Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2027 
Jennifer is a partner in the San Francisco office, where she leads the firm’s Natural Resources Practice and focuses on land use and natural resources matters.
She advises clients on land use and entitlement issues arising from the development of commercial, residential, medical, and mixed-use projects in California, with a special emphasis on natural resources. She guides private, nonprofit, and public sector entities through all phases of project development from the earliest stages of design through completion, including acquisition, due diligence, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, entitlement and permitting, and construction.
Jennifer is particularly adept at handling complex natural resources matters, including those involving endangered species and wetlands under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the federal Endangered Species Act and its California counterpart (ESA and CESA), and Section 1603 of the California Fish and Game Code (streambed alteration agreements). She regularly manages permitting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, state and local water quality control boards, and the California Coastal Commission, among other agencies and local governments. Jennifer frequently advises clients (from both the project applicant and landowner side) on conservation easements and other similar mitigation approaches to achieve permit obligations. She also counsels clients on tribal consultation and cultural resource issues arising during development projects.
She has extensive experience with state housing legislation and local referenda, helping clients anticipate regulatory changes on the horizon. Jennifer has successfully ushered a diverse collection of high-profile projects through the state’s rigorous permitting approval process, including corporate campuses, mixed-use projects, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and large residential developments.
Jennifer’s strong technical foundation, with undergraduate and graduate degrees in environmental science and previous environmental policy experience, enhances her ability to distil nuanced issues into pragmatic solutions. Prior to her legal career, Jennifer established and implemented biodiversity conservation practices for governments and public institutions worldwide as the director of the Conservation International’s Regional Marine Strategies program in Washington, D.C. Before joining Allen Matkins, she was a partner and head of the land use practice at Stice & Block LLP in Oakland, California.
