Representative Work and Speaking Engagements

More examples of work I have done...

• Represented corporations in suits brought under Proposition 65 involving a wide variety of consumer products.
• Advised companies on Proposition 65 compliance and strategy issues.
• Acted as lead environmental counsel for plaintiffs in Carson Harbor Village, Ltd. v. Unocal Corporation, et al. before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court involving issues of first impression under the federal Superfund statute.
• Successfully resolved litigation brought by a multinational recycling company alleging breach of contract, fraud and other claims related to the acquisition of assets including a defective wastewater treatment system integral to the operation of the business.
• Represented a redevelopment agency in multiple matters addressing environmental issues associated with brownfields redevelopment.
• Successfully resolving a complex environmental litigation matter resulting from a tire fire in northern California, which included resolution of a class action lawsuit and a related civil enforcement action brought by state environmental officials.
• Represented a recycling company in environmental cleanup litigation brought by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control under the federal Superfund statute; and successfully argued in District Court that the useful products exception applied to the transactions at issue. Represented appellee in appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Case ultimately settled.
• Defeating a preliminary injunction filed against a major airport for alleged failure to comply with the general conformity standards under the federal Clean Air Act during an expansion project.
• Counseling corporate clients on requirements for compliance with state and federal environmental laws and regulations including California’s new Safer Consumer Product regulations and the Green Chemistry Initiative.
• Representing a major retail company in investigations by California District Attorneys alleging improper disposal of hazardous and universal wastes.

Some of my speaking engagements...

• Presenter, “Update on Stormwater Management Legal Issues,” National Association of Flood & Stormwater Management Agencies Annual Meetings, 2013 through 2019. 
• Moderator and presenter, “It Isn't Easy Being Green,” addressing the recent spate of greenwashing lawsuits and issues associated with so-called green claims, presented to the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, July 2012. 
• Presenter, “EPA Guidance Letter on the Clean Water Act: Implications for California Water Users,” 19th Annual Conference California Water Law, Sacramento, CA, Dec. 9, 2011. 
• Presenter, “Energy I California: The Current State of California Energy Markets, Regulation, Legislation and the Potential Issues Which Determine Success,” Nov. 3-4, 2011. 
• Presenter, “Doing Business in an Increasingly Litigious Environment,” CalCIMA 2011 Annual Educational Conference, Monterey, California, Oct. 11, 2011. 
• Presenter, “Lamenting the Perils of Being Green - Not Just a Problem for Kermit the Frog!,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Southern California (ACCA-SoCal), March 15, 2011. 
• Presenter, “The Challenges of Being Green,” Corporate Counsel West Coast Conference, San Francisco, California, Nov. 2010.