Figuring out which environmental laws apply to your project or business can be difficult, and implementing cost-effective and efficient solutions can be even more challenging. Experienced environmental attorneys who know the lay of the land can alert you to potential regulatory and permitting roadblocks and help you avoid unnecessary delays and costs.
When counseling you, we draw upon decades of experience with environmental legal issues and comprehensive services to our clients — from project planning and permitting to representing clients in cutting-edge litigation. Our attorneys can help you bring your plans to life. We often succeed where those with less experience would not. We stay on top of what regulatory developments are ahead, so we can advise you on compliance strategies to help you prevent liability while you contribute to a safer and more sustainable environment.
Quick Facts
- One of the largest environmental law practices in New England
- Nationwide environmental transactional practice known for cost-effectively managing property transfer, remediation, and financing
- Frequent consultants to regulators and trade associations on cutting-edge issues
- Senior lawyers include two former general counsel of government agencies
- Attorneys helped draft Massachusetts Brownfield legislation
- Environmental permitting for recent infrastructure projects involving more than $1 billion in capital investments
- Recent litigation includes amicus position largely adopted by US Supreme Court in CERCLA litigation
- Demonstrated ability to efficiently and effectively prosecute environmental cleanup cost recovery cases with favorable results
Areas of Focus
- Brownfield remediation and redevelopment
- Represent sellers, purchasers, and redevelopers of environmentally impacted properties, including negotiations with federal, state, and local authorities regarding site cleanup
- Work with state regulatory agencies to minimize deed restrictions, rationalize post-remediation conditions, and secure Brownfields tax credits
- Cleanup cost recovery
- Represent clients in negotiations concerning remedy selection and implementation issues and allocations among potentially responsible parties (PRPs)
- Use in-depth knowledge of case law and leading experts to facilitate resolutions and identify opportunities to make new law, when necessary, at the trial and appellate levels
- Enforcement defense
- Assist clients during agency and grand jury investigations
- Conduct internal investigations
- Conduct litigation risk assessments
- Defend collateral administrative proceedings, including government contract suspension/debarment proceedings
- Defend corporate officers and individuals against allegations of criminal liability
- Defend enforcement actions in federal and state court
- Handle appellate matters
- Handle enforcement issues that arise during settlement implementation
- Negotiate consent decrees, plea agreements, and other settlement agreements
- Regulatory compliance and pe style="margin-top: 0px;"rmitting
- Hazardous waste and toxic substance management and control
- Air quality control
- Surface water, groundwater, and storm water discharges
- Emissions reporting
- Underground storage tank compliance
- Groundwater withdrawals
- State and federal Superfund / RCRA representation
- Select and cost-effectively manage technical consultants and experts
- Ensure agency / client compliance with applicable regulations, policies, and guidance
- Secure approvals, minimize post-remediation restrictions, and conditions
- Coordinate and manage relationships with stakeholders
- Work with PRP groups, including chairing such groups and handling internal and external negotiations
- Transactional representation
- Advise clients on environmental and natural resource issues in commercial transactions
- Identify and assess environmental concerns, and structure corporate and real estate transactions to address potential environmental liability
- Represent clients in lending, asset purchases, project development, and mergers and acquisitions
- Work with clients and rating agencies on environmental disclosure
Rankings & Recognitions
- Acquisition International Legal Award for Environmental Law (2011, 2012)
- Practice ranked in Chambers USA every year
- Environmental law attorneys ranked in the following:
- Best Lawyers in America
- Guide to the World’s Leading Environmental Lawyers
- Which Lawyer? Yearbook