About Hong
Hong Huynh is a seasoned attorney focused on government and regulatory affairs, municipal law, and environmental law. With a career spanning over two decades, she has developed a reputation as a trusted advisor to public and private entity clients who can help navigate them through and solve complex issues in transactional, regulatory, and litigation matters.
Hong’s career at Miller Nash began in 2000, where she initially advised public entities at the state, county, and special district levels. She expanded her expertise by spending seven years as in-house counsel at various Oregon local governments. In 2018, she served as the chief legal officer to Oregon’s largest urban flood control district and later as senior assistant county counsel for Clackamas County, where she served as lead counsel on county transportation, development service, and emergency management matters. This in-house experience has provided her with invaluable insight into the unique legal needs and challenges faced by government entities, allowing her to deliver tailored, effective solutions in both routine and high stakes matters.
Her public sector work experience encompasses a wide range of areas, including municipal law, board governance and parliamentary process, intergovernmental agreements, ordinance drafting, public records and ethics, public works planning, construction and operation, public contracts and procurement, service agreements, easements and right of way, cooperative project financing, federal project authorization and funding, building development services, disaster and emergency management, drainage and flood control operation, transportation and roadways, and land use.
In addition to her public sector work, Hong has a robust background in environmental law, including environmental investigation and remediation, hazardous substances and hazardous wastes, and water quality compliance. She has represented clients in both environmental litigation and transactional matters, advising on cleanup cost allocation, hazardous waste management, environmental and natural resources permitting, environmental insurance coverage, and natural resource damage assessments.
Before joining Miller Nash, Hong began her legal career as an honors attorney and attorney-adviser at the Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., where she provided legal counsel to federal agencies on complex issues involving water, energy, and natural resources.
Activities
- Multnomah Bar Association, Member
- Oregon State Bar, Member
- Environmental and Natural Resources Section
- Chair, 2012
- Executive Committee Member, 2005-2013
- Member, 2005-2013
- House of Delegates, Region 5 Delegate, 2004-2006
- Affirmative Action Committee, Member,2003-2006
- Environmental and Natural Resources Section
- Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Member, 2010-2018
- Oregon Minority Lawyers Association, Member
- American Bar Association
- Environment, Energy, and Resources Section, Member,2000-2018
- Natural Resources & Environment Magazine, Editorial Board Member, 2005-2016
- Northwest Environmental Conference, Steering Committee, Member, 2004-2006
- Oregon Vietnamese Community Association, Executive Committee
Recognition
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® (Portland, OR)
- Environmental Law, 2018, 2019
- Selected for inclusion as an Oregon Super Lawyer—Rising Star, 2012, 2013
- Named to Portland Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list, 2008
Insights from Hong
- “Lead in Drinking Water: What Schools Need to Know,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn (June 2016)
- “BiOp on the Oregon National Flood Insurance Program: A Case for Levee Accreditation,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn (May 2016)
- “Plan Now So That Excess Water Isn’t Trouble Later,” Daily Journal of Commerce (Mar. 2016)
- “Environmental Considerations,” Oregon State Bar, Oregon Real Estate Deskbook: Volume 4 (Fall 2015)
- “Heading Into Muddied Waters,” Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, News You Can Use (Aug. 2015)
- “Proposed Option for All Appropriate Inquiries to Mitigate Environmental Liabilities in Flux,” Miller Nash, GroundBreaking News (Dec. 2013)
- “Managing the Risks of Ashley II to Protect CERCLA Defense,” American Bar Association, Natural Resources & Environment (Fall 2013)
- “PCS Nitrogen Inc. v. Ashley II of Charleston: Prospective Purchasers Beware,” Oregon State Bar, Environmental & Natural Resources Section, E-Outlook (Apr. 2013)
- “New Environmental Mitigation Tools in a Revived Economy,” Miller Nash, GroundBreaking News (Apr. 2013)
- “Managing Environmental Compliance Information,” Vancouver Business Journal (Mar. 2013)
- “The U.S. Race to Export LNG,” American Bar Association, Natural Resources & Environment (Fall 2012)
- “Managing Environmental Compliance Information,” Miller Nash (Dec. 2012)
- “March 31 Stormwater Permitting Deadline is Fast Approaching for Oregon Facilities,” Miller Nash (Jan. 2012)
- “Toxin in Schools: What are the Next Steps?” Oregon School Boards Association, 70th Annual Convention (Nov. 2016)
- “So You Think You Can Network!” Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association (Oct. 2016)
- “Reaching NOAA’s Ark – Implementing ESA BiOp Requirements in Oregon Floodplains,” Oregon State Bar Real Estate & Land Use Section, Annual Summer Conference (Aug. 2016)
- “Local Approaches to Flood Protection and Floodplain Development,” The Seminar Group, Floodplain Development Regulation Under FEMA and ESA (May 2016)
- “Environmental Aspects of Property Transactions,” Northwest Environmental Conference & Tradeshow (Dec. 2015)
- “Funding as a Necessary Starting Point for Doing NRD Assessments,” Law Seminars International, Tribal Natural Resource Damage Assessment seminar (Dec. 2015)
- “Environmental Transactions 101,” Multnomah Bar Association, CLE Presentation (Dec. 2015)
- “Federal, State and Local Responses - From Efforts to Slow Change to New Regulations, Charges and Taxes to Adapt to It,” The Seminar Group, Preparing For Climate Change—New Regulations and New Litigation CLE seminar (Nov. 2014)
- “Integrating Floodplain Management & Salmon Conservation,” Oregon Law Institute of Lewis & Clark Law School, panelist (Nov. 2014)
- “Flood Control,” Oregon State Bar, Annual Environmental Law Year in Review CLE (Oct. 2014)
- “Audits: Voluntary and Regulatory,” Northwest Environmental Conference & Tradeshow (Dec. 2012)
- Opening Remarks, Oregon State Bar, 2012 Annual Environmental and Natural Resources CLE (Oct. 2012)
Outside the Office
Outside of work, Hong maintains an active lifestyle. She enjoys traveling with family to gain new experiences and perspectives. If she is not traveling, she can be found fine-tuning her tennis game on courts throughout the area.