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 more than 15 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 (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, et al., No. 22-cv-2050 (E.D.N.Y.); South Farmingdale Water District v. United States, et al., No. 22-cv-2051 (E.D.N.Y). 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 (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 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 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.

Ashley applies the power of law to protect the planet by promoting sound science and amplifying the voices of scientists. She represents California, Hawai’i, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington in litigation against the manufacturers of PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances). She has worked on hundreds of other similar cases across the country on behalf of public water systems. She currently serves as co-chair of the water provider subcommittee as well as member of the sovereign subcommittee of the Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2873).

Ashley focuses her practice on complex environmental contamination litigation. She has represented clients before municipal boards, state committees, and state courts, has drafted appeals to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and briefs to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Before entering private practice, Ashley was a law clerk with the New Hampshire Superior Court for three years working with judges across the state. In that role, she worked on the record-setting New Hampshire MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether, a gasoline additive that contaminated New Hampshire’s water resources) litigation, including its four-month jury trial, dispositive motions, limine motions, and post-verdict motions.

Ashley has been recognized as a Super Lawyer, Super Lawyer Rising Stars, and was honored with the New Hampshire Bar Association’s Pro Bono Honor Roll, and Union Leader’s 40 Under Forty, Class of 2018. Ashley serves on the Board of Girls on the Run NH. When Ashley isn’t working to protect our planet, you can find her getting muddy on some trails, training for an ultra-marathon.

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.

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.

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.

Chase uses the law to create justice for communities and for the planet from harm caused by climate polluters. Chase previously practiced with Conservation Law Foundation, where he used litigation to enforce climate and clean energy laws, and to hold climate polluters accountable. He also engaged in regulatory and legislative advocacy focused on transitioning economies to clean electricity, heat, and transportation. Prior to that, Chase litigated plaintiff side matters in private practice and was a Judicial Law Clerk at the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He was also a Law Clerk in the Executive Office of the President during the Barack Obama Administration. Chase is an Adjunct Professor at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, and previously taught Earth sciences at a public middle school on the México-U.S. border. Chase graduated magna cum laude from both the University of Vermont and the Georgetown University Law Center.

Zach is dedicated to using the power of the law to protect the environment and communities from pollution.

Before joining Sher Edling, Zach was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Vermont. As an AUSA, Zach represented the United States in defensive litigation and prosecuted affirmative civil actions on behalf of the federal government, including under the False Claims Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Prior to his time with the Department of Justice, Zach worked in private practice, litigating complex commercial disputes and plaintiff-side matters.

Zach clerked for Justice Ellen A. Gorman of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and Judges Peter W. Hall and Joseph F. Bianco of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Zach is a graduate of Vermont Law School and Middlebury College. Before attending law school, Zach was a middle school teacher in the Marshall Islands.

David Frankel has dedicated his career to practicing environmental law in the public interest and has over a decade of experience working on high-profile environmental cases across a wide array of federal and state courts.

Before joining Sher Edling, David worked for the Appellate Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. In that role, he briefed and argued appeals and petitions in federal circuit courts across the country on issues ranging from Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act compliance to federal permitting to public land disputes. For his work on the long-running Columbia River litigation, David in 2024 received the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award for Excellence in Litigation, one of the Department’s highest honors.

Prior to his federal service, David worked in several state government positions. On behalf of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, David led multistate coalitions on national environmental issues, including complex litigation on mercury standards for power plants. As an Assistant Solicitor General with the New York Attorney General’s Office, David handled a wide range of cases challenging federal rollbacks of environmental rules and other safeguards protecting individual and community rights. David’s work authoring a Supreme Court brief challenging the termination of the DACA program was recognized by the National Association of Attorneys General with a Best Brief of the Year award. And for the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, David served as lead counsel on various complex environmental cases, including arguing two successful appeals before the New Jersey Supreme Court.

David clerked for the Honorable Jaynee LaVecchia of the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Honorable Paul Barbadoro of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. He received his J.D. cum laude from New York University School of Law.

