Best Lawyers in America for Litigation - Environmental
Practice Area Overview
Environmental litigation and trial work encompass cases in federal court, state court, and before various administrative hearing boards. In federal court, cases frequently involve claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). Claims under those statutes are typically brought by the United States seeking to compel environmental investigation and clean up and/or to recover penalties and actual costs incurred by the government in conducting such investigations and remediation. Additionally, environmental trial lawyers frequently represent parties who have incurred significant costs to address contamination at a particular location and are seeking contribution from other parties (known as potentially responsible parties) who contributed to the contamination and resultant remediation costs. There are a number of other federal environmental statutes, such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act under which environmental advocacy groups can assert citizen suit claims seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged violations of those statutes where the federal or state government has allegedly failed to enforce the statutes.
Most states conduct aggressive enforcement of their own environmental protection statutes, including mini-Superfund statutes, chemical handling and registration laws, and laws designed to regulate oil and gas operations and mining activities. These statutes allow state environmental agencies to assert similar enforcement and cost recovery claims against companies and other parties allegedly responsible for the release of hazardous substances into the soil, water, groundwater, or air. Additionally, most states have adopted statutes regulating the storage of petroleum products in underground storage tanks under which claims can be asserted by the government or affected parties as a result of releases from those tanks.
Another common type of environmental litigation involves claims for injury to natural resources (e.g., wetlands, lakes, rivers, and estuaries), brought by the trustees for the natural resources under CERCLA, other federal statutes or comparable state statutes. Trustees typically seek damages for injury to those natural resources allegedly caused by the release of hazardous substances. Those damage claims relate primarily to damages for loss of use of the resource while it is impaired or diminished because of contamination.
At the administrative level, environmental litigators frequently represent companies in enforcement actions relating to alleged violations of operating or discharge permits issued by state environmental agencies (including defense of civil penalty actions), the limits or conditions imposed in such permits, or the disposal, management, and storage of wastes generated through industrial and commercial processes. Those claims are typically heard by Administrative Judges appointed by the state.
Another major area of environmental litigation involves private party and class action toxic tort cases in which plaintiffs seek recovery for personal injury, property damage, and medical monitoring based on alleged exposure to hazardous substances in the air, soil, or groundwater. More recently, we have seen an increase in environmental litigation brought by citizens or environmental advocacy groups seeking to block or challenge the issuance of permits or authorizations to construct new power plants or related industrial facilities.
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Since competing in Mock Trial tournaments in high school, Jennifer Adams has been hooked on the law. A naturally gifted communicator, Jennifer takes her clients’ best interests into consideration when completing difficult, but sometimes necessary, negotiations. Her love of triaging complex cases, whether defending cancer claims related to alleged asbestos exposure in the work place or "take-home" exposure claims, keeps Jennifer working hard to meet her clients’ needs. Jennifer is ...
Alan Albert is a nationally-honored trial lawyer who has represented clients from Muhammad Ali to multinational corporations in a broad array of commercial disputes, white-collar criminal investigations and prosecutions, intellectual property litigation and other governmental and regulatory matters. Mr. Albert has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America continuously for the past 20 years, and is one of a small number of lawyers in the country to be recognized by Best Lawyers in six dis...
A former deputy general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (now DEP), Silvia Alderman is the chair of Akerman’s Water Task Force, a team of multidisciplinary legal professionals and consultants advising on the regulatory and environmental challenges facing our clients. Recognized by Chambers USA , Silvia is praised for her “wealth of knowledge representing utilities” as well as being “very strong on administrative law.” Silvia represent...
John Allen practices environmental law with a focus on complex litigation. John has represented the State of Georgia as a Special Assistant Attorney General since 2005 in litigation and regulatory matters related to the disputes among Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concerning operation of federal reservoirs and state water rights, including equitable apportionment litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. John has represented local governments in state court l...
Fredric P. Andes is a partner in the Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices of Barnes & Thornburg and the leader of the firm's water team. Fred is involved in counseling and litigation on issues arising under various federal and state environmental laws, with a special emphasis on Clean Water Act matters. Fred is also advising trade associations, industries, and municipalities on TMDLs, permits, and other water quality matters on the state and federal levels, including development of water...
Doug Arnold is Co-Chair of the firm’s Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group. He has over 20 years of experience representing clients in environmental litigation, enforcement, and compliance matters. Doug also has client relationship responsibility for Electrolux North America, as well as for the firm’s environmental work for United Parcel Service, Inc. Doug is listed in Chambers USA , The Best Lawyers in America , and The International Who's Who of Environmental Lawy...
Lee H. Ayres is principally a trial lawyer. He has extensive experience in civil litigation, including business and commercial disputes, oil and gas litigation, property disputes, natural resources litigation, products liability claims, professional malpractice defense, trucking defense, personal injury claims, fraud claims, insurance coverage, and insurance bad faith defense. Lee received his undergraduate and law degrees at Louisiana State University Law Center, where he was a member of the...
