Between managing the development of a solar power project company, ice climbing in Vermont, and even some casual sous chef-ing at a local farm-to-table restaurant, former Crag Law Clerk Jordana Jusidman found some time to reflect on her experience clerking with Crag Law Center in 2010.
Jordana Jusidman has dedicated her life’s work to a healthy global ecology. She began this pursuit with her academic career, which started at the University of California, Davis. She studied International Relations with a concentration in Global Health Environments and Natural Resources with a second major in Spanish. After earning her degree, she continued on to earn a Juris Doctorate at the Vermont Law School. During her third year of law school she sought out a position supporting an environmental law firm that would be client focused, but also interest driven. Her research brought her to Crag Law Center in the Pacific Northwest!
While working at Crag, Jordana got her hands dirty with two main legal projects. In one, she was able to help set the foundation for the legal protection of agricultural land in Yamhill County through her work with land use regulation through Measure 49. Her assistance helped protect wild, undeveloped land from the hands of unsustainable developers. She also was given to opportunity to assist with the development of climate change litigation strategy by working to find potential plaintiffs and jurisdictions to hold as examples of the Public Trust Doctrine. She motivated the public behind the doctrine through proactive grassroots outreach.
Some critical advice she received from a Crag staff attorney stuck with her throughout her career: “under promise, over perform.” She felt as though this attitude toward good hard work was reflected in Crag Law Center staff. Jordana felt she received a mentoring experience that was unmatched by other law firms that she clerked for.
The work ethics that Jordana admired in her Crag mentors is reflected in her career with the the company GroSolar, located in Vermont. GroSolar develops commercial scale solar energy projects for a wide variety of consumers, and Jordana has taken on the duty of organizing and developing processes necessary for this green company to flourish. Using the skills from her legal background, she is also able to act informally as in-house counsel to help navigate through permit issues, contracts, etc.
When outside of the office you can find Jordana working hard in the Vermont rock climbing crags, or spending time with Ryan, one of her three domesticated chickens. Jordana also cuts stress by chopping sustainably grown veggies. She works as a sous-chef at a local Vermont restaurant when they need extra hands. It is clear that Jordana fully embodies the good intentioned, hard working philosophy she was inspired by while working at Crag Law Center.
Kady J. Tucker is a legal assistant at Evans & Evans, P.C. and volunteers with Crag’s Development and Communications team. She holds a Bachelors in Political Sciences from U.C. Santa Barbara and enjoys spending her free time hiking and enjoying the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest.