Ella Foley Gannon is a member of Bingham’s Executive Board and is co-chair of the firm’s Environmental, Land Use and Natural Resources practice group. She was named a “Top Woman Lawyer” by the Daily Journal in 2013 and 2014. She is also recognized by Chambers USA for her environmental work and is noted for her “impressive knowledge of California and federal environmental laws and permitting processes, thoughtful advice and ability to forge strong relationships with regulators.”
She focuses her practice on federal and state environmental laws, natural resource permitting, and land use entitlements. She assists developers and landowners who undertake complex development projects, including renewable and traditional energy and transmission projects, as well as residential, commercial, industrial and mixed-use projects. She obtains and defends both land use entitlements and environmental permits.
Ella is a recognized authority in endangered species, wetland, water quality and water rights issues. She represents clients before a myriad of state and federal regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Lands Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Energy Commission, the California State Water Resources Control Board, the nine California State Regional Water Quality Control Boards, and the California Department of Fish and Game. She represents clients before these agencies on issues involving the Clean Water Act, the Federal Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Warren-Alquist Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Endangered Species Act, the Porter-Cologne Act and the California Fish and Game Code. Her project experience includes a variety of development types ranging from non-renewable and renewable energy projects to mixed use and major infrastructure projects.
Earlier in her career, Ella was a law clerk to the Hon. Melvin Brunetti of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She was also a research fellow for the University of California Water Resources Department. She received her J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1998, and her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1989.
