Amanda Shafer Berman is a counsel in the Environment & Natural Resources and Litigation groups in the Washington, D.C. office. Amanda draws on her extensive appellate and district court experience to achieve the best possible outcome for clients in a wide variety of litigation, including cases arising under environmental statutes.
Prior to joining the firm in 2019, Amanda served as a senior attorney in the Department of Justice’s Environmental Defense Section. She briefed and argued over a dozen cases in the federal courts of appeals, winning all matters in which a decision was rendered. These included seminal environmental cases such as Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA (addressing EPA’s first greenhouse gas regulations, upheld in large part by the Supreme Court in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA); White Stallion Energy Center v. EPA (addressing power plant emissions of mercury and other air toxics); and West Virginia v. EPA (defending EPA’s Clean Power Plan at the proposal and final stages). Amanda assisted the solicitor general’s office in defending the D.C. Circuit’s favorable decisions in several of her cases.
Amanda was also lead counsel for the government in dozens of district court matters arising under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, CERCLA, and other statutes. She achieved successful outcomes for federal clients, including the Department of Defense and EPA through motions practice, trial, and settlement negotiations, setting internal records and making new precedent in several instances.
Amanda is a five-time recipient of the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Excellence and was awarded EPA Gold and Bronze medals for her work on climate change and air toxics litigation.
Affiliations
Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, New York, U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Seventh Circuit, and Ninth Circuit
Professional Activities and Memberships
- Appointed to the D.C. Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Procedures (2017-2020 term)
- Adjunct Professor at Howard University School of Law (2007-2013)
Speeches & Presentations
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"Groundwater Indirect Discharges and CWA Regulation: Permitting Requirements in Light of Circuit Court Split," Strafford Webinar
(May 23, 2019).
Presenter: Amanda Shafer Berman.
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"Kisor v. Wilkie: The End of Auer Deference? Oral Argument Recap and Discussion of What's to Come," D.C. Bar, Washington, D.C.
(March 28, 2019).
Presenter: Amanda Shafer Berman.
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"Administrative Law: The Year in Review," D.C. Bar
(2018).
Moderator: Amanda Shafer Berman.
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"Climate Change, the Justice Department, and You," Department of Justice, ENRD Academy
(2015 and 2016).
Speaker: Amanda Shafer Berman.
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"Women in International Law," American Society for International Law
(2008).
Panelist: Amanda Shafer Berman.
Publications
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