Profile: Christopher B Amandes

Environment

Biography: Environment

Christopher B Amandes is a partner in the administrative and environmental law section of Vinson & Elkins. His practice spans a wide range of environmental matters, including client counselling, defence of environmental enforcement actions, and transactional environmental matters. He is particularly recognised for his expertise on air pollution, brownfield, and solid and hazardous waste matters.

Since 1994 Mr Amandes has been included in The Best Lawyers in America and is listed in the top tier of Texas environmental lawyers in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers. He also served as the first chair of the City of Houston's Land Redevelopment Committee, which manages the City's 'brownfields' programme, and presided as chair of the American Bar Association's 35th Annual Conference on Environmental Law (the Keystone Conference). Mr Amandes is a frequent lecturer on environmental issues at conferences, symposia and continuing legal education seminars. He is also a registered professional engineer (inactive) in the state of Texas.

Mr Amandes received a BA with majors in environmental science and engineering and biology from Rice University in 1976, and a Masters of Environmental Engineering, also from Rice University, in 1978. After graduation, he spent four years as a project engineer and manager for an environmental consultancy in Houston, Texas. He received his JD from the University of California at Los Angeles where he served as chief article editor for the UCLA Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif.