Regulatory and Government Affairs
Our ability to counsel clients in strategic planning and compliance is greatly enhanced by our extensive environmental litigation experience. We have represented clients in:
- administrative enforcement actions and litigation brought by federal, state and local agencies and commissions in forums across the United States.
- the enforcement of environmental claims against other private parties.
- claim negotiations and litigation against primary, excess and umbrella insurers for indemnification of environmental response costs, toxic tort claims, property damage claims, personal injury claims and reimbursement of defense costs.
- toxic tort actions alleging property damage or personal injuries.
- civil penalty and criminal proceedings, both before grand juries and in pretrial and trial proceedings, with respect to acts or omissions regarding hazardous waste disposal or spill reporting incidents which federal and state agencies or the Department of Justice have attempted to characterize as criminal conduct.
- defending individual enforcement proceedings relating to the determination of economic benefit, and filed extensive comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Ben Model.
- collateral proceedings relating to enforcement matters (e.g. contractor listing, debarment).
Our lawyers have extensive experience in trial work in complex litigation before judges and juries and in appellate advocacy in the federal and state courts. The depth and range of our environmental practice, our pre-eminent litigation and trial practice, our sensitivity to the clients’ business goals and the ability to fashion a litigation strategy that meets those goals in a cost-effective and timely manner distinguishes us from other environmental litigation firms.