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Thomas Gibson was appointed General Counsel at DWR in June 2021, overseeing the Office of General Counsel. He provides legal advice to the Director and DWR management and oversees approximately 50 attorneys. The Office of General Counsel is responsible for a broad range of issues, including water rights; water transfers; energy law; flood management; integrated water management; dam safety; personnel; and state contracting.

Thomas was previously Undersecretary, Deputy Secretary and Special Counsel for Water, and General Counsel for the California Natural Resources Agency as well as General Counsel for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Prior to joining the State, he was a Partner at the law firm of Best, Best & Krieger LLP and an Associate at the law firms of Hyman, Phelps & McNamara P.C. and Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard.

Thomas earned a Juris Doctor degree cum laude from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College.