Lawyer & Information Activist

Who I Am

I was admitted to the California Bar in 2016, following a 15 -year long career as a law librarian at a private law firm. I received my Master’s Degree in Library & Information Science at Simmons College in June 2002, and boarded a plane to California the next day. A lifelong East Coast resident, I was captivated by the rugged beauty of the California coast and the vibrancy that landscape lent to its people and culture.

I was grateful to find a job almost immediately, managing the law library of a mid-sized law firm in downtown San Francisco. Starting work the same day that the United State invaded Afghanistan, I looked distinctly out of place in my new suit, threading my way among the impassioned protesters who were already convening on Market Street.

Nearly 10 years later, I entered Golden Gate University School of Law as a night student, starting school the same week Occupy started occupying. The night student class at GGU SOL mirrors and reflects the best of California - what is euphemistically termed “nontraditional” students: working professionals, working parents, first generation Americans, out members of the LGBT+ community and more. Several links on these pages are to sources at GGU, including the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic.

The night law school program is sometimes called “part-time” law school. Full-time students take five classes. “Part-time” students take four. I invite you to do the math. And factor in a day job. And family. It equals five years of late nights.

I was proud to graduate first in my class in 2016. I was even prouder to do so in front of my family, which by then included a toddler.

Although its been a minute since I’ve been a professional librarian, I’ve (clearly) never shaken the bug to research and share information, impulses which led to the creation of this website.

What I Do

I moved Sacramento in 2017 where I practice environmental law, and have maintained an interest in the allied fields of land use, municipal law and housing.

I became the Vice Chair of the Sacramento County Bar Association, Environmental Law Section (SCBA) in 2019, Chair in 2020 and am now a Member-at-Large. Also in 2020, I joined SCBA as a Board member where I head the Membership Committee. I was honored to receive the President’s Award for 2021. See what SCBA has planned and register at https://sacbar.site-ym.com/events/event_list.asp.

In October 2021, I was sworn in as an Executive Committee member of the California Lawyers Association, Environmental Law Section (CLA ELS). I am particularly excited to run the Book Club, which started in April 2020. CLA ELS also publishes Environmental Law News, where my article, Implementing GPSs and CEQA Review: Planning Today for Streamlined Groundwater Sustainability was published in Spring 2021 (vol. 30, issue 1). See what CLA ELS has up its sleeve for 2022 at CLA Environmental Law Register

Want to know more? Get in touch or follow me on social at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarafoxdudley/.