Partner
Janice M. Schneider is the former Global Co-Chair of the Environment, Land & Resources Practice. She draws on more than 30 years of experience on environmental and natural resource issues.
Prior to rejoining Latham, Janice served as Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management for the US Department of the Interior where she oversaw four Interior Department agencies: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), including more than 12,000 employees and a combined budget of US$1.5 billion. As Assistant Secretary, she oversaw the Department’s management and use of federal lands, waters, and mineral and non-mineral resources on about 245 million acres of federal surface lands, 700 million acres of federal mineral interests, and the 1.7 billion acre Outer Continental Shelf, successfully completing an extensive array of agency rules and initiatives. She was confirmed by the US Senate in May 2014.
Prior to joining the US Department of the Interior, Janice was a partner in Latham’s Environment, Land & Resources Department, served as Chair of the department in Washington, D.C., and served as Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Project Siting & Approvals Practice where she handled a broad range of matters in federal court and before federal agencies, members of Congress, and its staff. Before that she served as Counselor to the Deputy Secretary of Interior, a trial attorney at the US Department of Justice in the Wildlife Section, and in the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor in the Division of Indian Affairs and the Honors Program.
Her experience includes:
Janice has extensive experience guiding clients to successful outcomes in the energy development sector both onshore and offshore, including renewable solar and wind energy, hydropower, oil and gas, coal, pipeline and transmission line development, licensing, operation, and compliance; the minerals and mining sector; and public land, national forest, American Indian land, national wildlife refuge, and national park use and management.
Janice is a first-chair litigator and is well versed in federal policy development and legislative and regulatory activities, including working effectively with states and local government and industry, tribal, and non-governmental stakeholders; analysis and drafting of legislative language and testimony; preparing and commenting on rules; and other agency initiatives. She is a frequent public speaker and has testified before Congress numerous times.
Janice was recognized as an Energy & Environmental Trailblazer by The National Law Journal 2018, which features lawyers who have “shown a deep passion and perseverance in pursuit of their mission, having achieved remarkable successes along the way.” Janice is also recognized as a leading lawyer, both before and after her recent federal government service, in The Legal 500 US guides for Environment: Regulatory 2011-2013, 2018-2022 and cited as a recommended lawyer for Environment: Litigation category 2011-2012, 2018-2020, 2022 and Real Estate–Land Use/Zoning category 2018-2020. In addition, she is recognized as a Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law Distinguished Environmental Law Graduate for significant contributions to the field in 2013 and included in the list of Environmental MVPs which honor “attorneys whose accomplishments in major litigation or transactions have raised the bar” by Law360 2011.
Before entering the legal field, Janice worked for six years as a biologist and consultant with the National Park Service, University of Miami, Florida Department of Transportation, and a private firm.
Latham litigators earn three recognitions across practices including wins on behalf of clients Sorrento Therapeutics, Eargo, and Driftwood LNG.
Chambers USA bestows two awards and names Latham as finalists in five categories.
Environment, Land & Resources Department honored for its “strengths in transactional support and litigation.” Healthcare and White Collar Defense & Investigations Practices and partner Kathy Ruemmler also recognized.