• Weather.gov Forecast
  
• Active Weather Alerts
• NOAA Organizations
• Working With NOAA
• Media & Constituents
• NOAA In Your State
• Emergency Information for NOAA Employees

NOAA Leadership

Jane C. Luxton

Jane C. Luxton, NOAA General Counsel

Jane C. Luxton is the general counsel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She serves as the chief legal officer for all NOAA activities and serves as a policy advisor to the under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. As general counsel, Luxton provides overall management and leadership to more than 90 attorneys. Legal issues at NOAA include those relating to coastal zone management, operation of weather and environmental satellites, management of commercial fisheries, protection of marine mammals and endangered species, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric data and mapping and charting U.S. waters.

In 1978, Luxton was appointed as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1981, she served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. While at the Department of Justice, Luxton received the Attorney General's Award for prosecution of complex litigation. Between 1981 and 1999, Ms. Luxton practiced law in the private sector in both corporate and law firm settings. From 1999 until 2007, Ms. Luxton was a partner in the law firm of King and Spalding in Washington, D.C., where her environmental practice focused on federal and state environmental law as well as international environmental regulation. She also has extensive experience in international trade and antitrust matters.

Luxton graduated from Harvard University and Cornell Law School. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar and chairs the International Environmental Law Committee of the ABA’s Section on Environment, Energy and Resources.