s efforts as lead counsel on behalf of California public entities resulted in $630 million in infrastructure improvements to abate transboundary water contamination. City of Imperial Beach, et al. v. International Boundary and Water Commission, et al., No. 18-cv-457-JM-JLB (S.D. Cal.).

Over his career, Matt, frequently in tandem with public counsel, has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients. Matt understands the need to balance the public and policy implications involved in environmental litigation, and bring stakeholders together in and out of the courtroom to achieve lasting success. Matt also has extensive experience in significant commercial matters, involving fraud, securities, insurance bad faith, consumer, financial litigation, and contract claims. Matt has been appointed to leadership positions in multi-party and class actions in state and federal courts, as well as primary counsel in multiparty actions throughout the country.

Matt’s successes led to The Recorder naming him as one of the top fifty California attorneys with under ten years of practice (2012), and he has been named among the highest class of attorneys for professional ethics and legal skills, with an AVPreeminent rating by Martindale Hubbell.

Katie Jones has long worked to preserve our environment and safeguard it for future generations. Her practice spans trial and appellate experience, grounded in creative advocacy to hold polluters accountable and achieve success for her clients.

Before joining Sher Edling, Katie was an attorney at the Sierra Club, where she worked on a wide variety of environmental matters, including challenges to new fossil fuel infrastructure and cases to improve government transparency and to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals. Previously, she clerked for Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr.

Katie received her law degree in 2014 from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where she earned a certificate in environmental law and was awarded the Landis Prize for Water Law. During law school, Katie served as an editor for the California Law Review and Ecology Law Quarterly. Prior to attending law school, Katie worked as a Fulbright Fellow in an indigenous community in Mexico, focusing on learning from traditional environmental knowledge to diversify local agriculture. She is a 2008 graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Stephanie Biehl has dedicated her career to advocacy on behalf of communities and individuals taking on prodigious and powerful adversaries in complex, high-stakes litigation. She has a variety of experience prosecuting cases from investigation through trial and appeals and has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star consistently throughout her practice.

Before joining Sher Edling, Stephanie was successful in obtaining multi-million-dollar recoveries through complex cases in the business, consumer, employment, securities, derivative, and class action fields. She and her teams were routinely appointed Lead Counsel and Class Counsel in a variety of state and federal cases.

Stephanie was a judicial extern for Senior District Judge Charles R. Breyer for the Northern District of California, and she graduated cum laude from UC Hastings College of the Law. While at Hastings, she earned her concentration in Civil Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, was an award-winning member of the nationally-renowned Hastings Trial Team, and was the Executive Notes Editor of the Hastings Business Law Journal.

Prior to law school, Stephanie attended Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) where she received her B.S in Business Administration and her B.A. in Spanish Studies. She graduated summa cum laude, as the valedictorian of her class. Stephanie also had the honor of being the Undergraduate Commencement Speaker and receiving the highest leadership and excellence awards from her academic schools, the Cross Country team, multiple student life groups, the NDNU Board of Trustees, and the City of Belmont.

Tim joined Sher Edling in 2017. Tim has dedicated his career to fighting for vulnerable communities that bear the severest hardships when powerful interests abuse natural resources and the environment. His work with the firm focuses on protecting vulnerable communities by holding accountable those responsible for the enormous costs of adapting to the physical, environmental, economic, and social impacts of the climate crisis; the devastating impacts of and profligate evasion of responsibility for transnational water pollution; and threats to the public’s basic right to contaminant-free drinking water from legacy contamination in groundwater.

Before joining Sher Edling, Tim was the Executive Director of the nonprofit Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, where he advocated for sustainable natural resource management and habitat protection for commercially valuable marine fish species. Tim’s work bridged the legal and political gap between conservation and consumptive use.