Helen Li has dedicated her career to the protection of clean air and water. Prior to joining Sher Edling, Helen practiced in the Environmental Enforcement Section of USDOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. At EES, Helen brought cases against refineries, railroad operators, mining companies, and others for violating federal environmental statutes and regulations. Helen clerked for the Honorable James L. Cott in the Southern District of New York and worked on childhood lead poisoning prevention issues with Connecticut Legal Services as a Yale Public Interest Fellow. Helen earned her law degree from Yale Law School where she was a student founder of the Environmental Justice Clinic, and graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University as a Cornelius Vanderbilt Merit Scholar.

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.

Thomas Sims has spent the last 25 years representing plaintiffs in complex environmental cases. Thomas began his career working on behalf of individuals and communities harmed by environmental pollution, but over the last decade he spent most of his time helping public entities hold corporations accountable for environmental harm and unsafe prescription drugs. Along with Matt Edling, Thomas was lead trial counsel for DTSC in litigation arising under CERCLA regarding contamination from a secondary lead smelter near downtown Los Angeles: California Department of Toxic Substances Control v. NL Industries, Inc., No. 2:20-cv-11293-SVW-JPRx (C.D. Cal., filed Dec. 20, 2020). Thomas represented the Office of the Governor of Louisiana in its efforts to recover natural resource damages following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He was lead counsel in one of the largest Proposition 65 settlements in history, in which three environmental groups compelled the nation’s largest private school bus operator to reduce diesel exhaust emissions from its school buses. He was awarded Trial Lawyer of the Year from the non-profit Public Justice for his work on a long-running groundwater contamination dispute in Tucson, Arizona. Thomas has represented numerous states in their efforts to protect their citizens from the dangers of prescription drugs, including opioids.

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.

Naomi has focused her education and career on addressing climate change and other complex environmental challenges. She is dedicated to advocating for communities experiencing the environmental, social, and economic effects of these crises, while holding polluters accountable.

Naomi was a member of Sher Edling’s inaugural class of summer associates in 2020. She returns to Sher Edling after clerking for the Honorable Philip S. Gutierrez, Chief Judge of the Central District of California.

In 2021, Naomi received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she earned certificates in environmental law and energy and clean technology law. During law school, Naomi served as an editor-in-chief and articles editor for Ecology Law Quarterly and represented environmental justice organizations in California’s Central Valley through the Environmental Law Clinic.

Prior to attending law school, Naomi worked in alumni communications for a university in Halifax, Canada while leading various local environmental volunteer groups. Naomi graduated from McGill University with a B.A. in political science and minors in geography and economics.

Naomi is French-American and grew up in Berkeley, California. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and running, visiting farmers’ markets, cooking, and listening to podcasts.

William joined Sher Edling to advocate for social justice and a healthy environment. Before joining Sher Edling, he clerked for the Honorable Sabrina S. McKenna of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.

William received his J.D. from Berkeley Law School with certificates in consumer law and social justice. He was a chair of the Consumer Advocacy & Protection Society and an editor of the California Law Review and Ecology Law Quarterly. In law school, William externed at the Sierra Club and Earthjustice and was a summer associate at Sher Edling. He also co-founded En Banc Bluegrass, a law-themed bluegrass band.

William graduated summa cum laude from Yale University, where he majored in Ethics, Politics & Economics with a concentration in food systems justice.

Miranda Holeton joined Sher Edling in October 2022 to be a zealous advocate for people and the planet. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a Legal Research Assistant in the Law and Motion Department at San Francisco Superior Court.

Miranda received her J.D. magna cum laude from UC Hastings in 2021 with a concentration in environmental law. While in law school, she served as co-president of the Hastings Environmental Law Association, executive acquisitions editor of the Hastings Environmental Law Journal, and board member of the Hastings Public Interest Law Foundation, a nonprofit which provides scholarships to law students participating in unpaid, public interest internships. Miranda interned at the California Coastal Commission, Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger during law school.

Prior to law school, Miranda was a park ranger at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA. She now serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, the park’s supportive nonprofit which provides educational tours to over 2,000 school children each year. Miranda is also an editor of the nonprofit’s quarterly newsletter, Between the Tides.

