Roger J. Marzulla

Roger J. Marzulla is one of the nation’s leading water, property, and environmental lawyers. As Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Roger learned firsthand the operations and litigation styles of his client agencies: EPA, Interior Department, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of Transportation, and Department of Commerce.

In 1997, he co-founded Marzulla Law, where he brings to bear more than 35 years of expertise representing companies and individuals in industries as diverse as land and project development, aerospace, chemicals, oil and gas, mining, timber, manufacturing, computers, agriculture and water service. His practice focuses on federal takings claims, contract claims, water rights, and environmental and natural resources matters.

Roger began his legal career as a trial lawyer in San Jose, California, after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Santa Clara School of Law. As a partner in Matthews & Marzulla he represented developers, title and construction companies, shopping centers, apartment owners, and lenders in litigation throughout California. In 1981 he moved to Denver to become President of Mountain States Legal Foundation, litigating environmental and natural resource cases across the West.

In 1983 Roger joined the Justice Department as Special Litigation Counsel. He was subsequently promoted to Deputy Assistant Attorney General and, in 1987, was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. At the Justice Department, Roger helped create litigation strategies for government programs as diverse as Superfund, the Clean Air Act, off-shore oil leasing, environmental crimes, federal facility clean-up, wetlands, endangered species and hazardous waste enforcement, as well as Presidential Order EO 12,630 (Government Interference with Private Property Rights).

In 1989 Roger returned to private law practice, successively heading the environmental law practices of the Powell, Goldstein and Akin, Gump law firms.

Since 1997, as a partner in Marzulla Law, Roger has continued to represent corporate and business clients in a wide array of environmental and property issues in courts across the country, frequently in litigation against the United States. He also assists clients in attaining compliance with environmental, health and safety regulation, and in avoiding risks in transactions.

Honors & Awards

Roger has been recognized by Chambers as one of the nation’s top water lawyers, and by Best Lawyers and Washingtonian Magazine in the field of Environmental Law.

Admissions

• District of Columbia
• California
• Colorado
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and Ninth Circuits, Federal Circuit, and D.C. Circuit
• U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia, California, and Michigan
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Education

• J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, California, 1971
• B.A., Santa Clara University, 1968

Publications & Speeches

• The Clean Air Act Amendments: BNA’s Comprehensive Analysis of the New Law (Bureau of National Affairs)
• Environmental Due Diligence: The Complete Resource Guide for Real Estate Lenders, Buyers, Seller, and Attorneys (Bureau of National Affairs)
• American Values- An Environmental Vision (The Environmental Policy Analysis Network)