Law Offices of Douglas Kemp Mertz

Curriculum Vitae

Occupation:

Attorney with a general civil practice emphasizing administrative law, environmental law, natural resource law, employment law, and Native American legal issues. Represents clients in all levels of state and federal court and before federal, state, and local administrative agencies.

Date of Birth:

January 1, 1949, in Albany, New York.

Education:

Yale University, B.A. Magna Cum Laude with High Honors, 1971; Phi Beta Kappa; Dean's Award for Outstanding Contribution to College.

Harvard Law School, J.D., 1974, emphasis on administrative and environmental law; co-chairman, Harvard Environmental Law Society; member, Environmental Protection Agency Youth Advisory Board.

Previous Employment History:

1980-1991: Assistant Attorney General, State of Alaska, Juneau. Served as legal counsel to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Natural Resources, with emphasis on pollution regulation (including air, water, and oil and hazardous substance matters) and oil pipeline regulation; reviewed legal advice by Department of Law attorneys on Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act and acted as advisor to boards and commissions regarding Ethics Act compliance; advisor to the Office of the Governor on legal matters regarding Native Americans. Duties consisted of a large litigation caseload, mostly in federal courts, including trial and appellate cases; and extensive advising of heads of state agencies, including the governor, attorney general, and commissioners of departments of environmental conservation and natural resources, as well as the state legislature. Duties also included drafting legislation and regulations on environmental and natural resource matters. Substantive areas of legal work included Oil Spill Laws, Executive Branch Ethics Act matters, air and water pollution abatement, hazardous substance laws, forestry, land use regulation, Native Alaskan governmental claims, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and related matters.

1977-1980: Chief Assistant Attorney General, State of Alaska, Fairbanks. In charge of office of the Alaska Department of Law with responsibility for civil law enforcement in interior and northern Alaska; supervised and managed a staff of thirteen attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and secretaries. Areas of emphasis: environmental and natural resource matters. Advised State Elections Division on various issues. Also served on the committee to revise the children's rules appointed by the Alaska Supreme Court.

1975-1977: Assistant Attorney General, State of Alaska, Fairbanks. Primarily a civil litigation caseload, with emphasis on child protection, delinquency, and consumer protection, with some white collar criminal litigation.

1974-1975: Law Clerk to Hon. Jay A. Rabinowitz, Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. Duties included legal research and preparation of memoranda on cases before the court, and revision of court rules.

1973: Legal intern, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY. Legal research and writing on environmental litigation issues.

1972: Legal Assistant to Hon. Harry Albright, Superintendent of Banks of the State of New York.

Publications:

The Role of the Anthropologist as an Expert Witness in Litigation, presented at Annual Conference of the Alaska Anthropological Association, 1994.

Oil Spills in Alaska: A Study of the State of Alaska's Implementation of Oil Spill Laws and Programs, prepared for the Alaska Citizens' Oversight Council on Oil and Other Hazardous Substances, 1991 [primary author and editor].

The Legal Relationship between Oil Spill Response Action Contractors and Other Parties to an Oil Spill, prepared for the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Committee, 1991.

Oil Spills: An Initial Response Manual for Attorneys General, National Association of Attorneys General, 1990 [primary author and editor].

Legal Contingency Planning for Oil Spills, Proceedings of the 1985 Oil Spill Conference, American Petroleum Institute, 1985 [co-author James S. Mattson, Ph.D.].

The Alaska Historic Preservation Act and Submerged Cultural Resources, Proceedings of the Alaska Marine Archaeology Workshop, Alaska Sea Grant Program, 1983 [co-author T. Herrick Robertson].

Additional professional qualifications:

Member of the bar of the State of Alaska, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Served on Area Discipline Hearing Committee and Area Fee Arbitration Committee, Alaska Bar Association; chair of local discipline hearing board.

Numerous seminars and continuing legal education courses in environmental, natural resources, and Native American law, including the following as a member of faculty:

1982 - Environmental Law Seminar - Anchorage, Alaska -[Alaska Bar Association] -[faculty: delivered presentation on "Alaska's Hazardous Waste Management Act: Enforcement Perspective"].

1983 - Alaskan Oil Spill Training Seminar - Juneau, Alaska - [Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation/U.S. Coast Guard] - [faculty: conducted training on legal aspects of oil spills for field personnel, including investigative techniques and evidence gathering].

1984 - Indian Law Seminar - Anchorage, Alaska - [Alaska Bar Association] - [faculty: delivered presentation on "Alaska Native sovereignty claims"].

1985 - Biennial Oil Spill Conference - Los Angeles, CA - [Environmental Protection Agency/U.S. Coast Guard/American Petroleum Institute] - [faculty: delivered paper and presentation on "Legal Contingency Planning for Oil Spills"].

1989 - Annual Coastal Pollution Conference - Newport, R.I. - [Environmental Protection Agency/National Association of Attorneys General] - [faculty: chaired and participated in panels on emergency legal responses to major oil spills and on natural resources damage assessment].

1989 - Annual Alaska Native Law Conference - Anchorage, Alaska - [Alaska Bar Association] - [faculty: delivered presentation on treatment of Alaskan Native sovereignty claims by Alaska state courts, participated in panel on federal and state court treatment of Native rights claims].

Personal information:

Member of Board of Directors of Juneau Montessori Center, 1989-1992; President of the Board, 1990-1992.

Member of Board of Directors of Fairbanks (AK) Community Mental Health Center, 1978-80; vice-president of the board, 1979-80.

Member of the Corporation, American Friends Service Committee, 1995-present.

Married, one child; licensed pilot; certified scuba diver.

Natural Resource and Environmental Law - Native American Legal Issues - Employee Rights Law

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