In search of justice

CLASS NOTES
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
JEN DUGGAN JD/MSEL’07
The corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana— known as Cancer Alley—was a
catalyst for Jen Duggan. Born in south Louisiana, Jen regularly traveled this area to visit family,
observing all the while the clusters of industrial and chemical plants. “The communities, toxic odors,
and polluted air left a big impression on me,” Jen described. “It planted the first seeds of awareness
of the connection between public health and the environment and was the foundation for my passion
to fight for equal access to a clean and healthy environment.”
Nowadays, in her role as General Counsel at Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources, she utilizes
this passion in service of the agency’s mission to protect public health and the natural environment
on behalf of the people of Vermont. As a working parent of two young children, Jen faces many of the
same challenges other lawyers face—“there are never enough hours in the day,” Jen adds. “One of the
most important skills a lawyer needs to have is the ability to prioritize limited time to advance important
priorities instead of only putting out fires.” In managing legal services for the Agency’s Central
Office and its three Departments (Environmental Conservation; Fish and Wildlife; Forest, Parks, and
Recreation), Jen’s spends her time working to improve the Agency’s legal systems and processes and
working directly on significant permit, litigation, and enforcement matters.
Jen never considered becoming a lawyer until a friend suggested Vermont Law School. With an
undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and Anthropology, she had taken several years off to
travel in the U.S. and British Columbia, working various jobs along the way. Spurred by her passion for
the environment, public health protection, and environmental justice and human rights, and inspired
by Vermont Law School’s commitment to public interest law and the environment, she enrolled.
Working as a student clinician for the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic with professors
David Mears and Pat Parenteau was invaluable, preparing her for a job with the Environmental
Integrity Project (EIP) in Washington, D.C. “Just a few months after I joined EIP, I was assigned to work
on a citizen suit enforcement case to clean up leaking coal ash landfills,” Jen recalled. “I don’t think
I would have known where to start without the experience I gained as a student clinician. Ultimately,
the lawsuit resulted in a settlement agreement to clean up the three landfills.”
Reflecting on her current role, which she has held since the spring of 2015, Jen remains
inspired by the power of environmental law in combatting injustice as well as offering opportunities
for growth. “As an environmental lawyer, you not only have to know the law, you have to also
understand the underlying scientific and technical issues, which can be complex.” She continued:
“Each new case is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the science, work with talented technical
experts, and learn something new.”
Illustration and story by Hannah Morris
with the False Claims Act, antikickback
statute and Sunshine Act
among other things. Not only am I
working for an actual corporation
but it’s the first time in my career
I have had to DRIVE to work every
day! Couple that with not being able
to sit around in my work out gear
all day and it’s a big, big change,
but going well so far. Thankfully,
my company has afforded me the
opportunity to continue to work on
a conference and coalition I started
a couple years ago in the microbiome
space, focused on the hurdles
that industry faces in commercializing
new microbiome based therapies,
diagnostics, and consumer
products. This is a burgeoning area
of research with some fascinating
correlations between the microbiome
and human health and disease
going on so I get to keep my hand
in an emerging field of scientific
inquiry while feeding my creative
side as I try to figure out how to run
a conference and coalition. Aside
from that, Arizona is actually welcoming
its first full size aquarium
this year, which clearly makes no
sense from anything other than
an economic perspective. But I am
helping sort out the volunteer diver
program and look forward to actually
being able to dive in the desert
(and see something other than lake
weeds) in short order.”
1997
Cheryl Deshaies Davis
davis4nh@comcast.net
1998
Thomas Leary
thomas.f.leary@gmail.com