Our former government experience, regulatory depth and breadth, and technical fluency make a difference for companies facing U.S. and state enforcement actions.
Why B&D?
B&D lawyers bring an array of tools to U.S. federal and state environmental and product- and waste-related enforcement actions. Most prominently, more than a dozen of our lawyers have former career experience in U.S. and state agency environmental enforcement and prosecutorial roles. Our former government experience and familiarity with regulators enables us to effectively navigate the administrative enforcement process as well as represent clients in investigations and litigation. Key members of our enforcement team who have held senior government roles include:
- Alyse Adamson, Principal (Washington, DC); former Deputy Chief, Asst. United States Attorney (AUSA) for the District of Columbia
- Amber Ahmed, Of Counsel (Austin); former Asst. Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Environmental Protection Division
- Madeleine Boyer, Principal (Austin); former Staff Attorney, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- John Cruden, Principal (Washington, DC); former Asst. U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD)
- Lynne Davies, Of Counsel (Washington, DC); former Chief, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance (OECA), Waste Enforcement Branch
- Laura LaValle, Principal (Austin); former Asst. Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Natural Resources Division
- Louis Manzo, Principal (Washington, DC); former AUSA, United States Attorneys’ Office
- Pamela Marks, Principal (Baltimore); former Asst. Attorney General, Maryland Department of Environment
- Justin Smith, Of Counsel (Washington, DC); former Section Chief, Law and Policy Section, ENRD
- Stephen Smith, Of Counsel (Washington, DC); former EPA Associate Regional Counsel (Region 4)
- Allyn Stern, Office Managing Principal (Seattle); former EPA Regional Counsel (Region 10)
- Tim J. Sullivan, Of Counsel (Washington, DC); Attorney, former EPA OECA Staff Attorney, Air Enforcement Division
- Joshua Van Eaton, Office Managing Principal (Washington, DC); former Senior Trial Attorney, Environmental Enforcement Section, ENRD; Associate General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Defense Logistics Agency
Augmenting our government experience, our lawyers work seamlessly with our clients' internal and external technical experts to build strong factual and legal defenses. Our ability to understand sophisticated production and supply chain operations and integrate scientific and legal concepts gives us an edge in both routine and complex air, water, hazardous waste, chemical enforcement, and product-related matters.
Our firmwide focus on environmental regulatory compliance and litigation means we know effective enforcement strategies as well as common mistakes that companies can make. We deploy comprehensive, cost-effective plans to help clients reduce EHS enforcement risks, respond to enforcement actions when they occur, and fulfill compliance obligations.
Our longstanding relationships with federal, state, and local agencies in key jurisdictions give us valuable insights into how regulators think and what they might do. For example, if a company finds an environmental, health, and safety (EHS) issue before receiving notice of an administrative enforcement action, we can help the company work through the complex and nuanced decisions relating to self-reporting and other enforcement- and investigation-related strategies.
With both clients and environmental regulators, our understanding of the interplay of business issues and legal and policy issues makes a difference in resolving enforcement cases. Among environmental regulatory agencies, we also enjoy a strong reputation for our understanding of how scientific issues relate to legal and policy issues. Regulators trust us to complete the necessary work to bring a company back into compliance—a significant advantage in negotiation and resolution of enforcement actions.
Clients
We represent companies and municipal entities facing federal, state, or local government enforcement of EHS regulations, including product- and waste-related enforcement. We also represent clients in citizen suits brought by environmental non-governmental organizations (eNGOs) or citizen plaintiffs to fill perceived gaps in governmental enforcement.
