Meredith E. Nikkel

Meredith Nikkel tackles water and environmental disputes with the discerning eye of a litigator and the innovative thinking of a strong problem solver.

Meredith’s practice addresses complex legal issues with novel solutions at all levels, from administrative proceedings before the State Water Resources Control Board to state and federal trial and appellate courts. Serving private and public entities, Meredith provides insightful analysis that achieves results.

She has successfully defended public agencies in civil and writ proceedings, settled multi-party groundwater disputes both informally and in court, and represented a broad group of water users in administrative and state court proceedings related to the California WaterFix project. She is currently defending contracts held by senior water right holders in a complex federal court case that involves multiple water user, environmental and federal government interests. Meredith also counsels water managers, boards of directors, and public agencies on surface and groundwater supply issues (including under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act), reclamation law, and compliance with environmental laws such as CEQA, NEPA, and the Endangered Species Act. Her past experience at the federal court of appeals and as a litigator at an international law firm give her the tenacity to untangle the most complicated legal issues, and the perspective to distill those issues effectively to achieve resolution.