In 2013, he earned his law degree with honors from Golden Gate University, where he was a member of the Environmental Law Journal and GGU’s National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition team. He is a 2006 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

Marty has dedicated his career to serving people and communities harmed by corporate bad actors. He has represented plaintiffs in state and federal court across the country, including appellate briefing before the federal courts of appeals for the First, Fourth, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. Marty’s current practice focuses on helping the firm’s public clients pursue claims against fossil-fuel companies whose conduct they allege caused and contributed to unprecedent climatic harms, from rising seas and flooding to drought and wildfires.

Before joining Sher Edling, Marty represented consumers, employees, and tort victims in both individual and class actions. Marty tried two cases to jury verdicts verdict 2014 and 2015 against major tobacco companies on behalf of the families of smokers who died from tobacco-related diseases. Both trials resulted in liability verdicts for the plaintiff, and significant monetary recoveries through jury awards or post-verdict settlements.

Marty also successfully represented a transgender civilian employee of the Army pro bono who was wrongfully barred from the public women’s restroom facilities in her workplace (Lusardi v. Dept. of the Army, Appeal No. 1201133395). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s decision in Ms. Lusardi’s favor was the first ruling in any jurisdiction that declares preventing a transgender employee access to gender-appropriate restrooms is sex discrimination in violation of federal law.

In 2013, Marty earned his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he was a supervising editor for the California Law Review, the marketing editor for the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law and Justice, the treasurer of the Berkeley Law Queer Caucus and a chapter board member of Law Students for Reproductive Justice.

Kristen brings nearly 20 years of complex litigation experience to her work at Sher Edling LLP.

In 2002, Kristen joined the San Francisco office of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, where she represented plaintiffs in consumer fraud and defective products cases for more than a decade. During her tenure at Lieff Cabraser, Kristen served as the hiring partner and gained local and national recognition for her results on behalf of her consumer clients. In 2015, Kristen launched the California office of Tycko & Zavareei LLP, a boutique firm representing whistleblowers, employees, and consumers. She served as the managing partner of Tycko & Zavareei’s California office for two years, while also maintaining an active docket of consumer class actions in state and federal court.

Kristen attended University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she served as an executive editor for Ecology Law Quarterly and clerked for the Hopi Appellate Court, located in Keams Canyon, AZ. Kristen has served on the Board of California Women Lawyers and the Bar Association of San Francisco. She is a frequent guest lecturer on topics including class action practice, consumer protection, and law firm management. Kristen teaches a litigation skills course focused on consumer protection at Berkeley Law.

Corrie is Of Counsel at Sher Edling, bringing decades of effective, mission-driven litigation experience to the firm’s climate damage and deception cases. Corrie is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has served as an instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). Recognized as a Top 100 Super Lawyer in the State of Washington, Corrie has been named one of Washington’s Top 50 Female Attorneys for many years. Corrie is Preeminent AV-rated (Martindale Hubbell) by her peers for her legal skill and ethics, and a member of the Belli Society (invitation only). Her work has yielded results for her clients totaling in the tens of millions.

Michael Burger is the Executive Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, and a Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School in New York City. In his Of Counsel role at Sher Edling, Michael combines his experience as both a litigator and a legal scholar to help public agencies hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate change related damage they knowingly caused. In recent years, he has filed a number of amicus briefs in climate cases on behalf of the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, and coalitions of cities and mayors from across the country.

Michael is a widely published scholar, and he is author or co-author of numerous high impact papers on climate change litigation, including State Public Nuisance Claims and Climate Change Adaptation, The Law and Science of Climate Change Attribution, and The Status of Climate Change Litigation: A Global Review.

Previously Michael was an associate professor at Roger Williams University School of Law, where he was founder and director of the Environmental and Land Use Law Clinical Externship program. He also served as a litigator in the Environmental Law Division of New York City’s Office of the Corporation Counsel.

Michael is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where he was an articles editor for the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law; and of Brown University, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Quentin, who joined Sher Edling in August 2020, is dedicated to protecting the environment and frontline communities from pollution. Before joining Sher Edling, Quentin clerked for the Honorable Susan L. Carney of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Janet C. Hall of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Quentin earned his law degree from Yale, where he served as co-director of the Yale Environmental Law Association, helped to lead the Rule of Law Clinic in its climate-related litigation, and co-authored several law review articles on environmental regulation. Prior to law school, Quentin worked as a research assistant at the Brookings Institution. He graduated from Kenyon College in 2012 with degrees in Economics and Mathematics.

