Molly Barker is a member of the Environment, Land, and Natural Resources practice group. Her practice focuses on environmental and energy regulatory compliance, permitting and diligence for renewable energy and decarbonization energy infrastructure projects, including solar, wind, and storage projects, as well as carbon management infrastructure and climate related regulatory frameworks.
Molly regularly supports developers, investors, and operators with permitting strategy, environmental diligence, and federal environmental review and related agency processes for project development and financings and advises on siting and land use considerations for energy facilities across multiple jurisdictions.
In addition, Molly advises clients on environmental regulatory compliance in connection with facility operators and other regulated entities navigating complex environmental obligations in a variety of different contexts, including resolving enforcement actions at the federal and state level. This aspect of her work includes counseling on “emerging contaminant” regulation, water quality, air quality, hazardous waste, water rights, endangered species considerations, extended producer responsibility obligations for packaging producers, as well as cross-border battery recycling and supply chain considerations. Her compliance work also involves representing clients in enforcement and compliance matters involving contaminated sites and Superfund disputes, including liability analysis, redevelopment planning, allocation, transactional guidance for sales and purchases, and cost recovery, and has resolved claims through mediation and administrative proceedings. Molly also guides clients on new regulatory developments, including how they can engage in the policymaking process.
Molly has strong experience in key environmental laws, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Clean Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (CWA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and a variety of local land use codes and state counterparts to the foregoing laws, as well as Washington State’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) and Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA).
Prior to law school, Molly worked at US EPA Region 1 in the Office of Public Affairs.
Concurrent with her legal studies at Northeastern University School of Law, Molly interned for the Office of Massachusetts State Senator Katherine Clark, the Massachusetts House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change for the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts Federal Magistrate Robert B. Collings, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and the Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
Upon graduation from law school, Molly served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Jay Roof, Judge Jeanette Dalton, Judge Sally Olsen, and Judge Jennifer Forbes at Kitsap Couty Superior Court in Washington State, where she touched on a wide variety of legal issues that regularly make their way through the state superior court system.
Prior to joining the firm, Molly worked at an environmental and energy law firm where she focused her practice on environmental, real estate, energy, natural resources and land use law.
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©
- Environmental Law, 2022-2026
- Energy Law, 2023-2026
- Selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for work in Environmental Law, 2017-2025
- Selected as one of the Top Women Attorneys in Washington, Washington Law & Politics Magazine, 2017
- Board Member, Northwest Environmental Business Council (NEBC) (2025–Present); Northwest Environmental Business Council: Olympic Chapter Committee Member (2017-Present)
- American Bar Association, Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, Member (2024-Present)
- Seattle Chapter - Women of Renewable Industry and Sustainable Energy (WRISE): Member (2018-Present)
- Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Environmental and Land Use Section: Executive Committee Member, 2019-2022 (Secretary, November 2019-November 2020; Communications and Website, November 2020-November 2022); Member (2015-Present)
- KCBA Environmental and Land Use Law Section: Section Chair (2016-17); Communications Chair (2015-16); Member (2015-2022)
- Clean Tech Alliance: Events Committee Member (2019)
- Women in Environment: Member (2015-2018)
- Washington Women Lawyers: Professional Development VP (2017-18); Membership VP (2016-17); Publicity VP (2014-16)
- Friends of Waterfront Seattle: Member of Founding Ambassador Team (2014-15)
- Panelist, “Shifting Winds In The Renewable Energy Industry,” Co-Sponsored by WRISE and K&L Gates, 20 January 2026
- Moderator, “Policy Update – A Business Perspective,” NEBC’s 2025 Business and the Environment Conference, 9 December 2025
- Speaker, “Brownfields Fundamentals Workshop–The Real Dirt on Brownfields,” Washington State Brownfields Conference, 20 May 2025
- Speaker, “PFAS Regulations and the Semiconductor Industry,” Semiconductor Environmental Safety and Health Association (SESHA) Symposium, Phoenix, Arizona, April 2024
- Panelist, Clipper Connect’s Panel on Corporate Sustainability and the Importance of Ocean Health, Seattle, WA, 27 April 2022
- Speaker, “Greenhouse Gas Assessments for Projects (GAP) Rulemaking,” Washington State Bar Association’s Environmental and Land Use Law’s 2021 Mid-Year Event, Virtual 7 May 2021
- Speaker, “Prospective Purchaser Agreements for Brownfields Transactions: A Practitioner’s Comparison of Washington and Oregon,” King County Bar Association Environmental and Land Use Section’s Lunch CLE, Seattle, WA, 27 June 2019
- Moderator, “An Update on PFAS: Understanding the Scope of the Challenge and Developing a Solution,” Northwest Environmental Business Council’s PFAS Workshop, Seattle, WA, 7 May 2019
- Moderator, “Changing the Energy Landscape: How Renewables and Storage are Taking Over the Grid,” Northwest Environmental and Business Council's Energy Workshop, “Powering Our Future: Insight into the Growth of Renewables,” Seattle, WA, 7 June 2018
- Emcee, “Cleaning Up Water, Air And Dirt: Litigation And Policy Updates,” King County Bar Association’s Environmental And Land Use Section's Half Day Cle, Seattle, WA, 8 June 2017
- “Conversation Advancing in U.S. on Fusion Energy Regulation,” Nuclear Newswire, 15 December 2022
- “Finding Fusion’s Place,” American Nuclear Society (May 2022)
- “Calif.'s Renewable Natural Gas Standard: Tips For Suppliers,” Law360, 13 April 2022
- “Calif.'s Renewable Natural Gas Standard: How It Works,” Law360, 12 April 2022
- Co-Author, “Bridging the GAP Between Environmental Assessments and Carbon Reduction Mandates,” Washington State Bar Association’s Environmental & Land Use Law Section Blog (August 16, 2021)
- Co-Author, “Interstate Groundwater Allocations: New Challenges Ahead,” American Bar Association Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources’ Trends Publication (May 5, 2021)
- Author, “Supreme Court Decides Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren: Rejects Preemption Challenge to Virginia’s Moratorium on Mining Uranium Ore on Nonfederal Land,” Marten Law Newsletter (July 15, 2019)
- Author, “The Big Zero: Washington’s Clean Energy Transition Act and the State’s Big Shift to Zero Emissions,” NWLawyer Magazine (July/August 2019)
- Co-Author, “West Coast States and Cities Sprint Ahead with Decarbonization Legislation,” American Bar Association Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, Renewable, Alternative, and Distributed Energy Resources Newsletter (August 7, 2019)
- Quoted, “Conversation advancing in U.S. on fusion energy regulation,” ANS.org, 15 December 2022
- An article written by San Francisco partner Buck Endemann and Seattle associates Molly Barker and Matthew Clark regarding California’s renewable natural gas standard appears in Law360.
