Ryan Steen Named a National Law Journal Top 50 Energy & Environmental Trailblazer

The law firm of Stoel Rives LLP is very pleased to announce that partner Ryan P. Steen has been selected by The National Law Journal for inclusion in its 2016 edition of the Energy & Environmental Trailblazers, a special annual supplement that honors the Top 50 legal professionals in the United States currently  “impacting the crucial intersection of energy production and the environment.” Steen’s Trailblazer profile follows below.

Pioneer Spirit

Ryan Steen worked as a fisheries biologist for several years before going to law school. At his first law firm in Portland, partners began to approach him with matters because of his background. “That led to more and more environmental work.”

Trails Blazed

While Steen’s client Shell Oil Co. received a preliminary injunction to keep Greenpeace activists a safe distance from an exploration project in Alaska, he had to provide notice to a Greenpeace vessel. “That’s hard to do on the high seas. So we tweeted the letter to the master of that vessel.” While representing the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, he successfully defended challenges to listing polar bears as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act citing critical habitat designation and the 4(d) rule before the D.C. Circuit Court.  He also recently represented the Hawaii Longline Association around international tuna treaties under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. “We tackled issues that hadn’t been discussed before in a context like this.”

Future Explorations

While climate change has become a buzzword, it will drive environmental law in all areas. “It will do so more and more as it becomes a more appreciated and known issue.” Privacy issues will also come into play. “There will be more heated issues involving the use of water and water quality as it becomes a more valuable and limited resource.” International and larger areas of land and the oceans will grow more significant. “We will see increased efforts by the United States to level the playing field, particularly with ocean resources.”

Steen’s Trailblazer profile is also available online. His colleague Drew Moratzka was named an Energy & Environmental Trailblazer in the 2015 edition.

About Stoel Rives: Stoel Rives is a business law firm providing corporate and litigation services to clients in the Energy & Infrastructure, Agribusiness, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing & Consumer Products, Technology, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Government & Public Agencies and Natural Resources industries throughout the United States. The firm has nearly 400 attorneys operating out of 11 offices in seven states and the District of Columbia. Stoel Rives is a leader in corporate, energy, environmental, intellectual property, labor and employment, land use and construction, litigation, natural resources, project development and real estate law. For more information, follow @stoelrives or visit www.stoel.com.