Biography: Environment

Judith M Praitis is a partner in Sidley's Los Angeles office where she is head of the west coast environmental practice group and a global co-chair of the firm's environmental group. Ms Praitis has broad experience in counselling clients on environmental transactional issues and on permitting, compliance, release reporting and enforcement issues surrounding air, water and waste management under California and federal law. She has helped clients develop and implement environmental management systems, audit protocols and confront emerging regulatory environments, such as California's new regulatory regime targeted at greenhouse gas emissions (the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006).

Ms Praitis also routinely advises clients on compliance with and, if necessary, litigation of Proposition 65 matters, particularly those involving the food and supplement industries.

Her particular area of focus is hazardous waste management and site remediation, including brownfields. She has assisted clients in a variety of industries (including aerospace, petroleum, shipping, chemicals, hotels, food products, real estate development, electronics, solar energy, metal finishing and health care) with permitting, remediation, waste classification and general compliance issues. Ms Praitis has also worked with agency staff to draft new legislation and helped coordinate an inter-agency simplification of the rules covering the drycleaning industry. As California imposes a variety of complex hazardous waste taxes and fees, she has assisted clients in petitioning the State Board of Equalization to resolve fee disputes.

Ms Praitis has been active in a wide variety of transactional matters involving environmental due diligence, insurance and risk-mitigation counselling. These matters include filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a review of environmental provisions in leases, loan documents, sale contracts and other contracts on behalf of lenders, borrowers, issuers, buyers, sellers and investors.

Ms Praitis received her JD (cum laude) from Harvard Law School in 1988 and her AB (with honours) from the University of Chicago in 1985. She is admitted in California.