Who We Are
About Us
Jennifer F. Novak
Founder
At age five, Jennifer Novak decided she had two goals: to be a lawyer and to be a mom. She’s proud to have achieved both. Jennifer is a second-generation California female attorney, who has practiced litigation across a broad spectrum of fields since 1996. As a Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice, she handled cutting-edge legal issues in matters valued in the hundreds of millions and billions of dollars on behalf of the People of the State of California. Now back in the private sector, she founded this law firm to be of service to people who understand the importance of environmental laws but want to keep the regulatory process fair for those who take compliance seriously.
Based upon her experience representing clients ranging from Fortune 500 and national companies, to retirees who operated manufacturing businesses decades ago, she understands the stress and uncertainty that a threatened (or actual) lawsuit brings. Jennifer believes in demystifying environmental laws, providing comfort through stressful times, and working alongside her clients to fight for them every step of the way.
University of California, Berkeley — 1993
University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law — 1996“A Trial Preparation Checklist,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, Feb. 2002
“The Value of Simplifying Case Presentation,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, Feb. 2005
2024
- “Jennifer Novak: Finding Balance In Everything,” Nice Guys on Business podcast, April 22, 2024.
- “Building Trust with Jennifer Novak,” Lawyer Business Advantage podcast, March 20, 2024.
- “Jennifer Novak: Environmental Issues & Small Business Net Profit,” Accelerate Your Profits podcast, March 1, 2024.
- Microplastics in Groundwater, American Ground Water Trust and Association of Ground Water Agencies, 2024 California Groundwater Conference, February 7, 2024 (panelist).
- “Jennifer Novak: Sidestepping Environmental Traps That Can Taint Family Wealth,” Master Your Millions podcast, February 7, 2024.
2023
- “Sp[oil]ing” For A Fight, California Lawyers Association, 2023 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite, October 21, 2023 (moderator).
- “Reverse Your Thinking About Environmental Impact,” Reverse Your Thinking podcast, October 13, 2023.
- "Environmental Legal Issues," Provisors: LAX/Long Beach Real Estate Affinity Group, May 10, 2023 (speaker).
- “Jennifer Novak on Representing the Environment in Court,” The California Appellate Law Podcast, June 20, 2023.
- What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You: How Environmental Law Can Help Your Practice, Riverside County Bar Association, May 9, 2023 (co-presenter).
- “Environmental Laws and Regulations for Emerging Microplastics Concerns Series– Near-Term and Future Potential Regulatory Efforts,” Environmental Law Explored: A Podcast SEERies, American Bar Association, March 21, 2023.
- IGP Compliance & Enforcement Review, Industrial Environmental Coalition of Orange County (IEC/OC), March 16, 2023 (presenter).
2022
- The Potential Impacts of the Proposed Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) Stormwater Permit on Facilities Within the Los Angeles and Long Beach Watersheds, California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) 2022 Annual Conference: Celebrating Milestones: Taking the Next Step for Stormwater, October 26, 2022 (panelist)
- The Clean Water Act at 50: Clean Water Act Enforcement Panel, U.C. Davis King Hall School of Law/California Environmental Law and Policy Center, October 7, 2022 (panelist)
- Updates and Demo for California Construction Stormwater Permits, Alameda County Bar Association, August 10, 2022 (co-presenter)
- Getting the Dirt: How to Keep Real Estate Transactions Free from Environmental Problems, Provisors Orange County Real Estate Affinity Group, May 19, 2022 (co-presenter)
- What Is Environmental Law and How It Might Help Your (Yes, Your!) Own Practice, California Lawyers Association Solo & Small Firm Section, May 18, 2022 (co-presenter)
- Updates and Demo for California Construction Stormwater, The Bar Association of San Francisco, April 29, 2022 (co-presenter)
2021
- Provisors Los Angeles Estate and Succession Planning Affinity Group, July 8, 2021 (panelist)
- A New Business Environment or More of the Same? Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, March 14, 2021 (presenter).
- Environmental LawyHERing: Overcoming Bias and Making Change, MSheLe, March 17, 2021 (presenter).
