Our dearest friend at the Water Network, Simeon Herskovits, passed away last week at the age of 61. For all of us at GBWN, Simeon was the legendary, almost immortal attorney whose principled legal strategies compelled judges, lawmakers, and the public for nearly three decades in the nation’s driest state.
Simeon’s prodigious legal talents always gave us reason to believe he truly was indestructible. And yet, despite his years of ill-health, this news is deeply painful. He often joked that he was as durable as a cockroach, but to us he had the prowess of a lion and the memory of an elephant.
Simeon’s phoenixlike gift was convincing even the most logical people that their tasks weren’t as insurmountable as they seemed. We merely had to trust the law and harness the sensibilities of judges.
Simeon knew, victory was possible.
He knew that victory was achievable when few others believed that an ad hoc coalition of rural interests could stop the money and power of Las Vegas in its pursuit of a pipeline. Throughout the fight, he injected vigor and confidence, reminding us that it wasn’t a David vs. Goliath struggle. It was about believing that the moral arc would bend our way because the laws of governments and the laws of nature were on our side.
Ironically, one of Simeon’s greatest gifts was reminding us that, despite his indelible spirit and towering intellect, he was human. And unfortunately, his passing is the greatest gesture of his humanness.
Simeon tested our resolve at the most critical moments — before oral arguments and major regulatory deadlines. He fell ill and bounced back. And did it again. And again. He tested us to have faith in him, and that faith paid off repeatedly. And, we can all say with a smile, he tested our patience with prolix explanations. But we always kept listening. He was guiding us to where we needed to go. And he delivered. After nine legal battles in various judicial and regulatory arenas, we halted the Las Vegas Pipeline.
Along the way, he set Nevada Supreme Court precedent to ensure the state upheld our due process rights as citizens, guaranteeing the public’s ability to engage on matters relating to water. He skewered shoddy science and spurious assumptions that regulators and perpetrators of an immoral project rested upon. He raised the expectations for all who believed that communities could keep their water local.
Simeon was always the smartest person in the room, but he never raised any airs. He was a guy who loved messy burritos and jalapeño poppers, rock ‘n roll, tequila, and skiing. He was the type of person who would curse like a stevedore in one sentence, recall Greek mythology in the next, expound on legal theory thereafter, and end with a wholesome joke.
During his college years, he frequented the punk rock club CBGB in New York, enjoying bands like Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen. He was a city slicker until he fell in love with the American west.
Through his legal work, he found the remote corners of Snake, Spring, Cave, Dry Lake, and Delamar Valleys. He visited communities like Baker, Lund, Callao, and Caliente, forging lasting relationships with the people. Folks in these far-off places were not “hayseeds” — they were human beings with rights that needed to be defended and recognized. In the early days of the pipeline battle, Simeon ensured that tribal communities had legal representation, even when there was not yet money for them to hire their own counsel.
Simeon’s welcoming disposition proved that a Jewish man born in New England could find plenty in common in Nevada and Utah’s hamlets. Water, he knew, connects us all.
After graduating from law school, Simeon took the corporate route on Wall Street, until he couldn’t take it anymore. Then, he started fighting pipelines, settling in Taos, New Mexico, where he began his public interest work with the Western Environmental Law Center, focusing on issues relating to the Spanish-land-grant acequia systems. One of his first major battles was against the Cadiz pipeline in the Mojave Desert, a water project that remains unapproved to this day. Shortly after, he found his way to GBWN. In his polite and courteous manner, Simeon asked the board if he could join the fight against the Las Vegas pipeline. And here we are today. Eastern Nevada and Utah’s West Desert remain intact.
With that giant brain, he could have made so much damn money. Lots of it. But instead, he devoted his life to causes greater than wealth, founding the law firm Advocates for Community and Environment, or simply ACE. He knew how to find talent, hiring GBWN’s other longtime counsel, Iris Thornton, who was always a prudent yin to Simeon’s legal yang.
Simeon’s focus was always the public interest. He was a careful reader of regulations, statutes, and precedents. He was a creative mind that could transform syntax and lexicon into a means of protecting what we hold dear. With another client, he led the monumental effort to have the State of Nevada recognize its Public Trust obligations throughout all waters in the state, resulting in a landmark ruling in Mineral County vs. Lyon County.
For the past 15 years, Simeon fought various maladies that had him in and out of doctors’ offices and hospital beds. But when the time came, he always rose to the challenge with flair and fervor.
Across from high-priced special-interest lawyers, Simeon argued one of our legal battles in a bespoke three-piece suit he bought second-hand on eBay. He was resourceful, and he made it look good. When orating before a judge, Simeon was our swashbuckling Jimmy Stewart in many high-stakes courtroom dramas. He was our rainmaker in a world where it’s better to expect drought and disappointment.
Calm and collected, our Socratic friend Simeon could weave narratives underpinning the law with ethics and nature. That trifecta helped him rise above the conflict of taking on the nation’s power brokers. He never fell for the tricks of opposing counsel. He maintained composure when some of us couldn’t.
Simeon’s work wasn’t just jurisprudence; it was art, a means of connection. Of course, there were the procedural forms and functions: legal briefs, document reviews, depositions, and other technical tools used to persuade a judge. But the foundation of his work was always the people.
Simeon understood the joy of walking through sagebrush beneath the virga in June, with the setting sun casting a verdant glow. He knew that smell, that feeling, and the sounds of desert water.
Simeon’s respect for and understanding of the written law are what made him so good at his job. But it was his devotion to the laws of nature — and to the humanity within us — that allowed us to love him so dearly.
Whenever we need him, we’ll find him in the springs, creeks, and hillsides of our beloved deserts — always and forever.
