About Ian Michael
Ian Michael Fein pursued a traditional academic path through the University of California system. He earned a B.A. in English from UC Berkeley and returned to Berkeley Law, completing his J.D. in 2011. Those years shaped his legal instincts and prepared him for a sequence of federal clerkships that would follow.
He moved quickly into appellate work after law school. Fein clerked for Judge William A. Fletcher on the Ninth Circuit, then served for Judge Judith W. Rogers on the D.C. Circuit. His clerkship at the Supreme Court came next, where he worked for Justice Elena Kagan. The series of clerkships gave him repeated exposure to complex statutory and constitutional questions and to the mechanics of high-level judicial decision-making.
After his time on the bench, Fein spent several years in private practice. He joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as a managing associate, where he handled appellate and trial matters for corporate and institutional clients. That period broadened his litigation experience and deepened his familiarity with federal courts across multiple circuits.
In 2017 he moved to the Natural Resources Defense Council. At NRDC he serves as a senior lawyer. His role at the nonprofit places him on the frontline of litigation and policy work involving environmental law. He appears in federal courts and engages in cases that touch on regulatory enforcement, administrative law, and other areas that affect public lands, air, and water.
Fein is admitted to practice in California and holds membership in the California State Bar. He is also admitted in several federal courts, including the U.S. District Court for the Central, Eastern, and Northern Districts of California, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. His admissions extend to multiple circuit courts of appeal, among them the Second, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits.
Colleagues describe him as someone who moves comfortably between appellate briefs and the practical demands of agency litigation. He has worked on matters that require translating technical regulatory material into arguments fit for judicial review. His background — a mix of elite clerkships, firm practice, and nonprofit litigation — positions him to handle cases that involve both procedural complexity and high public interest.
He currently practices at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where his work centers on environmental litigation and regulatory matters.
