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. She was born and raised outside of Kansas City, MO and now lives in Morgantown
with her partner Derrick, their son and their 2 Alaskan Malamutes.
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.
Nathan Fetty, Managing Attorney
Nathan Fetty is the managing attorney at the Land Use and Sustainable Development
Law Clinic at the WVU College of Law. A native of Spencer, West Virginia,
he is a graduate of the WVU College of Law and West Virginia Wesleyan
College. He previously held a Skadden Fellowship. His background includes work
in environmental and land use law, coal mine health and safety, and consumer protection.
He resides in Buckhannon, West Virginia with his wife and daughter.
Jason Walls, Land Conservation Attorney
Jason Walls is the Land Conservation 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 Men’s 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 Morgan is a Clinician at the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic.
Whitney graduated Order of the Coif in 2015 from West Virginia University College
of Law. She is originally from Texas and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History
and Classical Civilization from The University of Texas at Austin. During law school,
Whitney published both her student note and seminar paper, which won first place
in a regional writing competition, as an article. Whitney's work with the Land
Use Clinic has included various editing projects, most notably the WV LEAP Toolkit.
Whitney works closely with the planning team drafting and editing zoning ordinances
and is working to formulate a comprehensive zoning template for the state of West
Virginia. Whitney also works with LUSD Clinic students to strengthen legal writing
skills.
Erica Hetzel, Office Manager
Erica Hetzel 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 serves on the City of Morgantown Traffic Commission. She lives in Morgantown with her fiancé, Patrick, and Jack Russell terrier mix, Sunday.
Allison Eckman, Community Development Coordinator
Allison Eckman is the Community Development Coordinator working with the
Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic. Allison graduated from West Virginia
University in 2016, where she studied English. She has worked as a trip leader
with Adventure WV and has volunteered as a head coach through Girls on the Run.
From 2016-2017, she served as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Land Use Clinic and
the WVU Center for Big Ideas. Allison's focus at the Land Use Clinic pertains
to the facilitation of public meetings and the development of comprehensive plans.
Carrie Tanner, AmeriCorps VISTA
Carrie Tanner is an AmeriCorps VISTA serving the Land Use and Sustainable Development
Law Clinic. As a VISTA, Carrie will be assisting communities with implementation
of their land use plans, working on wastewater infrastructure ideas, and connecting
low-income communities to WVU through the development of high-impact initiatives.
Always passionate about the environment, Carrie pursued an Environmental Protection
degree at West Virginia University and obtained her Bachelor of Science in May
2017. She enjoys backpacking, biking, and running, as well as reading and spending
time with her niece and nephew. Carrie applied for the VISTA service year as an
opportunity to develop her professional skills, learn about legal proceedings relating
to the environment, and to give back to the state that has given so much to her.
She hopes to make a positive impact on the communities she will serve and contribute
to the end of poverty in West Virginia.