Hannah Nelson

Senior Associate Attorney

Hannah devotes most of her work to clean water and coastal issues. She performs research, writes comment letters, drafts motions and briefs, meets with clients, and helps develop case theories and legal arguments. On the water team, she works on cases involving industrial chemical pollution. On the coastal team, she supports efforts for species protection and responsible decision-making in the face of climate change. 

“It is an exciting time to be a water lawyer because issues such as industrial chemical pollution pose unique and complex problems that often require creative legal theories. I learn something new every single day,” Hannah said.

When you’re working with water, it’s easy to see the direct link between environmental concerns and harm to our neighbors, so even though it’s challenging, I’m incredibly motivated to work in this space.

Hannah Nelson

Hannah adores spending time anywhere on the Blue Ridge Parkway. She grew up in Boone, N.C., and will often seek out trails that lead to massive rocks overlooking scenic views. “When life gets too crazy, the mountains are an escape and I’ll take morning coffee, a book, and a journal to trails along the Parkway to calm down,” she said. “The Blue Ridge Mountains are such a unique landscape that we are lucky to have across many of our states.” 

Previous experience 

• J.D., University of North Carolina School of Law; North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology, executive editor.
• B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• With SELC since 2020