Matt D. Ampleman

Using written advocacy to clarify complex fact patterns, I argue cases with technical subject matter content including trade secrets, commercial real estate disputes, and energy and environmental matters.

I help St. Louisans revitalize their neighborhoods, one vacant property at a time, by securing clear title to problem properties or else holding existing owners accountable. Working with the Neighborhood Vacancy Initiative, I help neighborhoods develop long-term strategies for renovation and affordable housing creation and file litigation to achieve those ends.

Served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Rodney W. Sippel, researching and drafting opinions, orders, and bench memoranda.

In my four weeks with EHOC, I drafted an appellate brief arguing that parties in eviction actions have a Missouri constitutional right to a jury trial, drafted a comment letter on HUD’s proposed rule concerning the use of Small Area Fair Market Rents, and prepared language for outreach materials on HUD's Affirmative Furthering Fair Housing Rule (AFFH). After our appellate case was appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court, I co-drafted the Missouri Supreme Court merits brief.

I supported Jenner's Appellate and Supreme Court Practice as well as its Environmental and Workplace Health and Safety Practice. In the Supreme Court practice area, I researched Reconstruction-Era tort law for a U.S. Supreme Court merits brief. In the Environmental practice area, I evaluated standing for novel CERCLA and RCRA citizen suit strategies and drafted memoranda on standards for approving good faith settlements, among other matters. As a pro bono matter, I helped prepare an asylum application for an immigrant from the Republic of the Congo.

Working for litigation division at the Missouri AGO, I researched and wrote memoranda (19) for employment cases, section 1983 cases, and a large environmental case. I also drafted a motion to dismiss (1), discovery requests (3), and a protective order (1). In the environmental case, I assisted with expert witness testimony regarding a burning landfill with unknown quantities of radioactive waste.

Through a clinical relationship that I developed with Yale and the Ferguson Commission, I supported the Commission’s legislative response to historic unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. I was the point person on Missouri state legislation that capped fine and fee revenue collected by St. Louis County municipalities. Legislative recommendations we developed were incorporated in the final legislation, promoting greater accountability for local governments and protections for historically-disenfranchised citizens.

I wrote a master's thesis and a peer-reviewed journal article on long-lived indoor air contaminants in East Chicago, Indiana, and Columbus Junction, Iowa. In the process, I created a new tracking system for our multi-million dollar research effort, and shaped a multi-year plan for new research priorities.

I assisted the geologic sequestration (GS) and hydraulic fracturing (HF) teams in their implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The GS team had recently finalized a rule regulating the injection of carbon dioxide for carbon capture and sequestration. In support of this rule, I helped develop, edit, and publicize guidance documents for well owners and operators, clarifying technical aspects of well construction, GS modeling, testing and monitoring, and site characterization. I participated in briefings of senior agency officials and delivered webinars to our stakeholders. I also participated in the development of a much-anticipated report on injection-induced seismicity, a phenomenon where injection of hydraulic fracturing wastes and other materials can lead to increased frequency and magnitude of earthquakes.

During this year-long fellowship, I helped drinking water and wastewater utilities adapt to climate change by providing regional climate science information and adaptation options.

• Edited and develop informational guides and software tools for climate adaptation in the water sector
• Directed the development and delivery of training webinars for drinking water and wastewater utilities
• Wrote articles, correspondence, and conference proceedings (1 per month) for outreach to utilities
• Scheduled, developed, and delivered presentations (2 per month) to EPA offices, municipalities, and utilities

As a geoscience and policy intern with the American Geological Institute (AGI), I track and summarize legislation of interest to the geosciences. This involves following information from a variety of sources, including congressional committee web sites, legislative databases, news outlets, and personal conversations with committee staff and agency contacts. I have served as the point person for a number of issues, including the halted exports of rare earth elements from Chinese producers, and the progress of a bill to address that problem. This work involved contacting an executive for a metallurgical society, committee staff persons, and several federal employees to determine the needs of various stakeholders and the outlook for a pair of bills. As a capstone to this project, I have written an analytical article for the American Association of Petroleum Geophysicists' publication, Explorer.