Roger J. Marzulla

Early History/Schooling:  Roger Joseph Marzulla was born in Glendale, California.  Marzulla received his bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University in 1968 and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 1971.

Tenure as AAG:  In 1983 Roger joined the Justice Department as Special Litigation Counsel.  He was subsequently promoted to Deputy Assistant Attorney General and, in 1987, was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.  At the Justice Department, Roger helped create litigation strategies for government programs as diverse as Superfund, the Clean Air Act, off-shore oil leasing, environmental crimes, federal facility clean-up, wetlands, endangered species and hazardous waste enforcement, as well as Presidential Order EO 12,630 (Government Interference with Private Property Rights).

Career:  As Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Roger learned firsthand the operations and litigation styles of his client agencies: EPA, Interior Department, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce.  In 1997, he co-founded Marzulla Law, where he brings to bear more than 35 years of expertise representing companies and individuals in industries as diverse as land and project development, aerospace, chemicals, oil and gas, mining, timber, manufacturing, computers, agriculture and water service.

Roger began his legal career as a trial lawyer in San Jose, California.  As a partner in Matthews & Marzulla he represented developers, title and construction companies, shopping centers, apartment owners and lenders in litigation throughout California.  In 1981 he moved to Denver to become President of Mountain States Legal Foundation, litigating environmental and natural resource cases across the West.  In 1989 Roger returned to private law practice, successively heading the environmental law practices of the Powell, Goldstein and Akin, Gump law firms.

As a partner in Marzulla Law, Roger has continued to represent corporate and business clients in a wide array of environmental and property issues in courts across the country, frequently in litigation against the United States.  He also assists clients in attaining compliance with environmental, health and safety regulation, and in avoiding risks in transactions.

Personal:  Roger has been recognized by Chambers as one of the nation’s top water lawyers, and by Best Lawyers and Washingtonian Magazine in the field of Environmental Law.

Mr. Marzulla has lectured and published widely on environmental and natural resource issues, including hazardous waste, environmental crimes, oil and mineral exploration, wetlands and environmental litigation.  He is co-author of Property Rights:  Understanding Government Takings and Environmental Regulation and authored the following publications:

• Comprehensive Analysis of the New Clean Air Act Amendments (BNA 1992)
• “Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide:  Criminal Liability for Violations of Environmental Statutes in the 1990s," Columbia Journal of Environmental Law (1991)
• Environmental Due Diligence: The Complete Resource Guide for Real Estate Lenders, Buyers, Sellers, and Attorneys (BNA 1989)
• “Parallel Civil and Criminal Proceedings: Environmental Double Exposure?” White-Collar Crime Reporter (March 1990)
• The American Heritage Rivers Initiative: A Magnificent Idea or the Great Land/Power Grab? (National Legal Center for the Public Interest 1998)
• American Values - An Environmental Vision, The Environmental Policy Analysis Network (1996)
• Defense of Environmental Crimes (BNA 1995)
• “Presumed Guilty: Wetlands Criminal Prosecutions,” Farmers, Ranchers and Environmental Law (1995)
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  This material is based on the review of a variety of historical sources, and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.  If you have any corrections or additional information about this individual or about the history of the Division, please contact ENRD.