Our Team
Heather Kumer - Managing Partner
Heather Kumer practices primarily in the areas of real estate, land use, environmental/sustainable development, municipal, regulatory, and cannabis law. With almost 15 years of practicing in both the private and public sector, she provides a unique perspective for clients and guides them in making their project’s vision a reality. Described by some clients as a “Policy Wonk”, Heather excels in developing creative strategies to tackle complicated issues to develop policies, legislation, municipal ordinances, grant applications, licensing applications, and real estate development projects.
As part of her practice, she regularly works to obtain approvals in front of planning boards, zoning boards and historic preservation boards, as well as provides counsel on redevelopment agreements and redevelopment plan amendments. Heather has received approvals on both commercial and residential projects varying from 3 story single homes, to 27 story mixed-use developments, to dispensaries with a drive thru.
Through her career, Heather was involved in public and private partnerships, redeveloper designations and agreements, as well as large-scale projects related to the redevelopment of the City of Jersey City, including the construction of Berry Lane Park, a 17 ½ acre former brownfield site. While working in the public sector, Heather secured and implemented federal, state, county and private grants, including the Major League Baseball Grant, Tony Hawk Grant, Hudson County Open Spaces Grant, NOAA Resiliency Grant, and the NJDEP Post Sandy Resiliency Grant.
While being part of cannabis policy advocacy for the past 20 years, Heather works on a wide array of cannabis including, state and local licensing applications, policies, regulatory compliance, zoning and land/use issues, and business start-up strategy. She represents a broad spectrum of clients including farmers, hospitals, non-profits, large corporations, municipalities, and interested individuals new to the industry. She is passionate about providing a voice to her clients and guiding them through this newly legal and regulated market.
Considered an expert in the real estate, land use and cannabis industry fields, Ms. Kumer has been invited to speak at various conferences including the American Planning Association NYC Chapter Planning Conference, New Jersey Association of Planning and Zoning Administrators and Rutgers University Center for Government Services Current Issues in Planning and Zoning, and American Planning Association New Jersey Chapter Planning Conference.
Heather received her B.A. in Law & Society from American University and her J.D. and Environmental Law Certificate from Pace University School of Law.
Alison Reynolds - Partner
Alison Reynolds, Esq. has more than a decade of experience focused on environmental, agricultural, and real estate law. She began her career as a Deputy Attorney General in the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General’s Environmental Practice Group where she represented several New Jersey State agencies, including the Department of Environmental Protection, the Water Supply Authority, the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission, and the State Agriculture Development Committee. She then went in-house with the State Agriculture Development Committee where her duties included counseling the agency in farmland preservation transactions and being the primary contact for Right to Farm Act inquiries. Ms. Reynolds joined Kumer & Hopper Law, now known as Watershed Legal Group, in August 2022.
She is a graduate of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in White Plains, NY where she received a certificate in environmental law. In May 2022, she completed the Professional and Continuing Education Leadership in Disruptive Times Certificate Program at Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business. She also served on the advisory council for this program.
Taylor Naughton - Office Manager
Taylor Naughton earned a Master’s in Social Work from Fordham University. After a few years in the social work field, she pivoted to working on and managing organic farms. She now runs her own small farm business on her property while raising her 3 children. She manages the office and administrative tasks for Watershed Legal Group. She also serves as an Agricultural Consultant due to her experience in the field, and serves as a board member to the non-profit Fostering Farmers.