2020
- Eye on the Prize: How We Use Standards of Review to Negotiate Environmental Law Disputes and Play the Long Game in Case of Government Overreach, Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Monthly Brown Bag Series, November 17, 2020 (co-presenter).
- Split the Check, Please: Dividing Costs Among Responsible Parties, California Lawyers Association, June 4, 2020 (moderator).
- Buyer Beware: How Your Location, Neighbors, and Changing Regulations May Affect Your Environmental Liabilities, South Bay Association of Realtors, February 7, 2020 (presenter).
- 2020 Focus on Agency Enforcement, Los Angeles County Bar Association, December 17, 2019 (moderator).
2019
- The Ports in An Environmental Storm, California Lawyers Association, 2019 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite, October 19, 2019 (moderator).
- Los Angeles River Stormwater Use and River Restoration: Competing or Compatible Visions?, California Lawyers Association, 2019 Annual Meeting, October 12, 2019 (speaker).
- California Environmental Laws Every Small Business Should Understand, California Lawyers Association, Solo & Small Firm Summit: the 21st Century Law Firm, June 15, 2019 (speaker).
2018
- The Storm Over Implementing TMDLs in the Industrial Storm Water General Permit, California Lawyers Association, 2018 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite, October 19, 2018 (moderator).
- Environmental Enforcement 101, California Lawyers Association, First Annual Sections Meeting, September 15, 2018 (moderator).
- Building the Brick House: Identifying the Environmental Laws that Might Affect Your Business and Keeping the Big, Bad, Wolf at Bay, Palos Verdes Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, June 6, 2018 (speaker).
- Cost Recovery Under California’s HSAA: New Cases Clarify the Right to Sue and Causation, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, March 6, 2018 (moderator).
2017
- It’s Raining. It’s Pouring. Are We Ready for Storing?, California Bar Association Environmental Law Section, May 5, 2017 (moderator).
- California Water Quality: Federal and State Law Basics and Enforcement Issues, Southern California Environmental Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Association, January 26, 2017 (co-presenter).
2014
- 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 County Bar Association, April 4, 2014 (speaker).
- Litigating Contamination Property Claims as a Solo or Small Firm: It Takes a Village, Los Angeles County Bar Association, February 20, 2014 (speaker).
2012
- Clean Water And Stormwater in Southern California, Law Seminars International, December 10, 2012 (program co-chair and speaker).
- The Attorneys’ Perspective on Civil Cost Recovery Actions, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Fire Investigators’ Conference, February 22, 2012 (all-day speaker).
2010
- So You Think It Never Rains in Southern California? An Update on Municipal, Construction, And Industrial Enforcement and Compliance, Los Angeles County Bar Association, June 17, 2010 (speaker).
2009
- Rialto Basin Perchlorate Groundwater Dispute, California Water Law Conference, Water Law Institute, November 5, 2009 (speaker).
2008
- Investigate, Remediate, Compensate: The Keys to Federal and State Cleanups, Los Angeles County Bar Association, April 17, 2008 (speaker).
2006
- Clean Water Act: Empower the People Workshop #3, Santa Monica Baykeeper, September 20, 2006 (speaker).
2005
- Parenthood and the Practice of Law, Part II, Los Angeles County Bar Association, April 7, 2005 (moderator).
- Storm Water Permitting in California: Strategies for Keeping Your Municipality, Agency or Business in Compliance, Lorman Education Services, March 30, 2005 (panelist).
- “Jennifer Novak: Finding Balance In Everything,” Nice Guys on Business podcast, April 22, 2024.
- Inland Empire Waterkeeper v. Corona Clay Co., 17 F.4th 825 (9th Cir. 2021)
- Arconic v. APC Investment, 969 F.3d 945 (9th Cir. 2020)
- Natural Resources Defense Council v. County of Los Angeles, 673 F.3d 880 (9th Cir. 2011), reversed 1/8/13 on other grounds.
- City of Arcadia v. State Water Resources Control Bd. (2010) 191 Cal.App.4th 156
- County of Los Angeles v. Commission on State Mandates (2007) 150 Cal.App.4th 898
- County of Los Angeles v. California State Water Resources Control Bd. (2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 985
- Shamsian v. Department of Conservation (2006) 136 Cal.App.4th 621
- City of Rancho Cucamonga v. Regional Water Quality Control Bd. – Santa Ana Region (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 1377
Megan S. Meadows
Senior Attorney
Megan Meadows has been practicing in California for more than 18 years and with the firm for more than 8 years. She recognizes and values the need for creative and sustainable solutions for clients.
