Environmental Law

Environmental Law Firm With a Nationwide Reach 

McLaughlin & Stern maintains a broad environmental law practice encompassing compliance, transactional matters, and litigation. We assist a diverse range of clients in mitigating and managing their environmental risk, and our practice spans from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the Gulf Coast and the Central Plains.

If you have questions or concerns about your company’s environmental compliance obligations, the environmental risks implicated by a potential transaction, or the steps involved in defending against state or federal environmental claims, we invite you to get in touch. The attorneys in our Environmental Law Practice Group can explain everything you need to know to make informed and confident decisions as you chart your company’s path forward.

About Our Environmental Law Practice

Within our environmental law practice, we assist companies of all sizes with all aspects of compliance, contractual risk management, and litigation defense. This includes both defense against environmental claims in civil and commercial litigation and defense against governmental enforcement actions. Learn more:

Environmental Compliance

For companies in a wide range of industries, a proactive approach to environmental compliance is essential. Not only is it essential for protecting the environment and the nation’s natural resources, but it is also essential for avoiding unnecessary liability exposure.

While effectively managing environmental compliance is essential, it also presents challenges. There are numerous federal environmental laws and regulations, and companies may also need to comply with state requirements. These state requirements are not uniform, and some states—most notably California—have enacted environmental laws and regulations that apply to companies that have only limited contacts with the state.

The attorneys in our Environmental Law Practice Group assist companies nationwide with all aspects of federal, state, and local environmental compliance. This includes (but is not limited to) compliance with the following:

• Clean Air Act (CAA)
• Clean Water Act (CWA)
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• Oil Pollution Act (OPA)
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
• Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
• Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
• State environmental laws and regulations

As with all aspects of corporate compliance, a custom-tailored approach to environmental compliance is key. Companies’ environmental compliance obligations can vary widely, and ensuring they satisfy all relevant requirements is essential to effectively managing their risk on an ongoing basis.  

Compliance Audits

Effectively managing environmental risk starts with understanding a company’s specific compliance obligations. To this end, we conduct environmental compliance audits to comprehensively identify the laws and regulations that apply, given the nature and scope of our clients’ operations. Whether your company has an outdated environmental compliance program or needs to start from scratch, our attorneys can provide the insights needed to comprehensively address your company’s environmental risks both now and in the future.

Compliance Program Development and Implementation

Comprehensively addressing a company’s environmental risks involves developing and implementing a custom-tailored compliance program. Our attorneys can draft all necessary policy documents and assist with implementing them across all pertinent areas of your company’s operations. We can provide initial and ongoing environmental compliance training programs, and we can assist with documenting your company’s environmental compliance efforts, with a focus on ensuring your company is prepared to withstand governmental scrutiny if necessary.

Compliance Monitoring

Managing environmental compliance is not a one-time event. Companies must consistently prioritize environmental compliance, and this includes ensuring that they know when additional (or alternate) compliance measures are required. We work with our clients to ensure they know when new business initiatives or proposed transactions have environmental compliance implications, and we keep them up to date on pertinent legal and regulatory developments at the federal, state, and local levels.

Environmental Transactions

Business and commercial transactions can raise environmental concerns in various ways. From engaging new vendors to acquiring contaminated properties, numerous types of transactions can pose risks that must be addressed proactively to avoid unexpected (and unnecessary) environmental liability exposure.

Some examples of key environmental considerations when conducting business and commercial transactions include:

• Clearly specifying the parties’ respective obligations regarding environmental compliance
• Negotiating appropriate representations and warranties regarding environmental compliance
• Negotiating appropriate indemnification and “hold harmless” rights related to environmental liabilities
• Requiring adequate insurance coverage for environmental liabilities
• Addressing the implications of potential changes in the costs of environmental compliance

The attorneys in our Environmental Law Practice Group help our clients address these considerations—among many others—when conducting their due diligence and during contract negotiations. Here, too, our focus is on helping our clients make informed decisions that allow them to pursue new opportunities without taking on unnecessary or unwarranted risks.

Environmental Litigation

In addition to helping our clients effectively mitigate and manage their environmental risk, we also represent them in environmental litigation when necessary. We handle litigation involving private parties and government agencies and provide strategic, cost-conscious, and results-oriented defense representation in both state and federal courts.

Commercial Litigation

We represent companies in commercial litigation involving all types of environmental issues, including (but not limited to) litigation involving breach-of-contract claims related to parties’ environmental compliance and indemnification obligations. Our firm has the team and resources required to successfully represent clients in high-stakes litigation involving issues ranging from cleanup liability under CERCLA to indemnification liability arising out of spills and other events.

As with all other types of commercial litigation, an informed approach is critical when facing litigation related to companies’ environmental compliance obligations. Timing can be critical as well. If the costs associated with a spill continue to accumulate or a company’s liability exposure continues to increase, promptly seeking a favorable resolution could be critical for protecting the company’s interests both immediately and in the long term.

Government Enforcement Litigation

Our attorneys are also available to defend companies that are facing government enforcement litigation at the federal, state, and local levels. This includes litigation involving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other governmental authorities. Administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement actions can pose substantial risks—including not only financial penalties but also denial (or revocation) of permits, licenses, entitlements, and other essential governmental authorizations. We handle enforcement actions involving ocean and groundwater contamination, noncompliance with environmental reporting requirements, and other pertinent issues.

We also represent clients in natural resource damages (NRD) litigation. The Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, Oil Pollution Act, and various other state and federal laws allow government-appointed trustees to pursue NRD claims in appropriate cases. Like other types of environmental litigation, NRD litigation can pose substantial liability risks, and companies targeted by NRD claims must be fully prepared to defend themselves effectively.

Private-Right-of-Action Lawsuits

We also represent companies facing lawsuits under environmental laws that provide a private right of action. These lawsuits can also pose substantial liability risks, and executing a proactive defense strategy can be key. Our attorneys are available to defend companies facing lawsuits from citizens, environmental advocacy organizations, and other plaintiffs throughout the United States.

In addition to the types of disputes and enforcement actions discussed above, our firm handles ancillary litigation matters in insurance subrogation, municipal law, and other areas. We maintain a robust litigation practice, and our litigators are equally comfortable defending companies in administrative enforcement proceedings, in civil and commercial litigation, and in federal district court.

Industries We Serve

Our Environmental Law Practice Group serves clients in a wide range of industries. While companies’ environmental compliance obligations and environmental risks can vary widely, companies in all industries need to take an informed, strategic, and proactive approach to protecting their interests in the environmental sphere. We work with private and publicly traded companies in industries including (but not limited to):

• Aerospace and Defense
• Agriculture
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and data processing
• Banking and Finance
• Construction and Real Estate
• Energy
• Industrial Chemicals
• Life Sciences
• Logistics and Transportation
• Manufacturing
• Packaging and Shipping
• Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices

When it comes to environmental compliance and risk management, companies cannot afford to take chances. This applies across the board. All companies need to have a clear, comprehensive understanding of their environmental compliance obligations and to prioritize environmental risk management on an ongoing basis.

Contact the Environmental Law Practice Group at McLaughlin & Stern

If you would like more information about our firm’s environmental practice, if you have questions about your company’s environmental liability exposure, or if your company needs experienced environmental defense counsel, we encourage you to arrange an initial consultation at McLaughlin & Stern. To speak with an attorney in our Environmental Law Practice Group in confidence as soon as possible, please call (212) 448-6247 or request an appointment online today.