Roderick E. Walston joins Best Best & Krieger

Roderick E. Walston, former acting solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior, has joined the California law firm of Best Best & Krieger (BB&K) as of counsel, resident in the firm’s Walnut Creek office.  Walston has extensive experience in the areas of natural resources and environmental law, having served both as a litigator for state regulatory agencies and as a manager of litigation for federal and state agencies in these areas.   He has particular expertise in water rights and water quality law, and on issues arising under various federal and state environmental statutes such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Walston has argued several cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal and state appellate courts addressing natural resources and environmental issues.  He supervised a department of 400 lawyers as deputy solicitor and acting solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2002 to 2004, and served as general counsel of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California from 2000 to 2002.  Prior to that, Walston served for eight years as California’s chief assistant attorney general for the Public Rights Division, where he oversaw all litigation involving the State in the fields of natural resources, land, environmental, antitrust, consumer and civil rights law.  Before that, he served for many years as a senior deputy attorney general, focusing on natural resources and water law matters and appellate litigation.  Walston received the prestigious "Public Lawyer of the Year Award" from the California State Bar last year.

“Rod’s addition to our Walnut Creek team solidifies our water law presence in northern California, as well as complementing our already highly-regarded Statewide water law practice,” says Gene Tanaka, managing partner of BB&K’s Walnut Creek office.  “This brings us one step closer to our ultimate goal of operating a full-service office in the Bay Area.”

BB&K’s Environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group provides a full range of legal services to both public and private entities, with special focus on water rights and habitat conservation plans.  The firm’s senior partner, Arthur Littleworth, has been appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court as Special Master to hear a water rights case between two states.  Last year, Practice Group chair Michelle Ouellette was instrumental in guiding to approval the nation’s largest habitat conservation plan: the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.

BB&K’s Walnut Creek office was established in 2004.  Today it houses two partners, one of counsel and one associate practicing in the areas of environmental and natural resources law, municipal and redevelopment law, and litigation.  The firm plans to expand this office to best serve existing and new clients in northern California.