Gregory S. Weber
Professor of Law
Director, Institute for Sustainable Development
A.B., Williams College
J.D., University of California, Hastings
E-mail Professor Weber
Tel: 916.739.7228
Professor Weber clerked for Justice Edmond Burke (Alaska Supreme Court, Anchorage). He practiced for two years with Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, a leading firm regarding California water resources. From 1988-90, Professor Weber was a senior attorney for the California Court of Appeal, Third District, in Sacramento. He was a co-founder, along with Professor George Gould, of the California Water Law and Policy Reporter. His credits include water law articles published in the Santa Clara Law Review, the Pacific Law Journal, the Natural Resources Journal, and the Arizona State Law Journal. He is also the co-author of California Civil Discovery and of The Law of Hazardous Wastes and Toxic Substances in a Nutshell (the latter with Professor John Sprankling). Professor Weber is an Associate of the Center for Collaborative Policy, a joint project of California State University, Sacramento and Pacific McGeorge. At the Center, he helps mediate, and does research on complex policy-developing collaborations of public and private shareholders.
Courses: Alternative Dispute Resolution | Civil Procedure | Water Law
Curriculum Vitae:
EDUCATION:
J.D. , Magna Cum Laude, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco , CA (1985).
Class Rank: Top 1%. Order of the Coif.
Hastings L. J. , Volume 36, Editor.
A.B. , Magna Cum Laude, Williams College, Williamstown, MA (1979). Phi Beta Kappa.
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:
Professor of Law , University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento, CA (1990-present).
Director and Co-Founder , Pacific McGeorge Institute for Sustainable Development (Fall 2003-present).
Visiting Professor of Law , University of California, Davis (Spring 1997).
LEGAL PRACTICE EXPERIENCE:
Senior Attorney , California Court of Appeal, Third District, Sacramento, CA (1988-1990). Served first as the court's Expedited Appeals attorney. Later served as personal attorney to Justice Rodney Davis.
Associate Attorney , Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, Sacramento, CA (1986-1988). Practiced in Natural Resources and Public Agencies Departments. Represented public agencies and private parties in water resources and environmental law matters.
Judicial Clerk , Hon. Edmond Burke, Alaska Supreme Court, Anchorage, AK (1985-1986).
Summer Associate , Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Stromberg, San Francisco, CA (Summer 1984).
Summer Associate , Kroloff, Belcher, Smart, Perry & Christopherson, Stockton, CA (Summer 1983).
DISPUTE RESOLUTION & FACILITATION EXPERIENCE:
Facilitator, Sessions on Terrorism, and Peace and Justice, Brandeis Institute for International Judges 2006 ( Dakar, Senegal) (January 4 & 6, 2006). Facilitated workshop sessions for 18 judges from 9 international courts, commissions and tribunals.
Facilitator , Forest Stewardship Council, Bonn, Germany (Current). As a pro-bono project for the Institute for Sustainable Development at Pacific McGeorge, facilitating a stakeholder-led review and revision of the internal dispute resolution processes for an international non-governmental organization dedicated to sustainable forestry. Have made presentations and led workshops on the project in Manaus, Brazil (Dec. 2005) and Bonn, German (Sept. 2004).
Instructor, Plea Bargaining and Alternative Dispute Resolution in Criminal Processes, Training Session for Chilean Prosecutors and Defenders ( Sacramento, CA) (January and February 2004) and ( Santiago, Chile) (December 2004). Co-led four, two-day workshops on negotiation skills for approximately 40 Chilean lawyers.
Facilitator, Session on Judicial Independence, Brandeis Institute for International Judges 2004 ( Salzburg, Austria) (July 1, 2004). Facilitated morning workshop for 14 judges from 8 international courts, commissions and tribunals.
Facilitator, Session on Judicial Ethics, Brandeis Institute for International Judges 2003 ( Salzburg, Austria) (July 24, 2003). Facilitated day-long workshop on ethics for 14 judges from 9 international courts, commissions and tribunals. Planned session and helped develop materials.
