Olson & Howard is a small firm in northern Michigan that is best known for our work in environmental conservation and natural resource law. I'm a partner with the firm, specializing in environmental, real estate, and municipal law. Most of my time involves assisting clients with land use & zoning matters; natural resource conservation; wetlands regulations; water law & riparian disputes; municipal law & local governmental matters; real estate and corporate transactions; condominium associations; nonprofit organizations; energy policy & utilities regulations; oil & gas leasing, extraction, and transmission issues; and the rehabilitation of contaminated Brownfield properties. I handle trial court litigation, appeals, and administrative hearings throughout the state, as well as mediation, negotiations, and transactional matters.In law school, I served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Michigan State Law Review, worked as an intern with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and took part in the Mexican Legal Studies program in Guadalajara, studying the comparative law of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, NAFTA, and international environmental issues. I graduated cum laude with an emphasis on environmental law from the Michigan State Univ. College of Law in 2006. Before law school I worked on habitat restoration with the Audubon Society in southern California, advocated and organized political campaigns for clean energy legislation and wilderness protection in California, and was a teacher in environmental education programs in Michigan and Vermont. I earned my Bachelor's of Science in natural resource ecology and management from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment in 1998. When I'm not at the office, you can usually find me playing/coaching soccer, riding bikes, fly-fishing, or hiking somewhere in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with my family.