Providing quality legal services in environmental law not only requires the skill to guide clients through a complex maze of regulations, but also an understanding of the scientific basis of environmental laws as well as the critical political, social, and economic factors which often arise.

We use our skills and knowledge to provide a wide range of services to our clients, including transaction structuring which appropriately allocates risks of environmental liabilities; compliance counseling to identify, minimize, or avoid such risks in connection with various commercial and industrial activities; representation in judicial and administrative proceedings involving permitting or environmental liabilities; and monitoring and where appropriate, lobbying for proposed environmental legislation or changes in regulations. Clients requiring such services include an extremely wide variety of businesses engaged in virtually every aspect of commercial activity. We also have extensive experience in rendering advice to financial institutions in establishing environmental risk management programs. The strength of our firm in other areas such as energy, banking, bankruptcy, corporate, tax, real estate, and litigation provides us with the capability to bring the optimum mix of talents and experience to serve the interests of our clients in the most practical, economical, and effective manner possible.

Commercial Transactional Structuring

Our environmental attorneys have experience in guiding and evaluating environmental assessments and in drafting and negotiating appropriate environmental provisions in commercial property leases, mineral leases, sales agreements, deed, loan commitment letters, loan agreements, corporate merger and acquisition documents, and in wills and trusts.

Environmental issues are pervasive in commercial transactions, overlapping banking, corporate, real estate, product liability, bankruptcy, insurance, and labor areas. In this regard, we have a wealth of experience in advising buyers, sellers, and lenders concerning environmental risk identification allocation, reduction, and management. Our firm has been heavily involved in corporate and financing transactions and addressing potential environmental liability concerns in contract documents by properly drafting representations and warranties, indemnification, waivers, hold harmless agreements, escrows, and other protective mechanisms.

Compliance Counseling

We also have counseling experience related to environmental permitting and regulatory requirements for energy development; coal-surface mining; coal-deep mining; oil and gas operations; solid waste; hazardous waste generation, storage and treatment; air pollution control requirements including special regulations pertaining to Prevention Of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permits and asbestos management; electric power plant siting; water pollution control requirements; medical/infectious waste regulation; underground storage tank regulations; wetlands; historic preservation; and endangered species. The drafting and review of National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Impact Statements is an area of particular emphasis in our environmental department.

Representation in Judicial and Administrative Proceedings

Environmental litigation reflects the need to combine fundamental litigation skills with substantive environmental law capabilities. Thus, we use an interdisciplinary approach to staff major cases with a team of litigation and environmental law experts whose combined abilities will provide maximum effectiveness and opportunity for success. Specific areas of environmental litigation experience of the firm include: representation of potential responsible parties in Superfund actions; insurance coverage of pollution cleanup costs actions; defense against enforcement actions for failures to comply with the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation Recovery Act, Surface Mining Acts; toxic tort defense; and defense against criminal enforcement of environmental laws. Members of the Environmental Department have substantial involvement in representing clients in environmental regulatory proceedings.

Legislative Activity

We also have vast experience in drafting legislation and regulations concerning environmental subjects. We monitor and influence, where appropriate, proposed environmental legislation and regulations that would affect our clients. We make strong efforts to stay abreast of developments in environmental statutes and regulations. Pending legislation, in particular, is closely watched so that we may advise our clients to plan in advance for these environmental requirements. Such monitoring of legislative activity and client counseling provides our clients the means to avoid disruption of their business operations due to new environmental requirements.