Janice Schneider

Practice Areas

Janice M. Schneider is Global Co-Chair of the Environment, Land & Resources Practice. She draws on more than 30 years of experience on environmental and natural resource issues.

Prior to rejoining Latham, Ms. Schneider served as Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management for the US Department of the Interior where she oversaw four Interior Department agencies: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), including more than 12,000 employees and a combined budget of US$1.5 billion. As Assistant Secretary, she oversaw the Department’s management and use of federal lands, waters, and mineral and non-mineral resources on about 245 million acres of federal surface lands, 700 million acres of federal mineral interests, and the 1.7 billion acre Outer Continental Shelf, successfully completing an extensive array of agency rules and initiatives. She was confirmed by the US Senate in May 2014.

Prior to joining the US Department of the Interior, Ms. Schneider was a partner in Latham’s Environment, Land & Resources Department, served as Chair of the department in Washington, D.C., and served as Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Project Siting & Approvals Practice where she handled a broad range of matters in federal court and before federal agencies, members of Congress, and its staff. Before that she served as Counselor to the Deputy Secretary of Interior, a trial attorney at the US Department of Justice in the Wildlife Section, and in the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor in the Division of Indian Affairs and the Honors Program.

Her experience includes:

• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

• Endangered Species Act (ESA) and other wildlife laws

• Federal Land Policy and Management Act and National Forest Management Act

• Mineral Leasing Act

• Mining laws

• Clean Water Act

• Tribal and cultural resource issues

• Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA)

Ms. Schneider has extensive experience guiding clients to successful outcomes in the energy development sector both onshore and offshore, including renewable solar and wind energy, hydropower, oil and gas, coal, pipeline and transmission line development, licensing, operation, and compliance; the minerals and mining sector; and public land, national forest, American Indian land, national wildlife refuge, and national park use and management.

Ms. Schneider is a first-chair litigator and is well versed in federal policy development and legislative and regulatory activities, including working effectively with states and local government and industry, tribal, and non-governmental stakeholders; analysis and drafting of legislative language and testimony; preparing and commenting on rules; and other agency initiatives. She is a frequent public speaker and has testified before Congress numerous times.

Before entering the legal field, Ms. Schneider worked for six years as a biologist and consultant with the National Park Service, University of Miami, Florida Department of Transportation, and a private firm.