Crag is excited to welcome two new young lawyers onto our staff as legal fellows: Maura Fahey & Oliver Stiefel. Both began working at Crag in October.
Maura Fahey
Maura joins the Crag Law Center staff through a legal fellowship program sponsored in part by Lewis & Clark Law School. She received her JD with a certificate in environmental and natural resources law in 2013.So far, Maura has been working on a variety of cases with Crag staff attorneys including challenges to projects involving NEPA and forest plan requirements, endangered species litigation, Clean Water Act enforcement and challenges to local land use decisions. Maura is a member of the Oregon State Bar and is currently preparing to sit for the Washington Bar in Winter 2014.
Maura was already familiar face around the Crag office, having interned with Crag Law Center during law school. As a Crag intern, Maura had the opportunity to argue a case in front of the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. She also gained experience through work with the Northwest Environmental Defense Center and Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark.
In her free time, Maura enjoys skiing, hiking, running, snowshoeing, and exploring all the wonder the Pacific Northwest has to offer. She also tries to make time for travel and improving her musical talents on the banjo.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to begin my legal career working at Crag Law Center. The Crag staff have all been terrific mentors to me first as a law student and now as a member of the non-profit legal community and a new lawyer. I look forward to the valuable training and experience I will gain in the coming months.”
Oliver Stiefel
Oliver joins Crag through a legal fellowship sponsored by University of Washington, where he recently earned his J.D. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Oliver is happy to return home after spending a decade in Washington.
Oliver is a member of the Oregon State Bar. With Crag he is working primarily on a case protecting Mt. Hood’s fragile alpine environment and watershed resources. He also provides support on other cases involving NEPA, forest management, endangered species, and clean water.
While in law school, Oliver worked for legal counsel to the Washington House of Representatives and also did an externship with a Washington Court of Appeals Judge, learning about appellate law and procedure and about rafting through Hells Canyon (where he spent a week rowing a gear boat for the Judge). He also worked for Washington Forest Law Center on public interest environmental law cases, and was inspired to continue this work.
Outside of work, Oliver enjoys spending time with his wife when she’s not at the hospital (she’s a medical resident); together they like to backpack, cook, snowshoe, fly fish, kayak, travel, trail run, snowboard, play soccer, and spend time with family and friends.
“I’m thrilled to be part of the Crag team, learning from talented attorneys who have a fantastic track record of winning cases to preserve clean air and water, promote species recovery, and protect great communities.”
Read Maura & Oliver’s full bios on our Staff Page.