chris m. bromley

Chris is a founding member of McHugh Bromley, PLLC, a law firm focusing on water law and administrative law.  Based on his western upbringing, Chris' practice is practical and solution-centered.  Chris is licensed to practice law in Idaho and Colorado (inactive).

Prior to founding McHugh Bromley, PLLC, Chris served as a Deputy Attorney General for ten years.  During his decade of service, Chris advised three Directors of Idaho’s Department of Water Resources on water law and administrative law, worked cooperatively with the Department’s technical staff to develop administrative orders, and help shape water policy.  Chris represented the Department in two main capacities.  As the lead Deputy Attorney General for the Department in the Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA) and Coeur d’Alene-Spokane River Basin Adjudication (CSRBA), Chris was responsible for supervising multiple Deputy Attorneys General and paralegals, as well as devising ways to resolve thousands of water right claims in all corners of the SRBA, typically without trial.  Chris also served as the lead Deputy Attorney General in Idaho’s three seminal conjunctive management delivery call cases: A&B Irrigation District; Surface Water Coalition; and Thousand Springs (Blue Lakes Trout Farm, Inc. and Clear Springs Foods, Inc.).  In each of the delivery calls, Chris represented the Department at the administrative hearings, on review before the District Court, and successfully defended the Director’s orders on appeal before the Idaho Supreme Court.

Based on his work in the SRBA and the conjunctive management delivery calls, Chris was presented with the 2012 Jim Jones Award for Public Service by the Conference of Western Attorney Generals (CWAG) at CWAG’s annual convention in Anaheim, California.  CWAG is comprised of the chief legal officers of fifteen western states and three Pacific territories.  The Jim Jones Award is presented to one deputy attorney general, on an annual basis, who shows a significant commitment to public service, advancement of multi-state CWAG goals, and a sustained commitment of time, talent and energy to issues affecting member states.

Also based on his work in the SRBA and his tenure with the Office of the Attorney General, the Idaho Supreme Court, the University of Idaho College of Law, and The Kempthorne Institute invited Chris to speak at the August 25, 2014 ceremony marking the conclusion of the Snake River Basin Adjudication.  The keynote speaker was United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin G. Scalia.

Since founding McHugh Bromley, PLLC, Chris has developed client relationships with municipalities, industry, ski resorts, banks, home owner associations, private water users, water user groups, and as a hearing officer in natural resources disputes.

Chris was born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, then attended high school on Colorado’s rural, western slope, which is where he developed his interest and passion for water use in an arid climate.  Chris furthered his knowledge in water law and policy as a Politics major at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and subsequently at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington, where he graduated magna cum laude with an emphasis in environmental law.

Major Areas of Practice

  • Water Law

  • Administrative Law

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado (2001) (inactive)

  • Idaho (2002)

  • United States District Court, District of Idaho (2002)

Education

  • Gonzaga University School of Law, Spokane, Washington (2001)

    • Juris Doctorate

    • Magna Cum Laude

    • Gonzaga Law Review, Associate Editor

  • Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington (1997)

    • Bachelor of Arts, Politics

    • Varsity Alpine Ski Racing, Varsity Soccer

Professional Work Experience

  • McHugh Bromley, PLLC (2013 – Present)

    • Founding Member

  • Office of the Attorney General (2003 – 2013)

    • Deputy Attorney General, Assigned to Idaho Department of Water Resources

  • Cosho Humphrey Greener & Welsch (2002 – 2003)

    • Associate Attorney

  • Idaho Court of Appeals (2001 – 2002)

    • Law Clerk to the Honorable Karen L. Lansing (retired)

Representative Appellate Decisions

  • Whittaker v. Idaho Dept. of Water Res., Supreme Court Docket No. 50000-2022 (June 27, 2024)

  • First Security Corp. v. Belle Ranch, LLC, 165 Idaho 733, 451 P.3d 446 (2019)

  • Eagle Creek Irr. Co. v. A.C. & C.E. Invs., Inc., 165 Idaho 467, 447 P.3d 915 (2019)

  • In re Distribution of Water to Various Water Rights Held by or for Benefit of A&B Irr. Dist. et al., 155 Idaho 640, 315 P.3d 828 (2014)

  • A & B Irr. Dist. v. Idaho Dept. of Water Resources, 153 Idaho 500, 284 P.3d 225 (2012)

  • Clear Springs Foods, Inc. v. Spackman, 150 Idaho 790, 252 P.3d 71 (2011)

  • Chisholm v. Idaho Dept. of Water Resources, 142 Idaho 159, 125 P.3d 515 (2005)

Classes & Seminars Taught

  • Idaho Ski Areas Association Annual Meeting (2024, Sun Valley ID)

  • Idaho Rural Water Association Annual Meeting (2024, Boise ID)

  • Governor Brad Little’s Water Summit, Idaho State Capitol (2023, Boise ID)

  • Association of Idaho Cities Annual Meeting (2022, Boise ID)

  • Association of Idaho Cities Water Summit (2020, Boise ID)

  • Nevada Water Law Conference (2018, Reno NV)

  • Law Seminars International, Co-Chair, Idaho Water Law Conference (2017, Boise ID)

  • Law Seminars International, Co-Chair, Idaho Water Law Conference (2016, Boise ID)

  • Idaho State Bar 2016 Annual Meeting, What Happened in the SRBA? Water Rights Basics and Post Adjudication Considerations (2016, Boise, ID)

  • Association of Idaho Cities, Mitigating for Municipal Water Use (2016, Boise ID)

  • Association of Idaho Cities, Municipal Water Hot Topics (2016, Boise ID)

  • Idaho Water Users Association, Wood River Basin Delivery Calls (2016, Sun Valley ID)

  • Law Seminars International, Co-Chair, Planning for Drought at the Municipal Level (2015, Boise ID)

  • Association of Idaho Cites, Annual Conference; Municipal Water Curtailment (2015, Boise ID)

  • Idaho Agricultural Bankers' Annual Education Conference, Idaho Water Issues (2015, Meridian ID)

  • Idaho Supreme Court, University of Idaho College of Law, and The Kempthorne Institute, Understanding the SRBA Resolution: A Foundation for Idaho & National Water Policy (2014, Boise ID)

  • Law Seminars International, Co-Chair, The Northern Idaho Adjudication: What to Expect and How to Prepare (2014, Coeur d'Alene ID)

  • Association of Idaho Cities, Annual Conference; Priority Date Matters! (2014, Boise ID)

  • Association of Idaho Cities; Northern Idaho Adjudication Workshop (2014, Post Falls ID)

  • Idaho Municipal Attorneys Association, Northern Idaho Adjudication: Preserving Priority of Municipal Water Rights (2014, Boise ID)

  • NBI Seminars, Idaho Water Law: Special Considerations for Ground Water (2013, Boise ID)

  • National Judicial College, Dividing the Waters, Making the Connection: Surface and Groundwater (2012, Davis CA)

  • Half Moon Seminars, Idaho Water Laws and Regulations (2012, Boise ID)

  • Law Seminars International, Idaho Water Law (2011, Boise ID)

  • Law Seminars International, Water Law in the Inland Northwest (2011, Spokane WA)

  • Law Seminars International, Idaho Water Law (2010, Boise ID)

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Idaho State Bar Water Law Section

Recognition

  • Jim Jones Award for Public Service, Conference of Western Attorneys General (2012)

Publications

Community Activities

  • Whitman College Alumni Board (2024 — Present)

    • Board Member

  • Bogus Basin Ski Education Foundation (2015 -- Present)

    • Board of Directors

  • Colorado Rocky Mountain School (2009 -- 2015)

    • Board of Trustees