• Brownfields Redevelopment and Site Remediation

• Environmental Regulatory Compliance

• Land Use Planning, Zoning, and Sustainable Development, including:

• California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

• National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA)

• Coastal Zone Act

• Environmental Litigation, including:

• Cost Recovery Litigation involving the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and associated state laws

• Enforcement of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and associated state water, air, species, and hazardous waste laws

• Environmental Insurance Coverage Litigation

• Environmental Due Diligence in Real Estate and Corporate Transactions

• Waste Management and Recycling (incl. Development, Permitting, and Compliance)

• Renewable Energy

• Climate Change

• Environmental Justice

Court Admissions: 

• California State Bar

• United States District Court for the Central District of California

• United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit  

Agencies:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

• California Department of Toxic Substances and Control (DTSC)

• California Coastal Commission

• California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)

• California Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCB)

• California Air Resources Board (CARB)

• South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)

• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)

• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)

• City Councils

• County Boards of Supervisors

• Planning Commissions

·      Represented a major equestrian center to successfully meet its concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) obligations by coming up with creative best practices to manage its stormwater to be protective of an adjacent creek and to replenish groundwater, including negotiating and implementing an amended consent decree, as well as guiding the client through the approvals processes before the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Santa Margherita Water District, South Orange County Wastewater Authority, and the City of San Juan Capistrano to obtain California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) approval and grading permits.

·      Represented numerous property owners and developers to manage multi-million-dollar remediation projects that entail working with various government entities, including US Environmental Protection Agency, CA Department of Toxic Substances and Control, State Water Resources Control Board, CA Air Resources Board, local fire departments, etc..

·      Represented numerous developers seeking to clean up contaminated “Brownfields” and get the properties back into re-use.

·      Advised a cutting-edge waste recycling business on navigating waste management and recycling laws to bring its business to California and beyond.

·      Represented a family chrome plating business in a major Superfund/CERCLA matter to successfully help them navigate a resolution with federal and state governments, including US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Toxic Substances and Control, and a multitude of other potentially responsible parties (PRPs), as well as helping them navigate Phase I and Phase II due diligence assessments.

·      Represented a community group working to ensure a proposed Confined Aquatic Disposal site in the Newport Harbor met all applicable environmental and land use laws and to identify a more suitable location protective of the environment; guided client through regulatory processes before the California Coastal Commission, Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, Army Corps of Engineers, and the City of Newport Beach.

·      Advised companies in their M&A transactions to ensure protective allocation of environmental risks and responsibilities of the companies and their associated properties, which included working with environmental consultants on performing Phase I and Phase II due diligence of the properties and identifying “red flags”.  

·      Represented several clients in setting up nonprofits (50a (c)(3)) and consulting them on best practices for optimal board governance.

·      Represented a community group in Beverly Hills in ensuring a proposed development proposed under CA's Density Bonus Law was protective of the environment and the safety of the neighboring residents.

·      Represented the Orange County Coastkeeper to successfully protect Crystal Cove’s Area of Special Biological Significance from runoff associated with the Newport Coast development;

·      Represented the Ventura Coastkeeper to successfully protect water quality and indigenous rights related to the proposed Ahmanson Ranch development;

·      Represented the Friends of the Los Angeles River to ensure prospective developments along the LA River at the Taylor Yard and the Cornfields/China Yard sites had best practices in watershed management or were preserved for open space;

·      Represented the Sierra Club to protect endangered species in Joshua Tree National Park from a proposed expansion of the Eagle Mountain Landfill;

·      Represented Heal the Bay to successfully challenge Las Virgenes Municipal Water District’s improper discharges into the Malibu Lagoon.