Jennifer Faye Novak

Jennifer Faye Novak

Law Office of Jennifer F. Novak
  • Environmental Law, Gov & Administrative Law
  • California
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Biography

I have practiced law in California for more than 23 years with a career that includes private practice, as a Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice, and as a clerk to an appellate court judge. Our firm represents property owners and businesses in environmental litigation and as advisors for matters involving soil and groundwater remediation, Clean Water Act citizen suits, Water Board investigation orders, and more.

We work with our clients to identify the best strategies for their needs. What matters most is our clients’ comfort level and for them to know they have a supporter, advisor, and advocate in their corner. We help our clients assess their risks and liabilities, develop a strategy, and then see it through to the end. Our clients range from Fortune 500 companies and national corporations to individual landowners and small businesses. For some, the best result is to minimize financial liability. Other clients seek quick resolution without endangering their reputations, causing unnecessary stress, or damaging their relationships with regulatory agencies. Others simply want a second opinion. But when the need arises, we are prepared to litigate in state and federal court, and all the way through appeal.

I have represented or worked alongside of a wide variety of local, state and federal agencies, including U.S. EPA, State Water Resources Control Board, various Regional Water Quality Control Boards, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Air Resources Board, U.S. Department of Justice, and the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General.

The Law Office of Jennifer F. Novak is certified as a small business enterprise and as a woman-owned, minority-owned, business.

