The 2027 Panel Descriptions will be updated shortly. Please see the 2026 Panel Descriptions below.

Panel 1 I Organized by Stanford Law School and UC Berkeley School of Law
​Frameworks for Addressing Transboundary Governance Issues

In light of mounting tension between California and the federal government over water management, this panel will explore the mechanisms available for resolving disputes that shape California’s water future. From clashes between state and federal authority to conflicts among western states and even international agreements with Mexico, California sits at the center of increasingly complex governance challenges. The panel will examine how legal frameworks, compacts, treaties, and judicial decisions mediate these disputes, and what new pressures—climate change, biodiversity loss, and population growth—mean for the durability of existing arrangements.
  • Buzz Thompson, Professor, Stanford Law School
  • Jessica Neuwerth, Colorado River Board of California
  • Maria Giner, Former International Boundary and Water Commission
  • Meredith Nikkel, Partner, Downey Brand (moderator)
MCLE Materials:

Panel 2 I Organized by Santa Clara Law and UC Davis Law
Mechanisms for and Barriers to Providing Safe Drinking Water to Vulnerable Communities

Earlier this year, the Trump Administration terminated the EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Grant Program. The program allocated billions of dollars in grant funding to vulnerable communities, advocacy groups, local governments, and academic institutions nationwide for climate and environmental justice initiatives. Cuts to federal grant funding have placed additional pressure on state and local funding sources to support clean drinking water projects. Our panelists will discuss the mechanisms local communities, governments, and environmental non-profits have historically relied on to ensure Californians have access to safe drinking water, current threats to those mechanisms in light of federal cuts, and preparation for the future. 
  • Tseming Yang, Santa Clara University School of Law (moderator)
  • Jennifer Clary, Clean Water Action 
  • Jean Fung, State Water Resources Control Board
  • Uriel Saldivar, Community Water Center 
MCLE Materials:

Keynote I Organized by UC Law San Francisco
Let the Rivers Flow: How California Law Can Solve Our Water Crisis
Adam Keats, Law Office of Adam Keats PC
Picture
Delta Aerial by Ken James, California Department of Water Resources

Panel 3 I Organized by McGeorge School of Law
​State and Local Approaches to Reforming Hatcheries to Further Salmon Recovery in California

California’s 2024 Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future identifies improvement of salmon hatcheries as an important step for species protection and climate resilience, a call to action echoed by the Public Policy Institute of California. This panel will examine how evolving hatchery policies intersect with broader strategies for recovery of wild, native salmon under both federal and state law, comparing and contrasting the interplay between the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and exploring how these frameworks shape conservation objectives and hatchery operations. Speakers will discuss issues deeply connected to salmon recovery such as ecosystem-based management and habitat restoration, and assess the potential for using modern climate-smart conservation tools related to genetics and diversity. 
  • Karrigan Bork, Director, UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences (moderator)
  • Darren Mireau, Director of Science, California Trout
  • Rebecca Akroyd, General Counsel, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority
  • Jay Rowan, Branch Chief, Fisheries, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
MCLE materials: 

Panel 4 I Organized by University of San Francisco School of Law
​Watershed Health and Federal Deregulation

This panel will examine how California state agencies, regional water boards, local governments, and community partners are advancing watershed health in a time of federal turbulence. Despite weakened federal protections, innovative state and local efforts are safeguarding water quality, biodiversity, and community resilience. Panelists will share perspectives from state regulators, regional boards, local water managers, litigators, nonprofit advocates, and a tribal representative, highlighting how enforcement, litigation, community action, and tribal stewardship are filling federal gaps. The discussion will emphasize strategies that ensure watershed health, promote environmental justice, and secure equitable access to safe and resilient water resources for all communities
  • Richard Roos-Collins, Principal and Co-Founder, Water and Power Group PC (moderator)
  • Empress Holliday, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Jessica Davenport, California State Coastal Conservancy
  • Bill McKinnon, Water Audit California
  • Lindsey Hromadka, The Nature Conservancy
MCLE materials:
MCLE credit hours are provided by UC College of the Law, San Francisco
​(Provider Number 9545)

A total of 5.5 MCLE credit hours are available for this event (MCLE approval pending)
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