She spent 20 years as a litigator , first at Hufstedler , Kaus and Ettinger in Los Angeles , where she combined her love of science with her passion for litigation as an environmental law specialist , and then at Morrison and Foerster , where the firm 's large environmental group and other science-based divisions gave her room to expand her practice area .
She was a lawyer at several firms before specializing in environmental law at other firms .