Tim recognizes that even as companies have embraced environmental sustainability as a core business imperative, they can face significant business risks posed by increased consumer and investor expectations and governments’ expanding regulatory agendas. With over 30 years of experience encompassing virtually every facet of environmental impact and regulation at the international, federal, state, and local levels, Tim helps companies develop and implement strategies to advance sustainability goals and ensure regulatory compliance while growing their businesses. Successful strategies often start and end by constructively engaging governments and other stakeholders, but they must also provide for challenging, untenable approaches – including through litigation – where necessary. Tim especially enjoys helping clients address complex, controversial issues requiring mastery of technical details and creative thinking.

Most recently, Tim was Vice President - Environmental Affairs at Airlines for America (A4A) where he supervised environmental and sustainability programs on behalf of the organization's member airlines. At A4A he led airline engagement on a broad array of regulatory and policy issues that affected the industry and litigation strategy. In recent years, Tim’s work focused on working closely with governments and stakeholders to enable the aviation sector to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, particularly through exponential growth in production and availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the U.S.

Tim’s international experience includes representing the U.S. commercial airline industry before the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization and its Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection on various matters, including negotiations to establish international CO2 and noise standards for aircraft, particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) standards for aircraft engine, amending the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and adoption of the Long-Term Aspirational Goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Tim also has extensive experience representing industry interests in the European Union and member states’ regulatory processes. 

At the U.S. federal level, Tim has led a multitude of industry efforts to rationalize regulations and policy, including regulations affecting aircraft noise, incorporation of international aircraft and aircraft engine standards into U.S. law, aircraft drinking water, stormwater permitting, underground storage tanks, aircraft cabin air quality, cabin and aircraft recycling, chemicals used in aircraft parts and maintenance, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) use at airports and airline-owned hangers and fuel farms, aviation fuel composition, storage and conveyance, historic contamination, reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-related risks, and review of aircraft operations and airport development projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

Tim’s domestic U.S. experience also includes engaging state, regional, and local governments in developing regulations and laws affecting aircraft and on- and off-road vehicle operations. This includes over 25 years of experience in California involving airport development projects and regulatory initiatives by the State of California, the California Air Resources Board, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and California municipalities and airport authorities to regulate aircraft fuels (including through Low Carbon Fuel Standards) and emissions from aircraft, airport ground support equipment and other vehicles that serve and visit airports. Tim has also represented regulated stakeholders before State, local, and airport authorities seeking to impose stormwater permits and aircraft and vehicle emission regulations throughout the country, including New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Texas. 

In addition to gaining deep expertise in environmental and aviation law and policy, Tim has acquired particular expertise regarding the interplay of international, U.S. federal, State, and local law and regulatory powers of implementing governmental authorities. For example, Tim has led efforts to ensure European governments respect the limits on their authority to unilaterally regulate international aviation emissions and that EPA recognizes its authority to impose environmental requirements can be limited by imperatives established under federal non-environmental statutes. Tim has also led efforts to ensure State, regional, and local environmental regulations do not exceed the limits placed on their authority by federal environmental and aviation law and led court challenges to such regulations on grounds they are preempted.