Practice Areas: Environmental Litigation, Environmental, Alternative Dispute Resolution; view more
Licensed in California since: 2004
Education: Boston University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2020 - 2025 Details
Summer Nastich is the founder of Nastich Law APC, where she focuses her practice primarily on environmental litigation. From the firm's offices in Berkeley, California, she represents businesses and individuals throughout the state. Admitted to practice before all California state courts since 2004, Ms. Nastich is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern and Central Districts of California.
Ms. Nastich has represented owners and other potentially responsible parties in matters involving site remediation, hazardous substance release reporting, hazardous materials handling compliance, and cost recovery. She has worked on their behalf in cases overseen by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, and county agencies. Ms. Nastich provides advice and counsel to her clients regarding the federal and state Superfund laws, i.e., the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act and the California Hazardous Substance Account Act, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act, the federal Clean Water Act, and myriad other environmental laws.
Ms. Nastich also has a land use practice regularly assists clients with the preparation and review of commercial and construction contracts, and in litigation when the work goes awry. Her superior track record in all of these endeavors has earned her a great deal of recognition from her fellow attorneys, including a 10.0 "Superb" peer review rating through Avvo.
Ms. Nastich attended Humboldt State University as an undergraduate and in 1997 she received three bachelor's degrees in biology, zoology and oceanography, respectively, and she was inducted into The Phi Kappa Phi academic honor society. She then went on to pursue her legal education at Boston University School of Law and was awarded her Juris Doctor cum laude in 2003. After that she continued her education at the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering.
Practice areas
Environmental Litigation, Environmental, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Land Use/Zoning- 30% Environmental Litigation
- 30% Environmental
- 20% Alternative Dispute Resolution
- 20% Land Use/Zoning
First Admitted: 2004, California
Professional Webpage: http://www.nastichlaw.com/about/
Bar/Professional Activity:
- United States District Courts for the Eastern Districts of California
- Trustee, The Berkeley School Board of Trustees, 2011 - 2014
- United States District Courts for the Central Districts of California
- United States District Courts for the Northern Districts of California
- Admitted to the California Bar Association, 2004
- California
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Pro bono work through the Volunteer Legal Services Corporation (the pro bono arm of the Alameda County Bar Association); Wiley E. Manual Certificate recipient (for the provision of pro bono legal services to indigent clients) 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014
- St. Baldrick’s Foundation Shave-a-Thon fund-raising event participant, 2014 and 2017
- Role player, LaMOrinda Police and Emergency Medical Services active shooter response training (2014 and 2016)
- Barbells for Boobs fund-raising participant, 2015
- Co-Chair (2016-Current), Vice Chair (2015–2016), Member (2014–2016), Alameda County Bar Environmental Law Executive Committee
- Arbitrator for the California State Bar Association Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program (pro bono), 2015-Current
- Volunteer Judge, Empire Mock Trial International High School Mock Trial Competition, October 2018
- Arbitrator for the State Bar Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program
- Volunteer Legal Services Corporation Pro bono attorney
Educational Background:
- University of California, Berkeley, Masters in Environmental Engineering, December 2004
- Humboldt State University, Bachelor of Science degrees; Oceanography, Biology, and Zoology, all awarded May 1998. Honors: Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honor Society, Presidential Scholar (4-semesters), Recognition of Achievement from Speech Communication Department.
- University of Guam (Spring 1994 on exchange), Honors: Academic Honor Roll
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Water Rights Law and Water Quality Laws, HalfMoon Education Seminars, August 2015
- Contracting Basics, guest speaker at the American Academy of Art, July 2014
- A Primer on the Law of Health Care Waste Disposal, Orange County Bar Health Care Section, November 2014
- Risks and Opportunities For Fiduciaries Under the Environmental Laws, Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC), annual conference, June 2016 and April 2015, similar presentations given to the San Mateo, Sonoma, and Silicon Valley PFAC Chapters at various times in 2015, 2016, and 2018
- Rehabilitating Contaminated Sources, part of the Finding New Water seminar, Law Seminars International, October 2015
- Biennial Reporting Deadline Approaching: How to Comply With Your Requirements Under The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, BLR Seminar, October 2015
- Litigating under the Environmental Laws, as guest speaker in the Real Estate Litigation Seminar at the University of San Francisco School of Law, March 2016 and 2017
- Water Laws, Regulations and Recent Developments, HalfMoon Education Seminars, May 2018 and October 2017
- EHS on Tap E07: Navigating the Proposed Pharmaceutical Rule (podcast), Released August 31, 2016 (available for download on iTunes and Stormcloud)
- CERCLA Actions and Statute of Limitations: Navigating the Circuit Split, Lessons From Recent Decisions, Stafford Webinars, February 2017
- Introduction to Environmental Law: Avoid the Boom, Alameda County Bar Association, February 2017
- California Water Law!, Berkeley/Albany Bar Association Lunchtime Lecture Series, May 2018
