Notable Experience

  • Because a client had sent vessels to a bankrupt barge-cleaning operation, regulators targeted them for remediation costs. We were repeatedly asked to join a coalition of defendants, and negotiated a flat fee payment due to the leverage the client had with the group. Other parties were enmeshed in the process of prolonged, expensive, environmental testing and research on the site, and subject to escalating costs. We were able to negotiate a minimal, fixed fee for our client, limiting their exposure.
  • A contaminated site led to litigation from a neighboring landowner, in addition to ongoing regulatory involvement. We were eventually able to get the landowner’s suit dismissed on the grounds that the property owner purchased the site in a contaminated state. The rights at issue attached to the purchaser, not the land, and so could be managed in court relatively easily.

We are known for these strengths

  • Counseling clients on reporting requirements, strategy, and agency interaction
  • Helping clients delineate, evaluate, and estimate risks of contamination, determine optimal approaches towards addressing it, and securing agency approval
  • Conducting environmental due diligence and risk management, including agreements on cleanup, liability allocation, liability relief, and indemnifications
  • Advising on environmental liability insurance, including pollution legal liability and cost cap coverage
  • Conducting competitive bidding of environmental, demolition, and construction services, as well as environmental consulting firms and associated third-party experts
Significant environmental law issues tend to have a lot of site-specific factors that are unique and complicating. Of the many things that I appreciate about the Liskow & Lewis attorneys, one that stands out is how clever and insightful they are at building legal strategies for managing environmental liability and claims of regulatory non-compliance. They have worked directly on some of the largest cases in the Gulf Coast. They have worked to keep refineries and chemical plants in operation while allegations of non-compliance are resolved. And they are an enjoyable group of people with whom to work. I cannot say enough good things about Liskow & Lewis.
Best Lawyers Client Comment
Environmental Law, 2023