Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2027 
Helen J. Barnes is an Environmental Law attorney in Atlanta, Georgia with Kazmarek Mowrey Cloud Laseter LLP. She advises retail, industrial, corporate, and governmental clients on a wide range of environmental regulatory, transactional, policy, and litigation matters. Helen works with clients to address environmental risks while supporting operational and business goals.
Her practice includes environmental compliance counseling, enforcement defense, permitting, environmental due diligence, and contaminated property matters. Helen counsels clients on issues involving waste disposal, water quality, pesticide regulation, hazardous waste management, stormwater and wastewater permitting, groundwater protection, wetlands, stream buffers, and remediation projects. She also represents clients in matters involving federal, state, and local regulatory agencies and assists with responses to citizen suit actions.
Helen regularly advises clients on major environmental statutes and regulatory programs, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act, CERCLA/Superfund laws, and extended producer responsibility regulations. She has helped clients resolve environmental enforcement actions, negotiate reduced penalties, obtain dismissals in multi-party investigations, and develop settlement frameworks tailored to operational and compliance objectives.
In addition, Helen assists lenders, property owners, developers, and purchasers with environmental due diligence and risk assessment in commercial transactions. She provides guidance on voluntary cleanup programs, remediation obligations, permitting concerns, and environmental liabilities associated with real estate and business transactions.
