James Olson

Publications Admitted to Courts Professional Presentations Awards Reported Decisions Professional Associations Of Counsel to the firm, Jim has been practicing law since 1972 in the specialized practice of Environmental, Water, Land Use, Natural Resources, Municipal, Real Estate, Toxic Tort, and Hazardous Waste Law. A graduate of Detroit College of Law (Michigan State University College of Law), he also earned a postgraduate Master of Law Degree from the University of Michigan Law School in Public Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Law. Jim has lectured at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Leadership Institute, and at numerous professional associations, universities, and other organizations in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. He has written and published books, one on Michigan Environmental Law, and many articles on environmental and land use law. Jim is a member of the American Bar Association and the Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, licensed to practice law in Colorado, and President and Founder, FLOW For Love of Water, Great Lakes Water and Public Trust Policy Center. His awards include Michigan Lawyer of Year, State Bar Champion of Justice, and he is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell and is listed as a Michigans Super Lawyer. Publications ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Michigan Environmental Law (Neahtawanta Press, 1981, 344 pp) The Michigan Environmental Protection Act: An Experiment That Works, 64 Michigan Bar Journal 181 (1985) Attorney Fees and Costs Allowance According to the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, 8 Michigan Environmental Law Journal 1, p. 2 (1988) Ecology, Burden of Proof and Ethics, 20 Environmental Law 891 (Sept. 1990) Environmental Consultant Contracts and Other Agreements, Avoiding Environmental Liability in Michigan, (Nat. Business Institute, 2001) Creeping (Solon Creek, Esq.) 5 Mich Bar Journal 422 (1995) PUBLIC LANDS AND WATER Navigating the Great Lakes Compact: Water, Public Trust, and International Trade Agreements, 2006 Mich. State L. Rev 1103 (2007) Finding the Gradient of Water Law, St. Bar Michigan, Envl Law Section 25 (June 18, 2004) Great Lakes Water, 80-Dec. Mich B. J. 32 (2001) Public Natural Resource Law: Toward a Public Lands Ethic, 56 Journal of Urban Law 739 (1979, 250 pp) INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION AND THE GREAT LAKES Cross-Boarder Litigation: Environmental Rights in the Great Lakes Ecosystem (Carswell, 1986, 410 pp) (co-authored with P. Muldoon & D. Scriven) THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE Public Trust Doctrine, Michigan Environmental Law Deskbook, ICLE (1992) (co-authored with J. Noonan) The Public Trust Doctrine, 1975 Detroit College of Law Review 161 (1975) ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS A Property Owners Environmental Guidebook: Natural Resources and Environmental Issues in Residential and Small Business Real Estate Transactions (Grand Traverse Regional Environmental Institute, 1991) (co-authored with J. Noonan) UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAKING OF PROPERTY Takings in Michigan: Private Property and Environmental Protection, 2 Mich Law & Policy Rev. 261 (1997) Calming the Waters of the Private Property Rights Movement, 1995 Detroit College Law Review 35 (1995) The Role of Fairness in Takings Law, 3 Urban Law 440 (1971) LAND USE, ZONING AND REFERENDUM Beyond Local Zoning: Regionalism and Environmental Duties, 1979 Detroit College Law Review 371 Local Power of Referendum, 50 Journal of Urban Law 209 (1972) Admitted to Courts All Michigan Courts, including Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and all trial courts All Colorado Courts, including Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and all trial courts U. S. District Court, Western District of Michigan U. S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit