Team
Megan provides counsel on issues regarding environmental, natural resources and coastal law, as well as administrative, governmental, and constitutional law. She has represented clients on a wide array of issues, including federal and state project permitting, regulatory, and enforcement matters; environmental, coastal restoration, and resilience issues; mitigation and ecosystem banking; land use and conservation easements; climate law, including carbon sequestration and renewable energy projects; and federal and state governmental and legislative matters. Megan has served in multiple roles including as a project manager and facilitator through the planning, financing, and regulatory processes for infrastructure and restoration projects. She also represents clients in administrative and judicial litigation.
Megan’s experience includes working for the Louisiana Department of Justice, where she served as lead in-house counsel for the State of Louisiana during the Deepwater Horizon disaster and subsequent litigation (In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, MDL No. 2179) and natural resource damage assessment. She has also represented the State of Louisiana and several state agencies, boards, and commissions, including the Louisiana Departments of Environmental Quality; Natural Resources; Wildlife and Fisheries; Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
She also served as Deputy Director and Legal Advisor for the Governor’s Office – Coastal Activities where she developed, reviewed, and coordinated with federal, state, and local officials and stakeholders with respect to funding and implementation of integrated coastal protection projects, and with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and other federal cooperating agencies for the Louisiana coastal restoration projects on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. She has assisted in the implementation of coastal restoration projects pursuant to the Deepwater Horizon Consent Decree and coordinated with the Natural Resource Trustees. Megan also worked with the Louisiana Legislature and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to establish Louisiana’s Natural Resource Damages Restoration Banking Program.
Megan has lectured as Guest Faculty for the Seton Hall Law School BP Oil Spill Program (2012 and 2013) and has presented extensively on other matters related to coastal protection and restoration, the Deepwater Horizon litigation and subsequent settlement, natural resource damage restoration banking, public and private financing for coastal restoration.
Awards/Recognitions
- Best Lawyers in American, Environmental Litigation (2023)
- Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Coastal Stewardship Award (2018)
Publications & Presentations
- Blue Carbon in Louisiana: Who Will Get the Credits and When, Moderator, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, State of the Coast Conference, New Orleans, La. (2023)
- Coastal Planning, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and Environmental Justice, Co-Chair, The Seminar Group, Coastal Law in Louisiana, New Orleans, LA (2022)
- Restoration Banking – An Idea Whose Time has Come, Panelist, Law Seminars International, Ecosystem Restoration (2021)
- Emerging Legal Conflicts: Future Settlement Potential and Framework for Coastal Landloss Lawsuits, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, State of the Coast Conference, New Orleans, La. (2021)
- Project Proponent and Agency Talk on FAST-41 Benefits & FAST-41 Q&AP, Panelist – FAST-41: Your Tailored Roadmap for Infrastructure Project Permitting, First Annual Stakeholder Engagement Forum, Washington, D.C. (2019)
- Coastal Project Development – Public and Private, Faculty, The Seminar Group, Coastal Law in Louisiana, New Orleans, La. (2019)
- FAST-41 and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council: Progress to Date and Next Steps, Testimony before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, Washington, D.C., June 27, 2018
- Private Investment in Coastal Restoration, Faculty, The Seminar Group, Coastal Law in Louisiana, New Orleans, La. (2018)
- Coastal Restoration and Streamlining the Federal Permitting Process, Presenter, Louisiana State Bar Association, Environmental Law Section Annual Seminar, New Orleans, La. (2018)
- Financing the Future: Identifying Funding Options for Coastal Restoration and Adaptation Plans, Panelist, Restore America’s Estuaries 8th National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restoration and 25th Biennial Meeting of the Coastal Society, New Orleans, La. (2016)
- BP Oil Spill Program, Guest Faculty, Seton Hall Law School, New Orleans Winter Study Session, New Orleans, La. (2012 and 2013)
- Litigation in the Gulf: Enforcement Update, Panelist, ABA Section of Litigation and Criminal Justice, Miami, Fl. (2011)
- Gulf Oil Spill Litigation, Panelist, ABA Toxic Torts and Environmental Law, Santa Fe, NM, (2011)
- Natural Resource Damages: The State and NOAA Step Forward, Presenter, 12th Annual Environmental Conference on Law, Science and the Public Interest, Tulane University School of Law, New Orleans, La. (2007)
- Lingering Relevance of the Coastal Zone Management Act to Energy Development in our Nation’s Coastal Waters. 24 Tul. Envtl. L.J. 73 (Kalen, Seidemann, Wilkins, Terrell) (2010)
- How Do We Deal With This Mess? A Primer for State and Local Governments on Navigating the Legal Complexities of Debris Issues Following Mass Disasters, 61(4) University of Miami Law Review 1135 (2007) (Seidemann, Terrell, and Matchett)