Yumehiko “Yume” Hoshijima joined Sher Edling in September 2021 to help secure just outcomes for its clients. He previously clerked for the Honorable Scott M. Matheson, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the Honorable John A. Kronstadt of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Yume holds a B.A., magna cum laude, in Environmental Studies from Yale College; a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment; and a J.D. from Yale Law School. During graduate school, Yume served as an Articles & Essays Editor of the Yale Law Journal, advised former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry as one of his inaugural fellows, led student organizations, taught undergraduates as a Lead Teaching Fellow in Environmental Studies, and represented clients through the Environmental Justice Clinic, Environmental Protection Clinic, and Rule of Law Clinic. He spent his summers at Earthjustice, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Yume is a first-generation American born in Japan and raised in San Diego, California.

Yume is a member of the California bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Larken joined Sher Edling because she believes social justice begins with the environment. Prior to joining Sher Edling, Larken worked as an advocate for housing justice in Los Angeles. She attended law school at UCLA School of Law and is a 2018 Skadden Foundation Fellow. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a wilderness ranger in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

Growing up in Duluth, Minnesota, Gretel was immersed in various environmental issues during her formative years. Living on Lake Superior led her to realize the importance of using natural resources in sustainable, efficient ways, and eventually toward a career in environmental advocacy. As an attorney, Gretel has dedicated her practice to environmental compliance and protection on behalf of public entities.

Prior to joining Sher Edling, Gretel was an environmental attorney with the law firm of Flaherty & Hood, P.A. in St. Paul, MN. A passionate advocate, she worked on a host of environmental issues for municipalities and joint powers boards across Minnesota, primarily specializing in clean water and emerging contaminants work at both the state and federal levels.

She graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2017 with a certification in Environmental and Energy Law, where she was awarded the Mondale Engagement Award for her leadership and student advocacy. During law school, she served as an editor for Minnesota Law’s Journal of Law and Inequality and as a Director for the Environmental and Energy Law Clinic.

In 2014, she graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and a minor in social justice from the University of Minnesota. During this time, she worked as a National Park Ranger as an invasive species management and interpretation ranger at the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

In her spare time, she enjoys hiking with her husband and their dogs, collecting vinyl records, studying presidential history, and cheering on various Minnesota sports teams, especially the Minnesota Twins.

Paul Stephan joined Sher Edling in August 2022 to help hold polluters accountable and ensure justice for communities suffering from pollution’s effects. Prior to joining Sher Edling, Paul was an associate at the class action law firm of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. There, he litigated class actions on behalf of consumers harmed by deceptive advertising and defective products. Previously, he clerked for the Honorable Anne E. Thompson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Paul received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. While in law school, Paul led teams of students to submit comments on proposed environmental regulations as part of the Environmental Law Project. He also served as a Comments Editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and as Co-President of the Penn Law chapter of the American Constitution Society.

Before attending law school, Paul taught first grade and elementary school music in Newark and Orange, New Jersey. He graduated summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2013, with a B.A. in Urban and Public Policy Studies, and minors in Environmental Design, Music Performance, and French.

Oni is a Bay Area native and has over 10 years of civil litigation paralegal experience. Before joining Sher Edling, she worked at a Plaintiffs’ civil litigation law firm where her focus was primarily on personal injury, Mass Torts and Class action cases. Oni is passionate about protecting the environment and Sher Edling has given her the opportunity to make a positive impact on the future of our planet. Oni graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Political Science.

Ona is a Bay Area native who joined Sher Edling because she is drawn to the challenge and complexity of environmental law as well as its positive impact. Ona has over 15 years of civil litigation experience. Prior to joining Sher Edling, Ona worked at a Plaintiff’s civil litigation law firm where she worked primarily on Consumer and Securities Fraud matters, and class action cases. Ona received her BS in International Business from San Francisco State University.