For more than three decades, Joseph P. H. Babington has handled civil litigation in state and federal courts in Alabama and around the country. Joe has tried cases, argued appeals, and prosecuted and defended arbitrations. He has worked on a broad range of complex matters and has deep experience in products liability defense, catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, and business and commercial disputes. Joe presented the winning argument in the United States Supreme Court in Kumho Tire C...
Area of Emphasis Chip Babst is Chairman of the Firm and is a member of the Environmental and Energy and Natural Resources groups. Mr. Babst has more than 40 years of experience in providing counsel on environmental matters to both private and public clients. Mr. Babst is a nationally-recognized authority on Clean Air Act issues and has handled complex permitting and compliance issues at federal, state and local levels throughout the United States. His experience in dealing with federal and st...
Environmental lawyer Jennifer Baker guides commercial and industrial clients and landowners through virtually all phases of remediation projects and environmental litigation. She assists clients in resolving their contaminated site issues, as well as provides strategic, cost-effective approaches to addressing potential and existing environmental liabilities and demands. Jennifer practices as part of the firm’s Environmental Department, which has been frequently recognized as Tier 1 for ...
Marty Banks is a partner of Stoel Rives’ Environmental Law practice group and Litigation practice group. His environmental practice includes counseling clients in cost-effective regulatory compliance and permitting strategies. He has broad experience with issues involving the Clean Air Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Administrative Procedures Act and the clean-up and transfer of contaminated properties. Martin’s busi...
Rita Bolt Barker is a veteran litigator and counselor with experience in environmental, commercial litigation, and insurance coverage matters. Environmental Rita has broad experience helping clients navigate the wide range of laws that protect our natural resources. She is a trusted, reliable partner for business and individuals who need a steady guide through the ins and outs of environmental compliance and litigation. Rita delivers results for clients who need assistance in investigating an...
Kerri L. Barsh represents public and private clients on an array of environmental regulatory, permitting and litigation matters, including transactional support and due diligence, environmental assessment and liability matters, energy and infrastructure projects, wetlands and coastal permitting, complex land use projects, air quality matters, hazardous materials contamination, and other compliance and enforcement cases.
David J. Beck is consistently recognized as one of our country’s best trial lawyers. This recognition has grown from the consistent results he has achieved for his clients in his more than forty years of practice. From the smallest disputes to the billion dollar cases, David understands the importance of each case to his client, and he approaches each with the same intensity and integrity that has served him - and his clients - so well for so long. For David Beck, every case is a story ...
Kevin represents a diverse clientele in virtually all aspects of the energy industry. With a background in petroleum geology, he has operated and participated in oil and gas exploration and development projects across North America. As a transactional lawyer, he has represented owners and operators with documentation, due diligence, and business counseling for acquisitions and divestitures and for exploration and operation. As a trial lawyer, he has represented plaintiffs and defendants, both...
Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), has earned an international reputation for her deep and expansive understanding of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the European Union Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, and especially how these regulatory programs pertain to nanotechnology, industrial biotechnology, synthetic biology,...
Robert Berg is a partner in M&R’s San Francisco office. His practice is focused on insurance (including coverage) and environmental law and civil litigation. An insurance industry authority with over three decades of experience, Rob principally represents clients in large complex insurance coverage and bad faith disputes. Over the years, he has litigated many such cases, involving commercial general liability, professional liability, first-party coverage and admiralty policies. Rob ...
Chris Berka is a nationally recognized trial lawyer with a practice focusing on environmental, real estate, energy, natural resources, product liability and contract matters. He has resolved more than two hundred cases for clients in a range of industries and sectors, including technology, aerospace, oil and natural gas, wind energy, real estate development, pharmaceuticals, higher education, transportation, news media, mining and consumer products. In addition to his litigation practice, Chr...
Laurie Styka Bloom represents clients in complex and commercial litigation as well as environmental based litigation claims. What do you focus on? I use my 30 years of litigation and environmental law experience to assist my clients in solving their disputes efficiently and effectively. My practice is focused on litigation arising out of environmental issues, such as alternative energy, cell tower siting and land use as well as commercial and products liability/personal injury issues. Environ...
Greg represents industrial and trade association clients in environmental law and policy matters, including related civil litigation and enforcement issues in state and federal courts. Clients turn to Greg to handle the range of issues related to hazardous waste compliance and policy at the federal and state levels. His more than 35 years of experience include work for retail chains, including pharmacies, on hazardous waste issues. Trade association and industrial clients include Claxton Poul...
Area of Emphasis Don Bluedorn’s practice focuses primarily on water and wastewater management, site remediation/ brownfields, and hazardous and non-hazardous waste issues. Because of the technical nature of both the subject matter and his education, Mr. Bluedorn typically works closely with the client, technical consultants, and engineers during all phases of a project’s development. This team approach has been very successful with state and federal regulatory agencies in a number...
Steven P. Bogart is a shareholder in the Litigation Practice at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren sc where he counsels and represents clients in commercial litigation, environmental litigation and insurance coverage matters. Steve's clients include municipalities, financial institutions and large manufacturers. Steve draws on over three decades of professional experience to achieve the best legal and business results for his clients, whether through out-of-court settlement, mediation, arbitration o...
