Editorial: Environment in California

01 August 2007

Others advise on the environmental liabilities associated with major transactions and how to structure deals to appropriately allocate risk. Certain firms and individuals are better known for advising clients on regulation and compliance while others largely concentrate on particular laws, a prime example in California being ‘Proposition 65’, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. However, no matter what the specialisation, it is clear that the state of California possesses some of the country’s most respected and high-profile practitioners. 

Latham & Watkins LLP enjoys an outstanding national and international reputation in the field – it has won the ‘Who’s Who Legal Environment Law Firm of the Year’ award every year since its inception. One prominent rival noted, “I think the firm is just first-class – I have nothing but respect for their practice.” This, coupled with the high levels of nominations for the six lawyers we list, sums up the consensus among clients and peers. The bulk of those featured on the following pages practise in the firm’s Los Angeles office with nominees from Costa Mesa and San Francisco also appearing. LA-based Gene Lucero spent six years directing the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (US EPA) enforcement of the federal environmental laws relating to hazardous waste and currently serves as deputy chair of the firm’s global environment, land and resource department. Lucero is perhaps California’s most respected environment lawyer, receiving more nominations than any other practitioner in the chapter. Rated by one source as “a very accomplished lawyer”, his litigation skills, particularly in the Superfund arena, were noted. His work on hazardous waste regulation and air and water quality was also brought to our attention. Representative matters include acting for Walt Disney in the Glendale Superfund Site and he has also served as lead environmental counsel for Playa Capital since 2001. 

Partner Robert Wyman is “among the very top air lawyers in the state”, whose practice spans both litigation and regulatory issues. Wyman boasts a broad client base from sectors such as aerospace, energy, entertainment, petrochemicals and transportation, and highlights include successfully defending a $1 billion power plant against a citizen suit in the Los Angeles US District Court. James Arnone is another highly rated litigator from the firm’s LA office. Arnone works on a wide variety of matters including Superfund, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and issues arising under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to name but a few. Respondents to our survey also mentioned his work relating to controversial real estate developments. Rivals noted the reputation Michael Carroll is building at the firm. Variously described as “young and good”, “the next generation” and “a star”, Carroll comes recommended for air quality-related work and he also has a strong focus on permitting and development in the energy industry. Bruce Howard is rated as “among the very top lawyers in the state for Superfund work”. Howard has represented a number of major companies in some of the largest contaminated groundwater projects in the US. Paul Singarella rounds off Latham & Watkins’ contingent in the chapter and “clients speak highly of him”, according to a source. Singarella comes recommended as a “water expert” and forms part of what one competitor labelled “a nationally prestigious firm with very smart and capable environment lawyers”. 

Bingham McCutchen LLP maintains an excellent reputation in the environmental arena and the three partners we feature all received high numbers of nominations. Edward Strohbehn is chief among these and reportedly “the cream of the crop” and “one of the founding fathers of the environmental bar”. The “stellar” Strohbehn boasts good government credentials, having served as executive director of the council on environmental quality of the Executive Office of the President during the Carter administration, and he brings this experience to bear in his broad practice. Sources particularly recommended him for hazardous and electronic waste, Superfund, contaminated sites, water quality and for his work relating to vapour intrusion into the workplace. James Dragna was recommended as “one of the most successful environmental attorneys in the state” and is well known for his litigation and Superfund work. Dragna is also said to be exceptional on water quality, sewerage and certain aspects of criminal environmental work as well. Before entering private practice Dragna served as senior trial counsel at the US Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement section in Washington, DC. Dragna also helped found the EPA’s hazardous waste enforcement task force. With clients coming from sectors such as energy, manufacturing and aerospace, he was praised as an “all round top-tier environmental litigator”. Rick Rothman chairs the firm’s environmental practice group and works on both litigation and transactional matters. He also comes recommended for clean air, Proposition 65 and chemical-related work.

Farella Braun + Martel LLP “has put together an excellent practice in recent years”. The firm houses a number of California’s leading environment attorneys. “Excellent litigator” James Bruen was particularly highly nominated and “definitely one of the top”. He serves as global products counsel to Levi Strauss and has also served as products and environmental counsel for General Electric, FMC, Tyco, Novartis, Home Fed and Visa USA, to name but a few. He recently led a six law-firm team defending GE in its ground breaking natural resource damage litigation in New Mexico (State of New Mexico v General Electric Company). Deborah Schmall received a raft of nominations and was described by one admiring source as a “top compliance and transactional lawyer”. Her brownfields counselling practice was also noted. Buzz Hines chairs the firm’s environmental department and has been active in the area for over 25 years. A “very capable attorney”, Hines served as lead regulatory counsel to Flat Rock Land regarding an investigation and clean-up of a 250-plus acre shooting range in Chula Vista. Alongside a strong litigation practice, Hines also provides regulatory and compliance counselling regarding site investigations and clean-ups. Among other matters he served as special counsel to the Port of Oakland regarding port infrastructure matters such as water delivery. Skip Spaulding comes recommended for endangered species and wetlands work and was nominated by some of the industry’s most respected individuals. 

Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp is a “first-class, quality environment firm”, which “possesses some of the finest environment lawyers in the state”, according to one rival. The three featured partners all previously practised in Landels Ripley & Diamond LLP’s environmental law department – a breeding ground for many of the most highly rated lawyers in this chapter. Richard Coffin is a “premier environment litigator” and the Proposition 65 and insurance coverage aspects of his practice were noted. One of the corporate respondents to our survey recommended Stephen Lewis as “a very experienced and valued environmental litigator” and he is equally well regarded by his peers, judging by our findings. Lewis’s litigation practice has a particular focus on product liability claims for clients in areas such as medical devices, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. John Barg also comes recommended for products-related litigation as well as hazardous waste. The environmental aspect of his practice is broad and his experience also includes cases relating to the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, Superfund, insurance coverage, toxic tort and cost recovery. With such a strong bench it is unsurprising that one source noted, “anyone who knows about Californian environment law would say they’re excellent. You can’t go wrong hiring them.” 

Weston Benshoof Rochefort Rubalcava MacCuish LLP provides three individuals for the chapter – Peter Nyquist, Kurt Weissmuller and Sharon Rubalcava. Rubalcava is “very accomplished and does a bit of everything”, with one rival commenting: “I have the greatest respect for her work in the air arena.” Rubalcava evidently has an excellent reputation for Clean Air Act work and is the past chair of the American Bar Association’s air quality committee of the section on natural resources. Weissmuller’s areas of expertise are also broad and he’s said to be “a significant player in the Proposition 65 field”. He also comes recommended for his knowledge of the Clean Air and Water Acts as well as Superfund. Nyquist is the final inclusion from the firm and boasts “extensive environmental compliance and litigation experience”, according to a corporate source. The same source praised Nyquist as a “good water lawyer” and this is the area in which he advised the United States’ second largest public school district, the Los Angeles Unified School District, on compliance with storm water permit requirements and cost recovery issues. Along with Rubalcava he is also representing Boeing in relation to issues related to its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, regulating water discharges at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California’s Simi Valley. 

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP is rated as one of the leaders in the LA market for environment work. Patrick Dennis chairs the firm’s environmental law and natural resources practice group and “has been a leader in the Californian bar for a long time”. Dennis comes recommended for environmental litigation and also has a strong practice in the areas of compliance counselling, defence of environmental enforcement actions and environmental due diligence on large transactions. Recent highlights include representing, along with others, Pacific Coast Capital Partners in its acquisition of the McLellan Air Force Base (now the McLellan Business Park). He is also representing Occidental Petroleum Corporation in Lucero v Palace Plating, a toxic tort litigation in Los Angeles Superior Court. He and others also represent Lockheed Martin in the Redlands Environmental Litigation, another toxic tort case, this time pending in San Bernardino County Superior Court. Thomas McHenry is a “top-flight” practitioner and was recommended by clients and competitors alike for his experience in fields such as air, hazardous waste, land use, energy and environmental due diligence. Jeffrey Dintzer completes the firm’s strong showing in the chapter. He’s particularly well known for his environmental litigation. An “outstanding trial lawyer”, Dintzer’s experience includes defending Goodrich Corporation in federal cost recovery actions involving Trichloroethylene and perchlorate contamination in the Rialto/Colton Basin. 

Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP also has three nominees on the following pages. The firm has an excellent reputation in the real estate arena and this feeds through into its environmental practice. Robert Wyatt is an extremely experienced practitioner, and from 1979 to 1984 he served as deputy regional counsel and acting regional counsel for US EPA region 9. “An outstanding counsellor”, he has a broad based environmental practice. Highlights include overseeing the acquisition of a portfolio of 2,700 properties – the largest transaction of its kind in California’s history. James Meeder and David Cooke, both of whom boast strong litigation practices, join Wyatt in the chapter. Michèle Corash served as general counsel of the US EPA from 1979 to 1982 and is currently a partner in the environmental law practice group at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Corash was recommended as a “very creative lawyer” who “made Proposition 65 work what it is and participated in the drawing up of legislation”. Corash is part of a “formidable group” at MoFo and is joined on the following pages by Peter Hsiao, head of the land use and environmental group in Los Angeles. Hsiao brings a background as a chemical engineer to the table and recent highlights include reaching a $147 million settlement to clean up environmental contamination at San Francisco International Airport – the largest environmental settlement in California. Among other matters he represented a major auto manufacturer in the California greenhouse gas litigation and also serves as outside environmental counsel to Mattel in Asia, Europe and the US. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP also fields two strong candidates in the chapter – Michael Barr and Margaret Rosegay. Barr was praised as “one of the finest air lawyers in the state, if not the country”; another leading player labelled him a “legendary air lawyer”. Rosegay is rated as a “very accomplished hazardous waste counsellor” and she recently represented a real estate developer in relation to a former industrial complex undergoing brownfield redevelopment. 

McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP also fields multiple nominees. Stanley Landfair has a leading practice in the areas of chemical substances, Proposition 65, and the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide (FIFRA) and Toxic Substances Control (TSCA) Acts. Christian Volz is managing partner of the firm’s San Francisco office and was recommended as “a very capable litigator”. His counselling and compliance work in industries such as defence, aerospace, hi-tech, transport, natural resources and chemicals was also noted. Two Sacramento based lawyers make the cut, both of whom practice at Downey Brand. “Clients love” Clifton McFarland and representative matters include serving as lead counsel in a successful appeal challenging aspects of the new water quality programme devised by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to govern return flows from irrigated agriculture. Partner Steven Goldberg was also consistently endorsed by clients and peers and, among other matters, he serves as lead counsel for a leading oil company on retail projects involving pipelines, oil terminals, refineries and distribution facilities. 

Hanna and Morton LLP features in the chapter thanks to the reputation enjoyed by Larry Gutterridge. The “excellent” Gutterridge brings both in-house and government experience to the table and is said to be “very well known in the environmental community”. Praised as a “top-end Superfund lawyer” he was also recommended for his Proposition 65 expertise. Jose Allen at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP is a “very talented litigator” and “internationally known” for Proposition 65 and Superfund related litigation. His experience includes representing a company in the United States’ largest natural resource damages suit ($1 billion) which was brought by the state of California and the federal government. Thomas McMahon practises in the insurance coverage group at Howrey LLP and represents major companies in insurance coverage disputes relating to environmental matters. A “highly regarded” practitioner, McMahon was consistently brought to the attention of researchers. “Outstanding” James Arnold practises at his own firm, The Arnold Law Practice, and his environmental compliance work is said to be “first rate”. Jennifer Hernandez is similarly well regarded and co-chairs the national environmental team at Holland & Knight LLP. One source noted that Hernandez “would be on everybody’s list and is absolutely first class”, while another remarked, “Jennifer is one of the leading brownfields attorneys in California.” Michael Zischke is “the top CEQA lawyer in the state” and recently joined Cox Castle & Nicholson LLP from Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP. Judith Praitis represents Sidley Austin LLP in the chapter and was variously described as “superb”, “very good”, “terrific” and an “excellent counsellor”. Her advice relating to transactions and hazardous waste management and brownfields redevelopment is said to be particularly impressive. Gregory McClintock at Mayer Brown LLP is “well regarded” for litigation in areas such as Superfund and enforcement defence. He also boasts an active counselling practice. Trenton Norris at Arnold & Porter LLP is said to be “excellent for Proposition 65 work”. His litigation practice encompasses areas such as product liability, IP and consumer protection.

John Cermak is a partner in the environmental group at Baker & Hostetler LLP where his Superfund work is said to be particularly noteworthy. Karl Morthole has his own firm in San Francisco and is rated by sources as “extremely experienced” for environmental compliance. Nicholas Yost is the sole inclusion from Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, and said to be “extremely good for NEPA and CEQA”. He was also recommended as an “outstanding environmental impact lawyer”. Pamela Duffy at Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP appears in both the environment and real estate chapters of this book and is rated as “one of the finest land use lawyers in the state”. Randolph Visser at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP is an “air quality expert” according to one rival and he was highly nominated by both corporate and private practice respondents to our survey. Since 1995 Visser has served as special environmental counsel to interstate rail transportation carriers on land use, permitting, regulatory compliance and enforcement defence matters. A major matter he worked on was devising and implementing a permitting strategy to enable them to obtain a multi-jurisdictional land use and environmental approval for its $250 million Intermodal Container Transfer Facility Expansion Project in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Joseph Armao’s environmental litigation practice at Heller Ehrman LLP was mentioned to researchers. Like a number of other listed attorneys, Armao has a background within the EPA and is highly rated for his work on Superfund sites. Recent matters include acting as lead litigation counsel for Whittaker Corporation, the former owner of a 1,000- acre missile testing site near Los Angeles. Castaic Lake Water Agency and three other water purveyors who claimed that perchlorate was migrating from the site and contaminating their groundwater wells sued the company in federal court. The case was settled in June 2007 after five years. Armao also served as lead counsel for the BCI Coca Cola Bottling Company, which was sued by the city of Los Angeles four years ago under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) for allegedly contaminating marine sediment under LA harbour with heavy metals.

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