3L Lora Naismith Pursues a Career in Environmental Law by Adapting and Publishing

Lora Naismith, HeadshotLora Naismith is a 3L at Texas A&M School of Law. She earned her bachelor of science in biology from Texas A&M and began her career as a lab researcher. She had planned to pursue her Ph.D. in biology but began questioning her plan to go into medical research when she found the work “dreadfully boring.” Thankfully, her now-wife was a 1L at Texas A&M Law and sparked Lora’s interest in a career in law by sharing about her classes and experiences.

Lora entered law school leaning towards environmental law but knew she also had a prime background for patent law. “Once I started studying for the patent bar, I knew it was not for me,” she stated. During her first year, Lora started attending the Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resource Systems Law Program (EENRSLP) Speaker Series and speaker panel. A Fall 2019 guest speaker reinforced Lora’s desire to focus on environmental law in a setting where she could fight pollution rather than defend the polluter. The speaker, from the Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resource Division litigation section, spoke on waste management and hazardous pollutants, which is the type of law Lora kept in the back of her mind as an alternative when patent law was not the right fit.

Lora used the summer after her 1L year to attend a Texas A&M Law Global Programs trip to Cambodia. After the trip, she remained in Cambodia to do a short internship with a Cambodian firm that Texas A&M Associate Dean Charlotte Ku helped arrange. Lora was able to work on some due diligence reports and compile Cambodian laws on foreign-owned parking lots and shared spaces. 

The pandemic disrupted Lora’s plans for summer 2020. She originally arranged an externship with the North Texas Toll Authority (NTTA), but when the shelter-in-place orders were initiated, the NTTA canceled the extern program. “I was disappointed when COVID hit because I was looking forward to working with the NTTA. Land use, takings law, and administrative law are my favorite subject areas, which are the types of work I would be doing with them.” Lora said.

To replace the NTTA externship, Lora arranged to work with the Texas A&M Tax Clinic and spent time editing and polishing up two papers to submit for publication. The latter of the projects was especially productive. One was a paper she had written in Professor Vanessa Casado’s Climate Change Seminar that explores conflicting property interests on the Texas coast concerning rising sea levels and rolling easements as well as the policy tools available to combat these conflicts. The final work product was selected for publication in the 2020 edition of the Chicago-Kent Journal of Environmental Law. Simultaneously, she also finalized her student note on genetically modified microorganisms. Leaning on her biology background, in this article, Lora explored experimental developments in the genetic modification of bacteria and its potential uses for degrading the hazardous waste that plagues the environment. The article was selected for publication in 2021 in the Texas A&M Law Review.

Lora still plans to work with the NTTA next semester, but post-graduation, she hopes to work on hazardous waste and waste disposal issues with the Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division. She is also considering a future in environmental policy. “A few weeks ago, the EENRSLP Speaker Series brought in a lawyer, Amanda Fuller, who works with the National Wildlife Federation. I loved hearing her speak about balancing policy and property ownership, which overlaps with the type of environmental policy I like to do, so who knows. I might do that. I will see what the options are in the spring.” Either way, Lora said she feels exceptionally equipped for the work she wants to do because of the EENRSLP, the professors, and the classes offered at Texas A&M Law.


Check out the abstracts for Lora’s two forthcoming publications:

"Taking Back the Beach"
    Chicago-Kent Journal of Environmental Law (forthcoming 2020)

The numerous effects of anthropogenic climate change, such as sea-level rise, continue to make global changes to our environment. With greenhouse gas emissions comes warmer temperatures, melting glaciers, and consequently a higher sea-level. In an attempt to address the rising sea, communities have the options of protecting the shoreline, altering structures to remain in the area, or abandoning the area as the sea rises. As the sea continues to rise, the Texas coast is subject to more severe storms, flooding, and loss of coastline. The Texas coast is home to roughly 6.5 million people and provides jobs to nearly 2.5 million of those people. The coastal economy includes various industries that provide billions of dollars to the economy, and its ports are essential for national exporting. As the sea begins to encroach on coastal properties, these industries, as well as the interests of both private property owners and the general public with access to the waterfront are at risk. However, protecting the coast and balancing the interests of these parties has led to numerous lawsuits and litigation. The Texas Open Beaches Act was an attempt to codify traditional common law doctrines of public trust and rolling easements, which were generally interpreted in favor of the public. However, the Texas Supreme Court decision in Severance v. Patterson in 2012 favored the rights of the private property owner over the public’s access to beaches by ruling that public access easements do not move after an avulsive event, such as a hurricane. The court also ruled that these public access easements would have to be re-established by the public, and current easement law in Texas makes this difficult and places an unreasonable burden on the public. Because alternative measures to mitigate sea-level rise from impacting waterfront properties can have detrimental ecological effects on the coastal environment, Texas should implement a regulatory scheme that addresses these potential issues. The Texas Coastal Resiliency Plan addresses numerous coastal concerns and outlines several projects to restore Texas coastlines. While this plan aims to protect the coast and its numerous industries, it does not address how the projects affect property rights. To remedy this, Texas communities should establish regulations that protect public access easements, establish more stringent construction setbacks or permitting procedures, and requiring more risk disclosure for potential property owners buying coastal properties

     
"Bioremediation: Breaking Down the Regulations of Genetically Modified Microorganisms"
    Texas A&M Law Review (forthcoming 2021)

This Comment looks at the use of genetically modified microorganisms (“GMMs”) for bioremediation, which is the use of biological activity to reduce the concentration or toxicity of a pollutant. Current pollution degradation techniques are expensive and often result in secondary pollutants, which limits their widespread application. Using GMMs for bioremediation can provide cleaner, safer, and faster methods for cleaning up pollutants. This Comment explores potential risks associated with releasing GMMs into the environment, current laws, and laws and regulations that could be implemented to ensure the safe experimentation and eventual widespread use of GMMs in the environment.