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Law Office of Jayla Wilkerson, PLLC

Environmental | Criminal | Family | LGBT+

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Environmental Law

I am experienced in and passionate about environmental law, and I am excited to offer this as my primary area of practice. 

My experience includes prosecuting criminal environmental laws as the environmental prosecutor for the Dallas County District Attorneys Office where I enforced laws related to water pollution, air pollution, and illegal dumping.  The crimes I prosecuted ranged from Class B misdemeanors to state jail felonies. 

I later served the City of Dallas as an environmental prosecutor working with civil, rather than criminal, laws as a Senior Assistant City Attorney in the Community Prosecution division.  In that role, I used Texas statutory law to hold polluters in the City of Dallas accountable for their actions.  I worked in conjunction with code enforcement, Dallas Police Department, the Office of Environmental Quality, the Dallas Arborist and Forestry Departments, Stormwater Management, Water Utilities, and Zoning.  My defendants included land owners, industrial operators, construction companies, sham recyclers, and more.  I worked to ensure compliance with air, water, and land pollution laws at the local, state, and federal level including floodzone violations.

Now, I am available to represent you for enforcement of any environmental violations that are affecting, or threatening to affect, your health, wellbeing, and enjoyment of your property.  Whether it is your neighbor, a construction company, another business entity, or even the government of the city in which you live, I will work hard for you to use the laws of our great state to ensure that they comply with every environmental regulation applicable to their activities to provide you with the most protection available under the law.

Recently, I represented a number of plaintiffs in a suit against the City of Arlington to require the city council to follow their own ordinances and reject a permit to drill new gas wells on a site located very near homes and a daycare facility in a community primarily inhabited by people of color.  I was able to take on this project on a pro-bono basis to assist the daycare facility and a non-profit organization working in the area.

I will soon begin teaching an occupational environmental law course at Texas A&M University of Commerce.

Services Available:
Enforcement (civil and/or criminal) for local government (municipalities and counties)
Representation for individuals, businesses, and community groups affected by environmental violations
Compliance Consulting and Advising for regulated businesses
Environmental ordinance drafting and revision for municipalities
Homeowner representation in HOA disputes about solar panel installation
Other services may be available upon request

Please note that I am NOT available to defend businesses accused of environmental violations at this time as that practice could create conflicts of interest in my other work.

Please contact me if you have any questions about how I can help you resolve the environmental issues you might be facing. 

Pricing for environmental work varies on a case-by-case basis.

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