Megan ran track at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was featured as a subject in the 2007 documentary “A Lawyer Walks into a Bar” which won the Grand Jury Prize at South by Southwest.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — 1998
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles — 2006American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Law, The Year in Review 2023: Clean Water Act Section 505 - Water Quality and Wetlands Committee Report-Update on Standing in Citizen Suits.
California Lawyers Association, The Practitioner, Solo and Small Firm, Vol. 29, Issue 1, Spring 2023, The Heart of the Matter: How the Heart and Brain Cooperate for Both Good and Bad (Co-author)
California Lawyers Association, The Practitioner, Solo and Small Firm, Vol. 29, Issue 2, Summer 2023: "Can Ignorance Ever Be A Legal Defense? What You Don't Know Might Protect You From Environmental Liabilities (With Caveats, Of Course)" (Co-Author)
American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Law, The Year in Review 2022: Clean Water Act Section 505- Water Quality and Wetlands Committee report-Update on Standing in Citizen Suits
American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Law, The Year in Review 2021: Clean Water Act Section 505- Water Quality and Wetlands Committee report-Update on Standing in Citizen Suits
California Lawyers Association, The Practitioner, Solo and Small Firm, Vol. 26, Issue 2, Winter 2020. Getting Clients in the Door: How a Client Can Find the Door Even When It's Off the Beaten Path
2023
- L.A. City Civil Rights Department, L.A. Law Day (speaker)
- What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You: How Environmental Law Can Help Your Practice, Riverside County Bar Association, May 9, 2023 (co-presenter)
2022
- What Is Environmental Law and How It Might Help Your (Yes, Your!) Own Practice, California Lawyers Association Solo & Small Firm Section, May 18, 2022 (co-presenter)
2020
- Eye on the Prize: How We Use Standards of Review to Negotiate Environmental Law Disputes and Play the Long Game in Case of Government Overreach, Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Monthly Brown Bag Series, 11/17/20 (co-presenter)
Nichole Fandino
Attorney
Nichole, a Southern California native, holds a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy, and has been with the firm since 2023. Before coming to the firm, she gained invaluable experience through internships with key environmental law entities
Following her time there, she continued her commitment to environmental law by working with Los Angeles Deputy City Attorneys in the Environmental Protection Unit.
Her unique understanding and respect for a public attorney’s perspectives and goals enable her to collaborate effectively in ways that benefit our clients.
Nichole’s journey into environmental law stemmed from her background as a scientist. Her experience in the scientific realm and time in the public sector led her to the realization that she wanted to be at the forefront of guiding companies through the intricate landscape of environmental laws. She believes that environmental law provides a platform to show individuals and businesses that compliance and efficient resolution of matters can lead to profits or significant cost savings by reducing penalties and legal fees.
When Nichole is not at work, she enjoys playing basketball at the gym and always looks forward to the chance to explore a new country or visit her parent’s homeland in Colombia.
Vermont Law School, J.D.
Vermont Law School, MELP (Master of Environmental Law and Policy)
California State University at Monterey Bay, B.S. BiologyAmerican Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Law, The Year in Review 2023: Clean Water Act Section 404 - Water Quality and Wetlands Committee report - Update on WOTUS and Wetlands.
Demetria Mantalis
Attorney
Demetria Mantalis has been with the firm since 2022. She graduated magna cum laude from Pace University in New York City, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies with a focus on politics.
Demetria pursued her passion for law at Loyola Law School, graduating in 2024. During her time there, she volunteered at the LA Mission's legal clinic, providing valuable assistance to underserved communities. Her journey into environmental law was shaped by her upbringing near a formerly radioactive site, sparking a commitment to addressing environmental challenges through legal advocacy.
Outside of her professional pursuits, Demetria enjoys capturing moments through photography, exploring nature on hiking adventures, and curling up with a great book.
Yolande Venter
Financial Director
Jaliyah Samuels
Paralegal
