The Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic is a two-semester, 14-credit course offered by the College of Law to select third-year law students. Land Use Clinic students undertake projects and provide representation to clients under the supervision of licensed attorneys and certified planners. For more information on the academic component of the Land Use Clinic see our “For Students” page.
The Land Use Clinic is located at the WVU College of Law at 101 Law School Drive, Morgantown, West Virginia, 26506. The WVU Law Clinic entrance is on the north side of the building.
Katherine Garvey, Director
Katherine “Kat” Garvey began her career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region VII in the National Agricultural Compliance Assistance Center
and with the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. Garvey is an ISO 14001 Environmental
Management Systems Certified Lead Auditor. She developed and audited environmental
management systems for military and large agricultural operations. Garvey transitioned
from federal to local government in 2006, when she worked for the City of Lee’s
Summit, Missouri as the Environmental Coordinator. She helped the City comply with
permitting requirements for their airport and landfill. In addition, she helped
the City develop a solid waste management plan, stormwater plan, stream buffer
ordinance, and a natural resource inventory map. She continued her focus on local
protection of natural resources as an Assistant Professor of Law and Staff Attorney
at the Land Use Clinic at Vermont Law School. In Vermont, Garvey worked with local
governments, land trusts and other non-profits to address legal questions related
to land conservation in the Northeast. Professor Garvey received her JD from the
University of Missouri in Kansas City in 2004, and LLM from Vermont Law
in 2010.
Jesse Richardson, Lead Land Use Attorney
Before coming to WVU, Richardson was an Associate Professor in Urban Affairs
and Planning at Virginia Tech, teaching land use law, environmental law, urban
growth management and real estate. His research and experience focuses on land
use law and water law. Prior to his academic endeavors, Jesse was in private practice
in his home town of Winchester, Virginia, first with a large law firm, then as
a solo practitioner. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of the American
Agricultural Law Association, the Universities Council on Water Resources and the
National Cave and Karst Research Institute. He previously served on the Virginia
Farmland Protection Task Force and the Virginia Water Policy Technical Advisory
Committee. Jesse was honored with the 1999 Professional Scholarship Award from
the American Agricultural Law Association, the 2004 William E. Wine Award for a
history of teaching excellence from Virginia Tech (the highest teaching award granted
by the university), and the 2009 University Certificate of Excellence in Outreach.
He has worked with communities in West Virginia and Virginia on land use planning
issues, including issues related to karst and water resources. He holds a B.S.
and M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech and a J.D. from
the University of Virginia School of Law.
Jason Walls, Managing Attorney
Jason Walls is the Managing Attorney at the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic. Walls graduated Order of the Coif in 2005 from the West Virginia University College of Law and graduated magna cum laude in 1996 from WVU with a BS in Geology. Following law school, he served 2 years as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Irene M. Keeley, then Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. Walls then worked several years as a litigator and title attorney for firms in Morgantown, West Virginia. His practice experience includes real property disputes, wills and estates, and real estate law.
Jared Anderson, AICP, Supporting Land Use Attorney
Jared received a B.A. in Geography with a minor in Economics from West Virginia
University where he was a member of the WVU Mens' Tennis Team. After graduating,
he worked as a GIS specialist for an engineering firm in Virginia. Later, he moved
out west to attend the University of Hawaii, where he obtained a Master of Urban
and Regional Planning. In 2007, he moved back to Virginia to become the Planning
Director for the Town of Chincoteague. While there, he was responsible for all
the day-to-day planning activities, including a complete revision of the town’s
comprehensive plan. Most recently, he obtained a J.D. from the Catholic University
of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC. Jared was born in Wheeling,
WV and raised in Leesburg, VA. He now lives in Morgantown with his wife and their
three children.
Christy Burnside DeMuth, AICP, Land Use Planner
Christy DeMuth is the Land Use Planner at the Land Use and Sustainable Development
Law Clinic. Christy received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resources
Management from Penn State in 2003 and a Master of Science in Geography from the
Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2005. She began her career in government,
first working at Peters Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, in the Planning Department
and then in the Department of Economic Development in Allegheny County, the second
largest county in Pennsylvania. In 2006, DeMuth began planning work in the private
sector in Pittsburgh, where she managed several planning projects, such as comprehensive
plans, zoning ordinances, subdivision and land development ordinances, planning
studies, economic development plans and corridor studies. As a project manager,
Christy was responsible for coordinating public participation efforts for all her
clients, which included facilitating numerous public meetings, focus group meetings,
committee meetings, and educational workshops. She is also well versed in the use
of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Whitney Morgan, Clinician
Whitney R. Morgan graduated Order of the Coif from West Virginia University College of Law in 2015 and has since worked for the law school’s clinical program with the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic. In this role, she has made critical contributions to the development of a comprehensive zoning ordinance template designed specifically for rural West Virginia communities. Her focus areas include sign law, squarely at the intersection of the First Amendment and land use law, as well as RLUIPA, historic preservation, urban agriculture, and tiny homes. As a clinical instructor, Whitney channels her passion for writing in taking on a mentorship role with clinical students to refine legal writing skills. She also serves as the final stage editor for major publications of the Land Use Clinic, including the From Liability to Viability Toolkit on addressing dilapidated structures.
Erica Bowe, Office Manager
Erica Bowe is the Office Manager for the Land Use and Sustainable Development
Law Clinic. Raised in Williamsburg, Virginia, Erica received a Bachelor of Science
in Environmental Policy and Planning from Virginia Tech in 2013. While at
Virginia Tech, she took courses in real estate law, land use law, patent law, agricultural
law, and environmental law and interned at the Crag Law Center in Portland, Oregon.
She presented original undergraduate research on the regulation of mountaintop
removal coal mining at two collegiate research conferences and at the 2012 American
Agricultural Law Association Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. She previously
worked as a paralegal in Washington, D.C. in patent and trademark law and antitrust
and consumer interest law. Erica has served on the City of Morgantown Traffic
Commission, Monongalia County Planning Commission, and the Board of Directors
of Mon Valley Habitat for Humanity. She lives with her husband, Patrick,
and two dogs.