Miranda graduated from Pitzer College in 2012 with a double major in Environmental Analysis and International & Intercultural Studies.

Anthony joined Sher Edling in September 2022 to hold corporate malefactors accountable for the damage they inflict on vulnerable people and ecosystems. Anthony earned his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he represented clients through the Immigrant Rights Clinic and served on the Board of the Middle Eastern and North African Law Students’ Association. During his summers, he interned at the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office and Sher Edling.

Anthony holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from Rice University. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, playing soccer, reading about Middle Eastern history, and spending time with his cat.

Anna joined Sher Edling in November 2023. Her work focuses on access to civil and human rights, including the right to a healthy environment and livable world. Before joining Sher Edling, Anna clerked for the Honorable Kiyo A. Matsumoto of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and in the Office of the Staff Attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Anna received her J.D., cum laude, from NYU School of Law, where she served on the New York University Law Review, received the inaugural Jacob K. Javits Fellowship for Leadership and Public Service, and worked for the ACLU, NAACP LDF, Advancement Project, and Neufeld, Scheck & Brustin, LLP. Prior to law school, Anna researched and published on human rights and transitional justice in post-conflict settings. Her experience also includes non-profit work and community organizing in Washington D.C., Rwanda, and Arkansas. Anna received her master’s degree from the Clinton School of Public Service and her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, summa cum laude.

Grace joined Sher Edling in 2023 to hold polluters accountable and advance clean water and climate adaptation for communities across the country. Grace earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, with both a certificate in environmental law and a certificate in energy and clean technology law. During law school, she served as an editor on the California Law Review and Ecology Law Quarterly, and worked pro bono for California Indian Legal Services, which provides legal services for Native people throughout the state.

Prior to law school, Grace had a career as a marine ecologist, connecting science to community needs in the development of ocean policy. She earned her B.S and M.S. at Stanford University’s School of the Earth, in the Earth Systems program, focused on complex social and ecological challenges. She has worked with public agencies and conservation organizations around the world to implement innovative solutions in the context of rapid and heart wrenching global change.

When she’s not at the beach with her family, Grace enjoys making a mess in the kitchen and reading historical fiction.

Brittany grew up in a small Southern California town that has been impacted by groundwater contamination for more than six decades. She joined Sher Edling to fight for communities impacted by environmental torts and to hold corporate actors accountable for the harm they cause. She received her law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, where she earned a specialization in environmental law and worked as a research assistant for the Faculty Co-Director of the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy. During law school, she also interned for the California Office of the Attorney General, Sher Edling, and the NRDC litigation team.

Prior to law school, Brittany worked as an environmental policy research assistant for the Center on Global Justice. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, San Diego, with a B.A. in Comparative Politics and a minor in Environmental Studies.

Heather is an attorney dedicated to supporting the environmental justice movement and holding polluters accountable. She joined Sher Edling in January 2024, and is based in Los Angeles.

Prior to joining Sher Edling, Heather worked as an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). As part of the Environment, Equity, and Justice Center, she represented environmental justice organizations and worked to address pollution disproportionate pollution burdens, and advocated for policies to advance an equitable freight and goods movement system. Heather has also previously held attorney roles at Earthjustice and Environmental Advocates. She has experience litigating cases involving endangered species, clean water, clean air, land-use, and public access to records.

Heather is a graduate of Stanford Law School, and Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to law school, she worked on environmental campaigns as a grassroots organizer.

In her free time, Heather enjoys hiking, tidepooling, and creative writing.

Thomas joined Sher Edling in 2024 to help communities across the country navigate and overcome the challenges posed by climate change and environmental destruction.

Prior to joining the firm, he studied law at UC Berkeley where he received his J.D. and certificate of specialization in environmental law and policy. During his time there he was a member of Ecology Law Quarterly, a notes editor for California Law Review, and a director of the Free the Land Project, a student-led environmental justice law clinic. Before pursuing his legal career, Thomas worked at The Trust for Public Land, where he partnered with cities to improve access to parks and green spaces. Thomas graduated summa cum laude from Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, City University of New York, with degrees in History and English.