Companies rely on Meaghan Boyd to develop their complex environmental and toxic tort litigation defense strategy. She also guides companies through the hoops of compliance with federal statutes such as CERCLA, the Clean Water Act, and RCRA and their state counterparts. Meaghan is co-chair of Alston & Bird’s Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group. She defends companies in complex environmental and toxic tort litigation in federal and state courts. She also routinely coun...
Jeff Brenner is a trial lawyer who represents clients in complex business disputes in federal and state courts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, arbitrations, mediations and before regulatory agencies. Jeff concentrates his practice on construction and real estate disputes, and he leads the firm’s Real Estate Litigation team and Construction group. What do you focus on? I help people and businesses that have disputes requiring litigation. I focus on construction and complex real estate...
Vicki Bronson is an experienced business, trial, and real estate attorney who focuses on achieving her client’s goals effectively and efficiently. Her trial practice includes complex commercial litigation, antitrust defense, class action defense, and environmental claims. Vicki is currently defending multiple high-stakes federal and state antitrust class action cases. In addition, Vicki has extensive experience in successfully representing corporate clients in the defense of environment...
Kelly D. Brown has practiced environmental, health, and safety (EHS) law since 1991, and is a shareholder in the firm’s EHS Section. Kelly’s legal practice is a broad-based one as he handles EHS-related litigation, transactional matters, remediation projects, and compliance counseling. Kelly defends corporate clients in various personal injury and toxic tort lawsuits and administrative proceedings brought by governmental agencies including the Texas Commission on Environmental Qua...
Mike Brown is the head of the Real Estate Litigation Team at the firm. Mike is a member of the firm’s Environmental and Toxic Tort Practice Group and the General Litigation Practice Group. Mike’s emphasis in both practice groups is on real property and land use matters. Because of this emphasis in his practice, Mike also works very closely with the Real Estate Group. For the past several years, Mike has served as an adjunct Professor at the University of Alabama School of Law wher...
Marc Bruner is a partner with the firm's Environment, Energy & Resources practice. Marc represents governmental entities and private companies in a wide variety of environmental, land use, and natural resource matters. He counsels clients on formulating long-term development strategies, preparing and processing environmental studies and land use plans, and obtaining the necessary federal, state and local permits and approvals for a broad range of private and public development projects &n...
Heather represents property owners and developers in all phases of real estate development, from pre-acquisition due diligence through local permitting and appeals. Heather has represented development clients on land use matters in jurisdictions across the state of Washington, successfully permitting and defending a variety of large residential, commercial, and industrial projects. Heather also represents property owners, businesses, and individuals in permitting and zoning regulatory matters...
Stuart Butzier has assisted mining, energy, high-tech, industrial and ranching clients throughout his thirty-plus year legal career with Modrall Sperling. His counsel has included helping clients strategically navigate the maze of environmental and mining regulatory and permitting regimes, the morass of litigation, and the unique challenges of complex deals and real property transactions involving private, Federal, State, Indian and split-estate lands. Recognized in the area of Natural Resour...
Litigation partner Kate Campbell handles environmental, toxic tort and class action litigation and Superfund and RCRA remediation matters*. Since joining the firm in 2003, she has developed considerable experience in defending complex toxic tort claims for personal injury, wrongful death, medical monitoring and property damage, in representing potentially responsible parties across the country in CERCLA and RCRA matters, and in litigating federal, state and private enforcement actions under a...
Jeff Carlin focuses his practice on complex litigation involving the environment and land use entitlements, as well as environmental permitting and compliance matters. Jeff advises clients and litigates cases implicating various state and federal environmental laws such as CERCLA, the Clean Water Act, state water quality laws, planning and zoning laws, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Jeff represents clients in site clean-ups at federal and state Superfund sites involving ...
Nicki Carlsen is the co-leader of the firm’s Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group. Her practice focuses on land use, environmental compliance and litigation. She has over 25 years of experience with the federal, state and local regulations affecting development projects, including land use planning and subdivision laws, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Coastal Act, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act, endangered species act...
Mike Carlton worked as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., representing the EPA and other government agencies. Thereafter, he worked as a senior attorney and policy analyst with the Environmental Law Institute, and then as Wisconsin counsel for a national environmental organization. Mike has taught and studied environmental law and policy in Washington, D.C., London, and the University of Wisconsin Law School. Mike heads the firm’s Environmental Law P...
Chris Carr is widely regarded as one of the leading project development, environmental, and energy lawyers in the United States. Drawing on his experience with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of State, Mr. Carr represents businesses, land developers, public agencies, and nonprofits in all areas of environmental and natural resource law, including energy, transportation, water, forestry, mining, coastal and marine resources, and agriculture. In particular, his pract...
Sophia (Sophie) Castillo counsels domestic and international importers, distributors, national brands, private labels, institutional suppliers, family-owned food processing businesses, and retail grocers on compliance, litigation, and risk avoidance surrounding California’s Proposition 65, as well as other state and national laws related to chemicals and toxics. She advises clients involved in numerous industries across the entire supply chain, including food and beverage, apparel, cook...
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