Best Lawyers Near You in New York, New York for Environmental Law
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Practice Area Overview
Environmental law involves an intricate matrix of federal and state public welfare statutes enacted to protect both human health and our natural resources. The economic and socio-geopolitical impact of these laws requires the practice of environmental law to continuously evolve. Areas of environmental law include the following:
Regulatory
The input and experience of an environmental lawyer is crucial in designing, supporting, and auditing environmental compliance systems. Environmental lawyers often participate in the administrative process on the federal and state level to encourage sound rulemaking. They also assist clients in sorting through regulatory ambiguities, which sometimes arise in enforcement proceedings.
Litigation
Environmental litigation occurs at both the civil and criminal level. Enforcement proceedings with federal and state regulators are conducted through either administrative adjudications or in court. Most federal environmental statutes have citizen suit provisions allowing individuals to initiate enforcement litigation on behalf of the government. Suits contesting environmental permits and siting decisions occur frequently and can cause significant delays for projects. Superfund designations are a source of significant litigation, particularly in the cost recovery area. Other areas of environmental litigation include: toxic torts, natural resource damages, water rights disputes, brownfields, endangered species challenges, climate change, and groundwater contamination suits.
Business Transactions
Environmental laws can significantly impact the economics of an M&A or real property transaction. If a facility does not have the entitlements to operate; has an expensive compliance issue that must be remedied; or has significant cleanup liability, it can materially alter the viability and/or structure of a deal. Clients depend on environmental lawyers to establish deal parameters and translate risks into economic terms for the valuation process.
Strategic Corporate Planning
Depending on how environmental regulations develop, a company could gain a significant economic advantage over its competitors. Evolving regulation in areas such greenhouse gas emissions have the potential of altering the business model of some companies, while creating growth opportunities for others.
Corporate Governance
Events such as the Deepwater Horizon accident are redefining the roles of senior executives and boards of directors. There is a new wave of internal controls that many corporations are implementing in response to regulatory and shareholder influence.
Crisis Management
An environmental crisis such as an oil spill, toxic leak, or refinery explosion can be a defining moment in the history of a corporation. When a crisis hits, all aspects of environmental law come into play and requires experienced, clear-eyed counsel to help corporations, municipalities, and other impacted entities to successfully respond to and emerge from such an event.
Partner Robb Fox has a diverse practice involving compliance counseling, litigation and transactional work for clients in the waste, chemical manufacturing and development industries and on behalf of cities and municipalities. He is known nationally for his work under the federal Superfund law including handling many high profile Superfund matters such as the Keystone Landfill matter, featured on 60 Minutes, and the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek sites. He regularly litigates Superfund issue...
Mr. Freeman has over 35 years of experience representing buyers, sellers, and developers of contaminated properties, as well as both plaintiffs and defendants in Superfund and other litigation regarding the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. He is a frequent author and speaker on environmental law topics and is the recipient of a 2012 Burton Award as “an outstanding law firm author.” His extensive bar association and pro bono activities include service as President of the New York ...
With a focus on land use, environmental law and litigation, Rick Leland represents real estate developers, universities, hospitals, non-profit organizations, and industrial companies on the environmental aspects of real estate transactions, development, and land use. Rick’s work has been central in gaining approvals for – or defending lawsuits against – multiple billion dollar developments. He works with clients nationwide on a range of matters, including environmental impac...
Nicole Moshang is a litigation partner at the firm where she represents clients in the pursuit of and in defense of environmental claims for cost recovery, contribution, natural resource damages, toxic tort, breach of contract, insurance coverage and enforcement and penalty actions under various state and federal statutes. In addition to her litigation practice, Nicole advises clients on a range of environmental matters, including regulatory compliance with federal, state and local regimes. N...
Michelle Greene is an associate at The Lanier Law Firm. She represents clients in a variety of civil litigation matters, including toxic torts and products liability. Prior to joining The Lanier Law Firm, Ms. Greene worked passionately in representing individuals, communities, and municipalities across the country injured as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals. She also represented individuals injured by Aqueous Film-Form Foam (AFFF) and Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamina...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.