Find Lawyers in Georgia, United States for Environmental Law
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
Beth is a partner in the Environmental and Healthcare practices and a member of the Life Sciences industry team. Focusing her practice on regulatory law, she leverages her experience and relationships as a former attorney with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to counsel businesses regulated by governmental agencies. Beth serves clients across a broad spectrum of industries, including chemical companies, real estate developers, retailers, lenders, drug and medical device manufacturers,...
Charlie Denton represents an array of clients in environmental and toxic tort litigation, enforcement defense, regulatory compliance solutions and pollution insurance coverage disputes. He also serves as an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) neutral mediator and arbitrator. Persistent and highly collaborative, Charlie can take complicated issues and challenges and then identify a strategic path to achieve the client’s objectives. Charlie’s representation of industrial, municipal...
Heather Friedman focuses her practice on the resolution of complex environmental issues from a business and real estate perspective. Her practice includes both transactional and compliance work associated with the acquisition, development, disposition, management and financing of properties and companies with environmental issues throughout the country. Her practice involves both developed and underutilized environmentally impacted properties for use as industrial, retail, hotel, office, resi...
A former federal enforcement counsel with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a former special assistant U.S. attorney, Rich Glaze provides creative, strategic, results-oriented counsel to his clients in the enforcement and defense of environmental, administrative, civil and criminal proceedings. Rich stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his clients – primarily corporations, municipalities, utilities and individuals – who need guidance regarding environmental permitting and ...
Rick Horder has engaged in the practice of environmental law and litigation for nearly forty years. As an Assistant United States Attorney from 1974 to 1977, he represented the U.S. EPA in numerous water and NEPA cases. From 1978 to 1989, he was Regional Counsel, and later Associate General Counsel, for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, where he was responsible for all environmental and toxic tort compliance and litigation company-wide. In 1989, he joined Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, a large Atlanta l...
Wyatt Kendall focuses his practice on brownfield redevelopment and urban renewal projects and routinely advises local and national industrial, multi-family, mixed-use, and retail clients on the acquisition, development, disposition, management, and financing of properties with significant environmental issues and properties within urban and industrial areas across the country. He also represents corporate and lending clients on environmental issues in the context of a host of corporate transa...
Scott Laseter´s practice has included litigation, regulatory and transactional aspects of environmental law. For the last dozen years, he has devoted a substantial portion of his practice to manufactured gas plant issues ranging from investigation and remediation oversight to cost recovery, insurance coverage and common law litigation. In recent years, he has also devoted a substantial portion of his practice to representing publicly traded real estate companies, parties to CMBS transac...
Jason Lichtstein focuses his practice on the cleanup, reuse, repurposing and redevelopment of Brownfields and other contaminated or distressed properties across Florida, including in the use of Brownfield financial and regulatory incentives, and in addressing and developing solutions for a range of environmental issues arising in transactions. A past President of the Florida Brownfields Association (FBA) and the current FBA President-Elect, Jason has been closely involved in the drafting, lob...
Clients rely on Clay Massey for complex litigation matters, particularly in the areas of land use and toxic torts. He has been trial counsel in numerous matters across various states and has tried several cases to verdict. Trusted by his peers, Clay is recognized in the legal community for his distinguished service, and is a chair of the American Bar Association’s Mass Tort/Toxic Tort Subcommittee. Clay is a trial attorney in Alston & Bird’s Environment, Land Use & Natural...
Stephen McCullers is an Associate in the firm’s Environmental Practice. Stephen has a diverse environmental practice, assisting clients with complying with complex environmental, health, and safety regulations. Stephen also has expertise with air and water permitting, environmental due diligence and liability, and environmental litigation. Before becoming an attorney, Stephen was a Natural Resources Specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He conducted environmental compliance ...
David Meezan’s practice concentrates on complex environmental, climate change and energy regulatory compliance, enforcement and litigation matters as well as strategic corporate transactions. David has represented clients in a variety of environmental and toxic tort litigation matters in both federal and state courts and in complex regulatory matters arising under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and their state law counterparts. He also...
Bob Mowrey represents clients facing complex environmental and energy matters, including litigation, enforcement and regulatory advice. His preeminence in his field has been recognized with listings in Best Lawyers in America; Chambers USA America’s Leading Business Lawyers; Who’s Who Legal; Legal 500; and LawDragon. Prior to becoming a founding partner of the firm, Bob spent 21 years practicing at Alston & Bird, LLP, a national Am Law 100 firm, where he was the long-time chai...
Gerald L. Pouncey, Jr. is the Chairman of Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP. A Senior Partner in the firm, he also heads the Environmental and Infrastructure Practices. His primary focus is the acquisition, disposition and/or the redevelopment of properties with significant environmental impact (including state and federal superfund sites), mergers, investments and financing related to such properties and the development and implementation of green energy technologies and strategies. He lectu...
Susan Hearne Richardson concentrates her practice in the area of environmental law, including regulatory and compliance counseling, due diligence for real estate and corporate transactions, permitting, enforcement and hazardous site remediation. Ms. Richardson has significant experience in advising clients with regard to the wastewater permitting and enforcement issues, particularly as applicable to municipal governments.
Ron Talley is a partner in the Savannah office and concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate , environmental law, and commercial finance . Ron is experienced in the areas of commercial finance, land development, brownfield development, and environmental compliance and permitting. He has assisted clients throughout the United States on a broad range of matters, such as remediation and redevelopment of properties impacted by releases of regulated substances, acquisition and sale of ...
Jonathan Wells is a partner in the firm's Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources and Toxic Tort Groups, where he concentrates his practice on environmental regulatory, transactional and litigation matters, and toxic tort litigation matters. His regulatory experience includes the defense of clients in federal and state enforcement proceedings, compliance counseling, providing due diligence in transactions, and hazardous site cleanups. In the toxic tort area, his experience includes defe...
Max Zygmont has a broad-based litigation, enforcement defense, and compliance counseling practice. He combines strength in core environmental programs with a firm grasp of emerging environmental issues. Max routinely advises clients regarding the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Superfund. Max's work in these areas has taken place at both the state and federal levels and in all contexts, from transactions and permi...
Helen brings experience representing environmental clients in regulatory, transactional, policy, and litigation matters at the federal, state, and local levels. She regularly assists lenders, purchasers, sellers, and other property owners with respect to environmental due diligence and remediation, as well as taking contaminated sites through Brownfield and state voluntary cleanup programs. She provides counsel on stormwater compliance, wastewater discharge permits, stream buffer issues, and ...
JD Howard is an Associate in the firm’s Environmental and Construction Practice Groups. JD focuses his practice on the national representation of project owners, lenders, investors, developers, general contractors, and specialty subcontractors in the drafting, negotiation, and review of design, engineering, and construction agreements. He has assisted clients with the design, construction, and renovation of major commercial buildings, multi-family housing projects (including condominium...
Brian Remler is in the firm’s Environmental and Construction Practice. Brian focuses his practice on assessing the potential environmental liability involved in real estate transactions and allocating risks for environmentally impacted properties. Brian attended The University of North Carolina and received a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies and Asian Studies. Brian then attended Stetson University College of Law where he was a Notes and Comments Editor, and later the Executive Editor...
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