Somach Simmons & Dunn | Attorneys at Law

Alyson Ackerman advocates for clients in diverse sectors including public water service providers, land conservation districts, developers, private water users, agribusinesses, and food processors. She counsels her public and private clients in a myriad of practice areas such as water rights, administrative law, air quality, and environmental litigation.  

Alyson works closely with her clients to investigate, develop, perfect, and defend water rights portfolios as well as represent their interests to local irrigation districts, the State Water Resources Control Board, and, where appropriate, trial and appellate courts.  Alyson also assists in providing outside general counsel services to the firm’s special district clients, practicing administrative law and employment law to counsel on various land use and public employment issues.

Alyson’s air quality practice is growing and currently involves helping public agency clients attain compliance with and regulatory relief from state and local air quality standards for stationary and mobile sources, as well as negotiating settlement in enforcement actions.

Alyson champions the firm’s Northern California membership in the Environmental Law Network (ELN) – a group of more than 250 environmental attorneys who collaborate, cultivate, and share resources to create local representation both nationally and internationally. Among other activities, Alyson presents important legal developments in the environmental law sector to ELN.

Prior to joining Somach Simmons & Dunn, Alyson worked for a boutique environmental compliance and litigation law firm where she helped clients seek recovery of cleanup costs associated with contaminated land, amend air permit limits, and determine compliance with Clean Water Act requirements. She assisted clients in enforcement actions with both state and federal entities to evaluate the appropriateness of proposed civil penalties, successfully advocating for reduced penalties in numerous instances.

Outside of work, she is most likely to be found at her favorite locally-owned independent bookstore – Face in a Book – or outside taking in nature with her German Shepherd. She is an avid hiker, having successfully completed a 36-mile thru-hike in Yellowstone National Park, lead climbed some of the Sierra Pacific’s most challenging rock faces, and enjoys deepening her yoga practice and baking.