Senior Mediator/Facilitator , Center for Collaborative Policy (formerly the California Center for Public Dispute Resolution) ( Sacramento, CA) (1998-present). Provide facilitation and mediation services. Facilitated 60-member public Advisory Committee to California Department of Water Resources on a collaborative update to the State Water Plan. Facilitated 20 member exploratory process of the Sacramento Community Collaborative for Transportation and Air Quality. Trained by Susan Carpenter & Susan Sherry.
Consultant , Forest Stewardship Council , Oaxaca, Mexico (Spring 2000). With two colleagues, investigated and reported on a dispute involving the setting of regional standards for sustainable forestry in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Co-authored 100 page report, with over 100 specific findings and conclusions.
Consultant , Forest Stewardship Council , Oaxaca, Mexico (Winter 1997-1998). While on sabbatical leave, developed a dispute resolution protocol for a multi-national Non Governmental Organization that promotes sustainable development standards for forests and forest products. Won Board of Directors approval of protocol.
PUBLICATIONS:
Author , Assessing the Opportunities for a Collaborative Approach to Colorado River Delta Ecosystem Restoration, Pac. McGeorge Global Business & Development L. J. (forthcoming, Spring 2006).
Coauthor , George Gould, Douglas Grant & Gregory Weber, Cases and Materials on Water Law (7 th Ed.) (West, 2005).
Coauthor , James Hogan & Gregory Weber, California Civil Discovery (2 nd Ed.) (Lexis/Nexis, 2005).
Coauthor, Stephen McCaffrey & Gregory Weber, Guidebook for Policy and Legislative Development on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Freshwater Resources, United Nations Environmental Programme (2005).
Author, Needling the Thread: A Moderator’s Guide to Freedom of Speech Limitations on Government Sponsored Web-Based Threaded Discussions , 8 Computer L. Rev. & Tech. J. 323 (2004).
Author , The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, in Major Acts of Congress, Brian K. Landsberg, ed. (Macmillan Reference 2003)
Author,Potential Innovations in Civil Discovery: Lessons for California from the State and Federal Courts, 32 Pac. L. J. 1051 (Spring 2001).
Coauthor , John Sprankling & Gregory Weber, The Law of Hazardous Wastes & Toxic Substances in a Nutshell (West, 1997).
Coauthor , James Hogan & Gregory Weber, California Civil Discovery (Bancroft-Whitney, 1996) (Annually supplemented).
Author , Articulating the Public Trust: Text, Near-Text, and Context, 27 Ariz. St. L.J. 1155 (1995).
Author , The Role of Environmental Law in the California Water Allocation and Use System: An Overview, 25 Pac. L. J. 908 (1994).
Author , Forging a More Coherent Groundwater Policy in California: State and Federal Constitutional Challenges to Local Groundwater Regulation, 34 Santa Clara L. Rev. 373 (1994).
Author , Twenty Years of Local Groundwater Export Legislation in California: Lessons from a Patchwork Quilt, 34 Natural Resources J. 657 (1994).
Author, The Endangered Species Act: New Weapon Enters Sixty Year Fish Fight , 3 Rivers 276 (1992).
Author, The Delta: Crossroads for California's Water Future , 9 A Journal 57 ( Williams College Center for Envir. Studies, 1992).
Founding & Contributing Editor , California Water Law & Policy Reporter, Vol. 1 through Vol. 2, No. 1. Contributed approximately 30 unattributed articles on recent developments in California Water Law.
Coauthor , Weber & Schulz, "Changing Judicial Attitudes Towards Property Rights in California Water," 19 Pac. L. J. 1031 (1988).
Coauthor , Brazil & Weber, "Discovery," Encyclopedia of the Judicial System, Charles Scribner's Sons (1988).
PRESENTATIONS & CONFERENCES:
Organizer , The Business of Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities for Multinational Business Enterprises, Pacific McGeorge Institute for Sustainable Development, February 24-25, 2006.
Rapporteur , Brandeis Institute for International Judges 2006 ( Dakar, Senegal, January 2006).