Practice Areas
    Environmental Law
    Gov & Administrative Law
    Administrative Law, Election Law, Government Contracts, Government Finance, Legislative & Government Affairs
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
California
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Languages
  • English
Professional Experience
Founder and Managing Attorney
Law Office of Jennifer F. Novak
- Current
Represent and advise clients on general and environmental litigation, compliance, and transactional matters involving groundwater and soil contamination, water quality, water rights, air quality, remediation, and administrative law. Recent matters include: trying a Clean Water Act citizen suit case to jury verdict; representing a metal plating company in a CERCLA/RCRA action involving the Omega Superfund Site; representing property owners in cost recovery lawsuit by California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC); negotiating with DTSC on behalf of a research facility to allow on-site hazardous waste storage; representing a former transmission rebuilding company in a CERCLA/RCRA action; negotiating with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board on behalf of landowners and industrial facilities identified as potentially responsible parties for soil and groundwater contamination; representing a Central Valley fertilizer manufacturer in negotiations with local and state agencies; advising a statewide transportation trade organization for an administrative challenge under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); advising environmental non-profit organizations in permit adoption proceedings and general water quality matters; and acting as co-counsel protecting agricultural interests from damage caused by underground injection wells.
Attorney
Egoscue Law Group
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Represented and advised clients, including investor-owned and public utilities, municipalities, industrial facilities, a dairy, developers, and property owners in regulatory compliance, and administrative enforcement matters.
Deputy Attorney General
California Department of Justice
-
Responsible for all stages of case management, from inception through appeal, primarily as lead trial and appellate counsel. Significant cases included: prosecution of companies responsible for groundwater and soil contamination; defense of storm water permits, basin plan amendments, and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) implementation; protection of California’s water rights; recovery of fire suppression costs; defense against claims that state regulation and policies violated the Endangered Species Act; and prosecution of illegal importation of diseased citrus products. Represented numerous agencies and departments, including: State Water Resources Control Board; various Regional Water Boards; Parks and Recreation; Forestry and Fire Protection; Air Resources Board; Fish and Wildlife; Conservation; and Food and Agriculture. Worked with other federal and state agencies, including U.S. EPA, U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Department of Public Health, and California Public Utilities Commission.
Litigation Associate
Robie & Matthai
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Responsible for all aspects of case management for professional malpractice, insurance coverage, and product liability cases, including trial preparation, depositions of percipient, party, and expert witnesses, law and motion, selection and preparation of expert witnesses, arbitration, trial assistance, and client relations.
Litigation Associate
Bonne, Bridges, Mueller, O’Keefe & Nichols
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Responsible for case management and work up for trial for medical malpractice defense firm.
Judicial Law Clerk
California Court of Appeal
-
Researched civil, criminal, and juvenile dependency cases, and prepared draft opinions for the Honorable Norman L. Epstein, Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Four.
Education
University of California - Davis
J.D. (1996)
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Honors: U.C. Davis Law Review: Staff Editor, 1995-1996; Member, 1994-1995; Order of Barristers; American Jurisprudence Award for Appellate Advocacy; Winner, Carr Trial Competition; Winner, 27th Annual Neumiller Competition and Best Oral Advocate; Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Team Member 1994-1996 and Best Oral Advocate (1st place 1996, 3rd place 1995) in regional competitions; Legal Writing Teaching Assistant, Spring 1996
University of California - Davis Logo
University of California - Berkeley
B.A. (1993) | City and Regional Planning
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University of California - Berkeley Logo
Awards
Attorney General's Award Recipient
California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General's Award Recipient
California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General
Professional Associations
California Lawyers Association
Chair, Environmental Law Section
- Current
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California State Bar  # 183882
Member
- Current
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Publications
Articles & Publications
The Value of Simplifying Case Presentation
Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine
A Trial Preparation Checklist
Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine
Speaking Engagements
Storm Water Permitting in California: Strategies for Keeping Your Municipality, Agency or Business in Compliance, MCLE program, Pasadena, California
Lorman Education Services
Co-presenter to discuss basics of storm water permitting and law.
Parenthood and the Practice of Law, Part II, MCLE program, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Organized and moderated panel to look at strategies for balancing home and work lives.
Clean Water Act: Empower the People Workshop #3, Community Workshop, Redondo Beach, California
Santa Monica Baykeeper
Co-presenter to explain basics of stormwater litigation.
Investigate, Remediate, Compensate: The Keys to Federal and State Cleanups, MCLE program, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Co-presenter for program discussing basics of voluntary and enforcement-related soil and groundwater investigations and cleanups.
Rialto Basin Perchlorate Groundwater Dispute, California Water Law Conference, Palm Springs, California
Water Law Institute
Co-presenter to discuss state enforcement of groundwater contamination case.
So You Think It Never Rains in Southern California? An Update on Municipal, Construction, And Industrial Enforcement and Compliance, MCLE program, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Co-presenter to look at latest issues in stormwater litigation and regulation, including enforcement and cases involving claims of unfunded state mandates.
The Attorneys’ Perspective on Civil Cost Recovery Actions, Fire Investigators’ Conference, Pismo Beach, California
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Assisted in training fire investigators with the basics of cost recovery litigation, participating in depositions, and legal issue-spotting.
Clean Water and Stormwater in Southern California, Water Law, Los Angeles, California
Law Seminars International
Conference co-chair and speaker on panel discussing recent cases before U.S. Supreme Court and potential impacts on water quality regulation.
Litigating Contamination Property Claims as a Solo or Small Firm: It Takes a Village, MCLE program, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Co-presenter to provide insight into how small firms can handle complex soil and groundwater contamination investigation and cleanup matters.
High Stakes CERCLA Litigation: Lessons Learned from the Rialto-Colton Basin Litigation, 28th Annual Environmental Law Symposium: Saving Our Environmental Dollars and Sense, Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Co-presented to look at how CERCLA cases become increasingly complex and lessons to learn from the Rialto perchlorate litigation to avoid unnecessary costs and problems.
California Water Quality: Federal and State Law Basics and Enforcement Issues, Semi-Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, California
Southern California Environmental Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Association
Co-presenter to discuss basics of the federal Clean Water Act and its enforcement.
It’s Raining. It’s Pouring. Are We Ready for Storing?, California Bar Association Environmental Law Section's Your Voice Riverside, Riverside, California
California State Bar Association
Organized and moderated panel to look at how the Inland Empire is increasing groundwater storage and its scientific and legal challenges.
Environmental Enforcement 101, First Annual Sections Meeting, San Diego, California
California Lawyers Association
Organized and moderated panel to look at the basics of enforcing national, state, and local environmental laws.
The Storm Over Implementing TMDLs in the Industrial Storm Water General Permit, 2018 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite, Yosemite, California
California Lawyers Association
Organized and moderated panel to look at proposed changes to California's General Industrial Stormwater NPDES permit and its enforcement.
California Environmental Laws Every Small Business Should Understand, Solo & Small Firm Summit: the 21st Century Law Firm, Newport Beach, California
California Lawyers Association
Co-presenter to look at the variety of environmental laws affecting small businesses and how they are enforced.
Los Angeles River Stormwater Use and River Restoration: Competing or Compatible Visions?, 2019 Annual Meeting, Monterey, California
California Lawyers Association
Co-presenter, looking at the history of the Los Angeles River and proposed future uses for its water and span.
The Ports in An Environmental Storm, 2019 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite, Yosemite, California
California Lawyers Association
Organized and moderated panel to look at the complexities in regulating California's ports and addressing air and water quality pollution.
Websites & Blogs
Website
California Environmental Lawyer website
Contact & Map
Law Office of Jennifer F. Novak
500 Silver Spur Rd
Ste 206
Rllng Hills Est, CA 90275
Telephone: (310) 693-0775
Fax: (310) 957-2624
LA Location - Law Office Of Jennifer F. Novak
7083 Hollywood Blvd, Office #472
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Notice: (By Appointment Only)