Elisabeth L. Esposito

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Background

Natural resources attorney with expertise in water resources, NEPA/CEQA and forestry issues. Former attorney with U.S. Department of Agriculture advising on forestry and federal land management matters. 

Combining a background working with and for government agencies, Liz Esposito leverages her diverse, hands-on natural resources experience to provide strategic counsel and advocacy on a range of natural resource matters.

On behalf of private and public clients, Liz assists in the acquisition, development, maintenance and protection of water rights and resources. When it comes to the far-reaching scope of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Liz manages the environmental analysis process for large natural resources projects, has a detailed eye for evaluating the legal adequacy of analyses and develops tailored strategies for navigating environmental permitting processes. Liz also regularly represents clients in complex natural resources litigation, including at the appellate level.

Liz previously worked as a NEPA planner for the U.S. Forest Service and as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the General Counsel, advising the U.S. Forest Service on natural resources and land management issues. Liz uses her background to assist clients engaged in activities on national forests and public lands, private forest landowners and others engaged in forest management in California and across the nation.

 

Practices:

Industries:

Representative Matters

  • Represents Blue Forest Conservation, a mission driven firm that brings private capital to public forests under an innovative forest resilience bond concept which harnesses financial innovation and builds diverse partnerships to design solutions to systemic watershed health and ecosystem resilience challenges. The restoration projects will protect tens of thousands of acres of National Forest System lands and include tree thinning, meadow restoration, prescribed burning and invasive species management to reduce severe fire risk and protect water resources. Brownstein provides counsel on U.S. Forest Service regulations and partnership models, state and federal environmental laws and water law.
  • Advises non-profit organizations, public agencies, and neighboring landowners on partnerships with the U.S. Forest Service to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration and fuels reduction projects and protect neighboring lands and communities from catastrophic wildfire.
  • Assists clients in engaging in administrative processes, negotiating agreements and obtaining permits, easements, and project approvals from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service.
  • Represented a diverse coalition of wildfire stakeholders in a case before the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana advocating for the continued availability of every tool in the toolbox to protect human lives, private property, public lands and natural resources from wildfires. The plaintiff sought to enjoin the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) use of aerial fire retardants during firefighting activities nationwide until the USFS applied for a Clean Water Act permit for discharge of the retardant. Consistent with responsive pleadings filed by the USFS and a broad coalition of communities and organizations represented by Brownstein, the court denied the plaintiff’s motion for an injunction, ruling that USFS may continue to deploy fire retardant as a tool to fight wildfires during the permit process. Forest Serv. Emps. for Env’t Ethics v. United States Forest Serv., No. CV 22-168-M-DLC, 2023 WL 3687454 (D. Mont. May 26, 2023).
  • Prior to rejoining Brownstein, served as lead in-house counsel to the U.S. Forest Service in defending lawsuits alleging violations of environmental laws including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Forest Management Act (NFMA), leading to decisive victories in trial courts an on appeal. E.g., Cent. Sierra Env’t Res. Ctr. v. Stanislaus Nat’l Forest, 304 F. Supp. 3d 916 (E.D. Cal. 2018); motion for summary judgment granted in Cent. Sierra Env’t Res. Ctr. v. Stanislaus Nat’l Forest, No. 117CV00441LJOSAB, 2019 WL 3564155 (E.D. Cal. 2019), aff’d, 30 F.4th 929 (9th Cir. 2022).

Insights & Publications

Insights & Publications

Credentials

Education

J.D., 2014, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Certificate of Specialization in Environmental Law

B.S., 2009, University of California at Berkeley, with distinction

Admissions

  • California

Memberships

Co-Chair, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, Forest Resources Committee

Board of Directors, Heartwood Biomass

Community Involvement

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:

Member, Legal Affairs Committee, Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA)

Vice President and Fundraising Co-Chair, California Alumni Foresters

Mentor, Forestry and Natural Resources Career Mentorship Program

Tuolumne County Grand Jury (2020 – 2022)

2013-2014 Berkeley Law Co-Chair, California Water Law Symposium

Publishing Editor and Programs Director, Ecology Law Quarterly

Co-President, Berkeley Law, Environmental Law Society

Recognition

AWARDS:

On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers, ABA Young Lawyers Division, 2024

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, 2024-2025

Finalist, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Pro Bono Attorney of the Year, 2016

Semifinalist (2013) and Quarterfinalist (2014), National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

2013 and 2014 Winner, Ecology Law Quarterly Energy and Climate Change Legal Writing Award

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