(T) (202) 789-6023

  bwilson@bdlaw.com
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1350 I Street, N.W.
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005-3311
Washington

• Appellate Litigation
• Citizen Suits
• Civil Rights/Employment Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Construction Litigation
• Environmental Litigation
• Media, Entertainment, and Sports Law
• NEPA and State NEPA - Environmental
• Pro Bono Litigation
• Safe Drinking Water Act
• Superfund/CERCLA
• Toxic Tort and Product Liability
• Wetlands - Environmental
• Environmental
• Litigation

• Dartmouth College (A.B./History, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1973)
• Senior Fellow, Rufus Choate Scholar
• Harvard University (J.D., 1976)

• Georgia (1976)
• District of Columbia (1978)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit (1982)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit (1984)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit (1985)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (1988)
• U.S. Court of Claims (1979)
• U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (1979)
• U.S. District Court, Northern California (1988)
• Supreme Court, Georgia (1977)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia (1979)
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Georgia (1977)
• American Bar Association (Vice Chair, Environmental Justice Committee, Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, 2003-2004)
• Life Member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
• Federal Bar Association
• National Bar Association (Past Chairman, 1987-1998), Environmental, Energy and Public Utility Section
• Gate City Bar Association
• Georgia Conference of Black Lawyers
• Chairman, Board of Elections and Ethics of the District of Columbia
• Past Chairman, Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs
• Member, National Environmental Justice Advisory Council

Benjamin F. Wilson is the Managing Principal of Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. He joined the Firm as a Principal in 1986 and has been a past member of the Firm’s Management Committee and past Chairman of the Litigation Practice Group. His present litigation practice encompasses a wide range of activities in both state and federal courts, including commercial litigation matters, environmental litigation, employment litigation, and regulatory matters. He has been lead counsel in several complex commercial and environmental litigation matters for major corporations and developers. Mr. Wilson also has represented a number of cities and local government agencies on Clean Water Act Enforcement and wetlands development matters.

Mr. Wilson draws his litigation expertise from experience in both the public and private sectors.  A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Mr. Wilson graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1973 with an A.B. degree in history. While at Dartmouth, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and named both a Rufus Choate Scholar and a Senior Fellow. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1976.  

Currently, Mr. Wilson is serving as lead counsel in a major chromium cleanup litigation in New Jersey.  He served as lead counsel for a number of municipalities including: the City of New Orleans; the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans; the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority; the Metropolitan Water District of Greater Chicago; the San Antonio Water System; and the City of New Haven, Connecticut, among others. Mr. Wilson also has served as lead counsel on several major environmental litigation matters, on behalf of municipalities, which involve construction law claims and disputes. These included lawsuits against a manufacturer of heat treatment systems and sludge drying systems for wastewater treatment plants. 

Mr. Wilson is experienced in dealing with cases involving the impact of the filling of wetlands and the obligations to comply with federal and state environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Specifically, he has become involved in both regulatory and litigation issues arising out of the filling of wetlands as part of the expansion of airports and stadium projects. He has served as lead counsel in numerous “Superfund” cases and on environmental audits and assessments pertaining to the sale of corporations and their assets.

Mr. Wilson has served as lead environmental counsel to the District of Columbia Sports and Entertainment Commission on the project to build the new Verizon Center for the Washington Wizards professional basketball team and Washington Capitals professional hockey team. Mr. Wilson also represented prospective developers on the proposed football stadium for the Washington Redskins. He has addressed issues related to the siting of the arena, as well as environmental issues related to historic preservation, soil contamination, air, ground traffic, noise, visual impacts and wetlands.

Mr. Wilson has represented financial bodies on a wide variety of environmental issues pertaining to the sale and ownership of real property, and on wetlands and Endangered Species Act litigation, as well as several complex commercial litigation matters.

After several years in private practice with the Atlanta, Georgia law firm of King & Spalding, specializing in litigation and tax matters, Mr. Wilson joined the Civil Division of the Department of Justice in 1979. At the Justice Department, he gained substantial trial expertise in commercial litigation matters, appearing on behalf of the government in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States Court of Claims and district courts throughout the United States. While at the Department, he received Special Achievement Awards in recognition of his performance in 1981 and 1982. Prior to joining Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., Mr. Wilson joined the law firm of Rose, Schmidt, Chapman, Duff and Hasley as an associate in 1983.  In 1985, he became a partner in the firm, specializing in civil litigation.

Mr. Wilson has counseled small and developing businesses throughout his career. He has also counseled on a variety of commercial contract matters and negotiated player contracts on behalf of professional athletes.

A member of the bars of Georgia and the District of Columbia, Mr. Wilson is active in the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, where he has served for 15 years on the as Environmental, Energy and Public Utilities Section (including serving as past Chairman), and the Washington Bar Association.

Professional Highlights

Mr. Wilson serves as an Adjunct Professor in Environmental Law at the Howard University Law School where he teaches courses on Environmental Law and Environmental Justice.  He was also appointed to the National Environmental Justice Committee as one of three representatives of Corporate America in 2004.  Mr. Wilson also serves as Co-Chairman of the American Bar Association Environmental Justice Committee which received the Committee Excellence Award in 2004 for the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities.

Mr. Wilson has served as both a member (2003) and Chairman (2004) of the Policyowners’ Examining Committee for Northwestern Mutual.  From 1990 to 2004, he served as Chairman of the Board of Elections and Ethics of the District of Columbia.  He has served two terms as Co-Chairman of the Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.  He has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Healthy Babies, Inc., Chairman of the Board of the Dwight A. Mosley Memorial Fund, Chairman of the Advisory Board of WAMU public radio, Member of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and he has also served on the Boards of Funds for the Community’s Future and the Advisory Board of the National Association for Public Interest Law.  He is AV Peer Review Rated.