Daniel O’Connor graduated Vermont Law School in 2013. Prior to law school, Danny completed a BA in Government and Classics from Colby College. At Colby, Danny wrote an honors thesis on property rights and political accountability. Danny was inspired by a course on Energy & the Environment at the George Washington University during a master’s program in Philosophy & Social Policy. Danny also took several courses towards an Environmental Law LLM at Vermont Law School, including course work on domestic and international energy policies.
Since graduating law school, Danny has gained several years of discovery experience as a contract and direct-hire Staff Attorney on Anti-Trust Law, Consumer Protection Law, Environmental Law and Health Law. His lengthiest contract to date includes a thirty-month stint as a contract Staff Attorney at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office.
During his free time, Danny enjoys biking, hiking and writing creative non-fiction. Danny has been volunteering as a judge at Boston-area collegiate level Mock Trial and law school level Moot Court events since 2020.

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.

Patricia is a Pennsylvania native who has worked in the legal field for more than 25 years providing eDiscovery and Litigation Support services for many diverse types of matters, both in law firms and government entities. Her role involves managing the litigation lifecycle through the collection, processing, hosting, review, production and presentation of the collected data. Patricia is a frequent visitor to the many parks, beaches, mountains and lakes across the country, and she joined Sher Edling to help ‘fight the good fight.’

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.

Alfred is a Bay Area native with over 20 years of experience in civil litigation. Alfred has worked to protect the public’s interests in both the private and public sectors. Experienced in all phases of litigation, he works closely with attorneys and experts to achieve success for the firm’s clients. Alfred was drawn to Sher Edling’s mission of holding polluters accountable for the damage they cause.

Alfred received his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his Juris Doctorate from Rutgers School of Law. Prior to attending college Alfred served in the United States Marine Corps. In his spare time, he enjoys being lost in contemplation while taking long walks in nature.

With over 15 years of experience working for a diverse group of companies spanning from startups, gaming companies, venture capitalist and an MSPs, Nik has been exposed to the many sides of IT. In his spare time, you can find him hiking the amazing East Bay trails with his wife, tinkering on custom computer projects and PC gaming with his friends.

Jon brings over 10 years of IT experience to Sher Edling, working at large tech companies, MSP’s, and smaller startups. Jon has a degree in Jazz performance and has travelled the world as a touring musician, and currently performs at various venues in San Francisco and the East Bay as a keyboardist and vocalist.

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.

Gianna was born in Walnut Creek, California, but grew up in the Philippines where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Consular and Diplomatic Affairs. She has previous experience in Immigration Law and Criminal Defense. Gianna spends every minute she can outdoors, and as she has gotten older, she realized that many of the things she loves are endangered by pollution. This is why she joined Sher Edling, she wants to help protect the earth and join the fight to hold polluters accountable for the damages they have caused.

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.

Julia started in the legal field as an Eviction Defense paralegal at Colorado Legal Services, where she worked to assist low-income Coloradans avoid unfair evictions in Denver County. She graduated from Colorado College in 2021 with a degree in Environmental Studies and Education, which fueled her passion for environmental justice and preservation. Julia is an avid outdoor recreationist and joined Sher Edling to assist in their mission to hold large polluters accountable and to protect natural spaces for future generations.

Minerva grew up in the Caribbean where she volunteered for several environmental impact initiatives. She has a passion for land and sea adventures and wants to preserve it for future generations. Relocating to the Bay Area, Minerva has joined Sher Edling in effort to make an impact on holding big polluters accountable. Minerva has a BS in Business Management and wants to expand her career into the paralegal field.

Anna is a Bay Area native originally from Castro Valley, CA but now resides in Pacifica. She has 6+ years of experience in the administrative space and worked in different industries such as E-Commerce and Insurance. Outside of work she enjoys exploring restaurants throughout the Bay Area and spending time with her two French Bulldogs whether that is at the beach or home. Anna joined Sher Edling for their love of the environment and to preserve it.

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.