- Questioning The Marriage Assumptions: The Justifications For “Opposite-sex Only” Marriage As Support For The Abolition Of Marriage, 21 L. & INEQ. J. 115 (Winter, 2003)
- Moderator, The Trump Administration’s Environmental Policies and Actions: Sound policy, impending disaster, neither, or both?, a presentation of the Alameda County Bar Association’s Environmental Law Executive Committee, September 26, 2018
- Indemnity Provisions for Environmental Liability: The Devil is in the Contractual Details, ABA Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Newsletter (2013) (with Diane R. Smith)
- And You Thought It Was Safe To Get Back In The Real Estate Market! Cooper v. Aviall, Orange County Lawyer Magazine, May 2005 (with Diane R. Smith)
- Can You Trust A Trust? The Potential CERCLA Liability of Trustee and Beneficiaries, 23 J. ENVTL. LAW & LITIG, 401 (2008) (with Diane R. Smith)
- There’s Got To Be A Better Way: Satisfying the Public Participation Requirements of the NCP in the Internet Age, ABA Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Newsletter, Volume 13, Issue 1, page 15 (January 2011) (with Diane R. Smith and Maxy Rush Otuteye)
- Minimizing the Risk Buying or Leasing “Environmentally Challenged” Property: New Developments, Orange County Lawyer Magazine, May 2013 (with Diane R. Smith)
- Paulek v. California Department of Water Resources — Cal.Rptr.2d —- 2014 WL 5499844 Challenges to EIRs Are Easy to Make, But Hard to Win, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, January 2015
- Children are Like Diamonds: Forever. Only, More Expensive, Alameda County Bar Association Newsletter, May 17, 2013
- ASARCO Decisions Offer Lessons for the Environmental Practitioner, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, September 2014
- Fifth Circuit Rules for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in Whooping Cranes Matter, Morris, Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, September 2014
- Ninth Circuit Issues a Head-Shaker in a Clean Air Act Permitting Case Supporting EPA’s Failures, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, October 2014
- A California Court Finds That Payments for an Attorney’s Time Are Not ‘Attorney Fees’ but ‘Costs and Expenses’, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, November 2014
- Court Wrestles with Issues of Causation and the Associated Burden of Proof in Two-Site CERCLA Actions in Asarco LLC v. Cemex, Inc. — F.Supp.2d (W.D. Tex. 2014) WL 2112121, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, November 2014
- Utah District Court Finds Prairie Dogs Stand in the Way of Progress, OKs Obliterating Them, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, January 2015
- Louisiana District Court Lets One of the Deepwater Horizon Parties Off Easy With a Penalty of $159,000,000, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, February 2016
- Touch a Hazardous Substance, Worry About CERCLA Liability, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, February 2015
- Little Hocking Water Association, Inc. v. E.I. Du Ponte de Nemours and Company Determines Some Issues Where the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, and the and the Clean Air Act Meet in a Way That May Make it Easier for Plaintiffs to Prevail on Certain Claims, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, April 2015
- Is It or Is It Not a Water of the United States? A Complex Issue that Both Provides for Federal Jurisdiction and Bars Such a Jurisdiction Claim, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, April 2015
- In the Service of Kings, Court Pulls Some of CEQA’s Teeth, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, June 2015
- Allegations of a Discharge to Navigable Water Plus Allegations of an Injury Equals a Possible Clean Water Act Citizen Suit, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, July 2015.
- Goldfarb v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore Offers Guidance for RCRA Citizen Suits, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, August 2015
- Ninth Circuit Requires EPA to Apply Scientific Studies Supporting Its Actions in Regulating Honeybee Pesticide, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, December 2015
- Chapter 1, Toxic Tort Litigation Involving Personal Injury; Chapter 2, Toxic Tort Litigation Involving Property Damage; Chapter 3, Superfund Litigation; Chapter 4, Proposition 65 Litigation; Chapter 5, Insurance Coverage Litigation; Chapter 6, Citizen Suits; Chapter 10, Bankruptcy Considerations; Chapter 11, Environmental Terms, Thompson Reuters/West, Co-author, California Civil Practice: Environmental Law and Litigation, Environmental Lawyers, Litigation Attorneys
- Summary Judgment for a CERCLA Contribution Defendant—is it Appropriate Action When Their Share of Liability is 0%? Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, February 2016
- Your Expert is Your Case: Choose Wisely, or Don’t Bother (The Cautionary Tale of Department of Toxic Substances Control v. Technichem, Inc.), Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, March 2016
- California Supreme Court Tells California State University Board of Trustees, “No, You Can’t Just Make Other Public Entities Pay for Your Stuff,” Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, March 2016
- Ninth Circuit Issues Wild Romp Through Esoteric but Key Aspect of CERCLA in Whittaker Corp. v. United States (2016 WL 3244838), Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, June 2016
- Supreme Court Confirms Immediate Judicial Review of Approved Jurisdictional Wetland Delineations, Morris Polich & Purdy LLP Environmental Law Newsletter, June 2016
- New EPA Rule on Hazardous Pharma Waste: Overview on EPA’s new rule for management of hazardous pharmaceutical wastes at healthcare facilities, including how individuals can help eliminate pharmaceuticals in the environment, Alameda County Bar Association Environmental Law Executive Committee Newsletter, January 2017
Industry Groups:
- Chemical
- Developers
- Heavy Industry
- Oil
- Operators
- Property Owners
- Real Estate
Selections
6 Years Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers: 2020 - 2025