Elizabeth started in the legal field working as an administrator and then later as a paralegal in a complex plaintiff’s side litigation firm. She worked primarily on cases relating to labor and wage violations. Elizabeth joined Sher Edling because she admires the firm’s mission to protect the environment for all and wanted to join in the fight. Elizabeth grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended San Francisco State University where she received her degree in political science.

Addison is from Morgantown, West Virginia and began working in environmental law with the nonprofit Earth Law Center. He has primarily worked on legislation that recognizes the rights of nature, and before joining Sher Edling spent a year as a Samuel Huntington fellow on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i. Addison is passionate about the planet and joined Sher Edling to help make a difference. He graduated from Yale University in 2020 with a degree in Environmental Studies and History.

Bryant is from San Diego County, where he and his family enjoy the riches that the Southern California coastline has to offer. He has worked to develop regulatory compliance standards for the safe transport of hazardous materials among larger retailers, as well as implemented training programs that practice good brewery standards in compliance with Occupancy Safety & Health Administration, fire, and other safety guidelines. Bryant and his family are frequent visitors to local beaches and lagoons, as well as the national parks, and feels Sher Edling provides the best opportunity to fight for his children’s continued enjoyment of the outdoors. He is a 2006 graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in History.

Joshua started working in the legal field by interning as a JusticeCorp intern at the San Francisco Superior Court ACCESS center. He primarily worked on Restraining Orders (Both Domestic Violence and Civil Harassment), Small Claims, and Legal Name and Gender Changes. Joshua joined Sher Edling to help the fight to preserve the environment in order to provide a brighter future for future generations. Joshua grew up in Oceanside, California and attended Mira Costa College before transferring to San Francisco State University where he got his Bachelor’s in Sociology with a minor in Philosophy.

Kevin is an experienced policy and media strategist with an extensive background in issue advocacy, corporate accountability, and ballot measure campaigns. He has a particular interest and expertise in environmental and energy issues.

Over nearly four decades, Kevin has developed, coordinated and implemented hundreds of earned and paid media campaigns on issues that include climate change, clean energy, protecting the Arctic Refuge, old-growth forests, wildlife, water supplies and fisheries, and holding the oil industry accountable for MTBE cleanup.

Kevin launched his own consulting firm in 2009 after more than 11 years at a progressive media firm. In both roles he developed campaign strategies, oversaw message research projects, and wrote, produced, and/or placed television, radio, print, and online advertising, for which he shared in more than 20 national awards.

Prior to that, Kevin spent eight years at Earthjustice where he was Vice President for Policy, Legislation, and Communications for much of his tenure; worked on Capitol Hill, including stints with the House Agriculture and Interior Committees; and served as an environment and energy staffer for New Jersey Governor Tom Kean where he had a hand in developing the nation’s first statewide climate change initiative.

He graduated from the University of Oregon Law School and is an inactive member of the Oregon and Washington, DC bars.

For more than 25 years, John has put strategic communications to work for the public interest. He joined Sher Edling after eight years helping to lead Resource Media – a nonprofit PR firm operating at the intersection of sustainability, health, equity and justice. As Executive Vice President there, John managed the senior program staff and partnered with the President in managing the operations, finance and strategic planning for the organization. Prior to that, John served as an Assistant Dean at Cornell University, managing all communications for the College of Human Ecology and helping to build up the university’s campus-wide communications infrastructure. Earlier in his career, John spent 10 years as Vice President and Partner at MacWilliams, Robinson & Partners, an advertising and strategy agency helping clients succeed in electoral and advocacy campaigns in local, national and global arenas.

After earning his BA in English from the University of Notre Dame, John got his start at Fenton Communications and served as press secretary and spokesperson on political campaigns in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-90’s. John serves on the board of directors at Advocates for the West.