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Lara B. Fowler

Senior Associate
lfowler@gth-law.com
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Phone: 206.676.7586
 Fax: 206.676.7575

One Union Square
600 University, Suite 2100
Seattle, Washington 98101

Primary Areas of Practice

Environmental and natural resources law, including water rights, water quality, Shoreline Management, energy, and other related issues. Transportation. Alternative Dispute Resolution and multi-party mediation. Government relations and municipal law.

Education

Harvard Program on Negotiation, 2006

J.D., University of Washington School of Law (Honors), 2004

B.A., Asian Studies, Dartmouth College
Honors for Senior Fellowship Project on Indian Water Rights, 1996.

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

Washington State Courts
Oregon State Courts
U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

American Bar Association
Dispute Resolution & Natural Resources Section, Energy & Environmental Law Section

Washington State Bar Association
Member, Environmental Law Section
Member, Indian Law section
Member, Alternative Dispute Resolution Section

King County Bar Association

Professional History

  • Chair, Firm Marketing Committee, 2008
  • Joined firm in 2004
  • Intern for U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman, Spring 2004
  • Summer Associate for GTH, 2003
  • Intern for US DOJ, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Summer 2002
  • Senior Water Resources Liaison, Oregon Water Resources Department, 1997-2001
  • Water Policy Analyst, Oregon Water Resources Congress, 1997

Representative Matters

  • Currently providing Lewis County Public Utility District strategic advice on addressing flooding issues in the Chehalis River Basin.
  • Currently working with Sea Breeze Power Corporation to provide strategic advice and intergovernmental coordination on the underwater, underground Juan de Fuca Cable Project, an energy transmission cable connecting the United States and British Columbia.
  • Currently working with private clients to address water rights questions, compliance with the Clean Water Act, potential Shoreline Management Plan rules, and other environmental and natural resource issues.
  • Co-mediated discussions with multiple stakeholders to determine possible solutions to the recharge and management of groundwater resources in the Los Angeles area's Central and West Coast Basins.
  • Helped facilitate the local Regional Transportation Investment District in developing a regional transportation investment plan for three county Puget Sound area; worked with multiple stakeholders through various institutional hurdles to build consensus around transportation alternatives.
  • Successfully co-mediated resolution to forty year litigation over water quality issues in the San Joaquin River Basin in California.
  • Worked with multiple stakeholders to determine potential solutions for inter-state protection of instream flows in response to Endangered Species Act issue.

Community Activities

  • Washington Water Trust, President, 2009, and member of Board of Directors, 2005-present
  • William Dwyer Inn of Court participant and former Executive Committee member, 2005-2007, 2009 to present
  • Mediator and Case Convener for UW School of Law Mediation Clinic, 2002-2004
  • Tryon Creek Watershed Council, 1998-2000

Honors, Publications & Presentations

  • Speaker, Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program. Conducted full day training session on negotiation. Bend, Oregon, March 2010
  • Co-presenter with Jim Waldo: "Organizing for Success: The Interaction of Science, Policy, and Implementation in Complex Natural Resource Disputes," Conference on Water & Land Use in the Pacific Northwest: Integrating Communities and Watershed, Stevenson, Washington, Nov. 2009
  • Speaker, "Mediating California's Water Wars: A Case Study of Groundwater Storage in the Greater Los Angeles Area," 16th Annual NW Dispute Resolution Conference, Seattle, Washington, May 2009
  • David Spohr & Lara B. Fowler, Application of the Endangered Species Act to Tribal Actions: Can Ambiguity be a Good Thing? Bellwether: The Seattle Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, Spring 2009
  • Author, Instream Flow Protection in the Walla Walla River: Possible Strategies for Integrating Endangered Species Act and Bi-state Flow Protection Issues, ABA Water Resources Committee Newsletter, February 2005
  • Dianne Conway & Lara Fowler, The Innocent Purchaser Exemption in Washington and Oregon, ABA Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Committee Newsletter, April 2005
  • Executive Comments Editor, Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal, 2003-04
  • Awarded Excellence in Writing Award, Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal, 2003-04
  • Author, From Statutory Fix to Regulatory Mix: Japan’s New Environmental Law, PAC. RIM LAW & POLICY JOURNAL, 2003
  • Co-author, Mitigating the Effects of Groundwater Development on Streamflow in the Upper Deschutes Basin, Oregon, EOS, Fall Meeting Compendium, 2000