Stoel Rives Expands Environmental Practice in California

Four Partners and Three Associates Join from Downey Brand

SACRAMENTO and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Stoel Rives, an AmLaw200 firm, today announced the addition of seven attorneys to its Environmental practice group who join from Downey Brand. The four partners—Nicole Granquist, Melissa Thorme, Steven Goldberg, and Patrick Veasy bring decades of combined knowledge and are highly regarded in California and nationwide for their experience in environmental regulation, compliance and litigation. The four partners—accompanied by three talented associates: Monica Browner, Jaycee Dean, and Andrew (Andy) Perez—will be located in Stoel Rives’ Sacramento and San Francisco offices.

“Unquestionably some of the most novel environmental law issues originate in California,” said Stoel Rives Environmental Practice Group Chair David Filippi. “Already key players in the state, this group’s combined 105 years of experience handling cutting edge environmental legal issues will bolster our team in one of our firm’s core practice areas and in an area where we most certainly will continue to see evolving regulation.”

Former chair of Downey Brand’s Natural Resources Department, Nicole Granquist has been a fixture in California’s legal and environmental regulatory communities for more than a quarter-century. Her work centers on water quality regulatory compliance, enforcement defense, and litigation. Granquist provides counsel and defense on complex regulatory matters requiring a thorough understanding of the federal Clean Water Act and the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. She is frequently called upon by small and national private and public entities to serve as defense counsel in third-party citizen suits brought in federal court involving various municipal wastewater, industrial and manufacturing process water, and construction, municipal, and industrial stormwater discharge matters. Granquist also negotiates National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs), and water reclamation requirements with the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and Regional Water Boards for water-related and reclamation projects. She has played a key role in influencing statewide policies regarding the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), Basin Planning, and the SWRCB’s compliance schedule policy.

Melissa Thorme has focused her nearly 35-year practice on environmental compliance issues and negotiating and litigating regulatory enforcement actions. With the bulk of her practice concentrated on stormwater and wastewater regulatory matters, Thorme has advised businesses across a full spectrum of industries, as well as public agencies, sanitation districts, cities, and counties throughout California on NPDES permitting, TMDLs, water discharge and permitting, and stormwater drainage matters, and has defended clients in Clean Water Act and Proposition 65 citizen suits. Thorme has successfully litigated discharge permit and enforcement actions before administrative agencies and in state and federal courts, including appellate courts, and obtained a published opinion from the California Supreme Court. She has also successfully argued challenges to invalidate state and federal water quality standards and has handled complex matters involving the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), land use planning, real estate transactions, site investigation and remediation, endangered species compliance, 404 dredge and fill projects, and 401 certifications.

Steven Goldberg has been practicing environmental law in California for more than 35 years. A litigator and compliance attorney, he is a go-to advisor on matters involving regulatory compliance, contaminated sites, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), natural resource damages (NRD), and groundwater contamination. Selected by Best Lawyers^® as Environmental Litigation “Lawyer of the Year,” Sacramento, 2024, Goldberg has litigated environmental cases in state and federal courts throughout California, including at the appellate court level. With clients including regionally based businesses, Fortune 500™ companies, and public entities, his matters have involved oil spill and landfill site litigation, dry cleaning sites, sediment remediation, Superfund site litigation, NRD, Proposition 65 litigation, brownfields, and advising on environmental remediation and compliance matters.

Patrick Veasy provides environmental compliance and enforcement counsel for public and private sector clients, represents clients in state and federal courts, and manages administrative and judicial enforcement cases and petitions challenging final agency decisions. Veasy is a sought-after advisor on water quality issues, with experience counseling on matters regarding the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), and frequently works on cases involving municipal wastewater, industrial process water, and various stormwater discharges, including those from municipal, industrial, and construction sources. He also advises clients on matters involving groundwater contamination and site remediation, and other environmental compliance and enforcement matters, including regulations connected to emerging contaminants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as well as the Clean Air Act (CAA) and California’s Proposition 65.

“This was simply the right move at the right time for us,” said Granquist. “Stoel Rives’ reputation as a power player in environmental law combined with a platform that allows us to provide our clients with a broad range of services throughout Stoel’s geographic footprint is clearly a winning combination for us.”

“Our firm’s environmental practice continues to be a leading partner for businesses nationwide, and we want to ensure we stay well positioned to meet the growing demand, which is especially critical in the highly competitive California marketplace,” said Firm Managing Partner Melissa Jones who is based in the firm’s Sacramento office. “We are pleased Stoel continues to attract such top-tier talent both at the partner and associate levels.”

In addition to new partners Granquist, Thorme, Goldberg, and Veasy, Stoel Rives is also pleased to welcome associates Monica Browner and Jaycee Dean in the Sacramento office and Andy Perez in the San Francisco office. Browner brings extensive experience in environmental litigation and compliance. Dean is known for her detail-oriented approach to complex regulatory matters, while Perez supports both public and private clients in navigating challenging environmental cases.

Granquist received her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law, where she earned a specialized certificate in environmental law. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of California at San Diego. Thorme received her LL.M., with distinction, in Energy and Environmental Law, from Tulane University Law School, and her J.D. from the University of California at Davis School of Law. She earned her M.S. in Ecology from the University of California at Davis, and her B.S., cum laude, from California Polytechnic State University. While obtaining her LL.M., Thorme also served as a fellow and co-director of Tulane University’s Environmental Law Clinic. Goldberg received his J.D. from Washington University School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Rochester. Prior to practicing law, Goldberg served as a staff assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, and as a staff member for the California State Senate. Veasy received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of California College of Law, San Franscisco (formerly University of California, Hastings College of the Law). He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan.

For more information about Stoel Rives’ Environmental group, visit:

https://www.stoel.com/capabilities/practices/environment-land-use-natural-resources