Professor Moran entered her career as a professional legal editor while still in law school. She began as a part-time associate editor for The Yearbook of International Environmental Law in 1991. After she graduated in 1992, she also became a full-time staff attorney at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C., where she wrote and edited for ELR—The Environmental Law Reporter. She kept both positions until 1997.

Professor Moran then left the field of professional writing and editing for private practice. She was an associate in the Denver office of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll until 1999. She then joined the boutique environmental law firm of Fognani & Associates, where she practiced law for six more years.

While in practice, Professor Moran represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of litigation matters—some highly visible—related to natural resources, environmental law, and real estate, with a specific emphasis on the mining, oil and gas, and nuclear materials industries. She litigated a number of citizen suits under the federal environmental statutes, toxic tort actions in state courts, and numerous environmental cost recovery actions. She also represented her corporate clients in transactional environmental matters and routinely counseled them on compliance, permitting, and the development and implementation of self-auditing programs.

In 2005, Professor Moran became Director of Publications at the Denver Art Museum, where she was responsible for the editorial content and quality of the museum’s written materials and managed a staff of eight editors and graphic designers for the next two years. She left the museum to bring her editing and law practice expertise to the Sturm College of Law Lawyering Process Program.

As a staff attorney for ELR—The Environmental Law Reporter, Professor Moran published extensively. She has also authored “Commercial Leasing and Environmental Hazards” in Negotiating and Structuring Real Estate Transactions (Mark Senn, ed., Supp 1999) (with B. Temkin) and has lectured on the topic “Environmental Hazards Liability” at two CLE International Conferences. Outside the legal field, Professor Moran has published numerous articles in the Denver Art Museum’s periodical On & Off the Wall.

Professor Moran performs with the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra. Her other interests include all manner of outdoor activities, reading, movies, beating back the encroaching wilderness of her backyard, and (don’t tell anyone) playing World of Warcraft.