Organizer , Transboundary Freshwater Ecosystem Restoration: The Role of Law, Process & Lawyers, Pacific McGeorge Institute for Sustainable Development, February 18-19, 2005.
Presentation , Assessing the Opportunities for a Collaborative Approach to Colorado River Delta Ecoysystem Restoration, Pacific McGeorge Institute for Sustainable Development, February 19, 2005.
Rapporteur , Brandeis Institute for International Judges 2004 ( Salzburg, Austria, July 2004).
Speaker, Negotiated Rulemaking and California, Sacramento County Bar Ass’n, Environmental Law Section (October 7, 2003).
Rapporteur , Brandeis Institute for International Judges 2003 ( Salzburg, Austria, July 2003).
Speaker, Encouraging Negotiated Rulemaking in California, Sacramento County Bar Ass’n, Administrative Law Section (April 28, 2003)
Presentation, Potential Innovations in Civil Discovery: Lessons for California from the State and Federal Courts, California Law Revision Commission, Sacramento, CA (May 2002).
Speaker , “Public Trust Doctrine: How Administrators Rather than Courts are Clarifying the Doctrine,” 15th Annual Water Law Conference, American Bar Association, Section of Natural Resources, Energy & the Environment, San Diego, CA (Feb. 20, 1997).
Amicus Curiae , Baldwin v. County of Tehama, 36 Cal. Rptr. 2d 886 (Cal. Ct. App. 1994).
Speaker, "California Courts of Appeal: Standards of Review," California Center for Judicial Education and Research, 1993 Appellate Justices Institute, Palm Springs, CA (April 29, 1993).
Speaker, " California Groundwater Law and the Recent Proliferation of County Groundwater Ordinances," CLE International, " California Water Law" Seminar, San Francisco, CA (March 18, 1993).
Witness , "The California Environmental Quality Act," Joint Hearings of the California Legislature, Senate Committees on Judiciary, Local Government, Natural Resources, and others (January 12, 1993). Testified on proposals to streamline the California Environmental Quality Act.
Speaker , "Current Developments in California Water Law," CLE International, " California Water Law" Seminar, Los Angeles, CA (September 1991).
PUBLIC SERVICE:
Consultant , Forest Stewardship Council, Bonn, Germany (Current). As a pro-bono project for the Institute for Sustainable Development at Pacific/McGeorge, facilitating a stakeholder-led review and revision of the internal dispute resolution processes for an international non-governmental organization dedicated to sustainable forestry.
Researcher , Fondo Mundial Para La Naturaleza–Mexico (World Wildlife Fund) (Spring 1998). While on sabbatical leave, volunteered to research (in Spanish) Mexican land tenure, forest resources, and environmental law issues for a community of indigenous people in the Sierra Norte mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Consultant , Forest Stewardship Council , Oaxaca, Mexico (Winter 1997-1998). While on sabbatical leave, volunteered to develop a dispute resolution protocol for a multi-national Non Governmental Organization that promotes sustainable development standards for forests and forest products. Won Board of Directors approval of protocol.
Consultant , California Law Revision Commission, Administrative Rulemaking Project (1996-1997).
Commissioner & Vice Chair , Natural Resources Commission, City of Davis, CA (1993-1994). Advised the Mayor and City Council about natural resources and environmental issues affecting the City of Davis. Served on the Hazardous Waste Subcommittee, monitoring and reporting quarterly on the clean-up of a dozen hazardous waste sites in Davis, including two Superfund sites.
PERSONAL:
Born in Washington, D.C. Grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. Attended Bishop Ireton and T.C. Williams High Schools. Married to Sandra A. Spelliscy. Father of Alissa Spelliscy Weber and Hallie Spelliscy Weber. Love hiking, rollerblading, cross-country skiing, and spending summers along the shores of Kootenay Lake, near Nelson, British Columbia.
Language: Spanish (conversant).
Admitted to practice, State Bar of California (inactive).
Member: American Bar Association, Association of American Law Schools.
