Former MDEQ Executiv ...

Former MDEQ Executive Director Joins Butler Snow

November 21, 2014 | by Butler Snow

Trudy Fisher

Butler Snow is pleased to announce that Trudy D. Fisher has joined the firm as a member of the Government and Regulatory practice group.

Fisher will focus her practice on environmental, energy, regulatory, and government relations matters, including permitting and compliance issues around air, water, mining and wetlands. She will also focus on state and federal property development, solid waste planning, crisis management, emergency response and disaster assistance, restoration planning, and large scale project development.

“We are excited to welcome Trudy to Butler Snow,” said Donald Clark, Jr., chairman of Butler Snow. “She is widely recognized as an innovator and problem solver, qualities which our firm values and practices.”

Fisher, who most recently served as Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), is an accomplished and experienced environmental attorney. Prior to leading the MDEQ, she practiced in the environmental and regulatory sector for over 20 years.

While serving as director of MDEQ, Fisher managed more than 400 employees and an annual budget in excess of $250 million. Under Fisher’s leadership, MDEQ served as the state’s lead in the implementation of more than $600 million in coastal infrastructure construction following Hurricane Katrina and performed as a lead first responder in natural disasters. Fisher has served as a leader on a number of regional and national governing bodies in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and has been pivotal in guiding more than $500 million restoration dollars to the state.

Fisher holds bachelor’s degrees from the Mississippi University for Women in political science and business administration.  She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Mississippi Law Journal.  She is AV Preeminent-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named in The Best Lawyers in America® for Environmental Law.  Fisher has also been named to the Mississippi Business Journal’s 50 Leading Business Women and is a recipient of the Excellence in Government Award, given by the American Council for Technology – Industry Advisory Council.  Fisher is a member of the American Bar Association, the Environmental Council of the States, and the Mississippi Bar Association, where she is a past president of the Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law.