Businesses today face a complex array of local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations. Norris McLaughlin’s environmental attorneys assist clients in all aspects of regulatory compliance, administrative policy, enforcement matters, litigation, and insurance recovery efforts related to environmental, health and safety issues.
Our attorneys explain how environmental regulations apply to businesses, offer solutions for compliance, recommended ways the law may be applied to a given situation, defend and prosecute litigation when necessary to achieve client goals, and pursue insurance policies/recoveries to assist in meeting client goals. When our team is solicited for advice environmental issues, they respond efficiently and accurately. That is why companies with high stakes environmental concerns routinely turn to us for help, and why other firms who do not have this bench depth in house send their clients to us.
Norris McLaughlin’s environmental law group is consistently ranked among Chambers USA’s top tiers. As part of our recent high ranking, Chambers described our group as “well-respected … with extensive experience handling disputes concerning contaminated land and property damage claims” and noted that we are “regularly sought out for representation before the state and federal courts, as well as various agencies” and that we offer “additional skill advising on due diligence and compliance matters.”
Clients in industry and product sectors from chemicals to pharmaceuticals and real estate rely on us for counsel in some of the most complex and consequential matters they face.
Who We Are
Norris McLaughlin’s environmental group is made up of attorneys with deep experience in environmental law at the federal level, as well as state environmental regulations in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Our team has earned a national reputation for being smart, responsive, and experienced, and for delivering client-centric legal counsel. Our attorneys provide high quality legal work in a cost-effective and efficient manner, the primary goal of which is to meet our client’s business objectives.
Each of our responsive, attentive attorneys brings a deep of knowledge to each project without needing to add – and bill for – multiple lawyers. Our clients value having a single point of contact to receive their inquiry, analyze their situation, oversee the design and implementation of the solution, and help them achieve the desired outcome.
Our environmental law attorneys are seasoned veterans who bring years of proven experience to every client engagement. The depth and breadth of our practice group’s knowledge and experience means that clients do not have to pay for hours of research time. Chances are, one of us has dealt with the issue before, allowing us to get to the solution more readily, saving the client time and money.
In addition, we are an environmental boutique practice backed by a multi-disciplinary business law firm. Our firm’s deep roster of legal talent has the experience to handle virtually any legal matter, regardless of jurisdiction.
Who We Help
Clients in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania depend on us for assistance with regulatory, transactional, and insurance coverage work. Companies facing Superfund issues and environmental litigation claims seek out our counsel, regardless of their location, because of our national reputation, experience, and knowledge with these complex issues.
Our clients are leading corporate, commercial, or industrial companies across multiple industries and sectors, including:
- Chemical manufacturing
- Commercial Real Estate
- Waste management
- Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing
- Heavy equipment manufacturing
- Food and beverage
- Higher Education Research and Development
- Renewable energy
Our clients are often comfortable weighing environmental risks and making business decisions with those risks in mind. They usually have a general understanding of the broad contours of environmental regulations and requirements and engage us to help execute the specifics.
Though they may be located nearly anywhere, many come to us because they have an interest in New Jersey, New York, or Pennsylvania real estate and have questions regarding environmental issues or compliance. Others seek permitting or licensing approval to transport and dispose of solid waste. Still others seek help in litigation and insurance coverage matters.
We also provide environmental counseling to large real estate developers who acquire, remediate, and redevelop contaminated properties throughout New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
What We Do
Many law firms offer environmental compliance counsel as part of other matters, but at Norris McLaughlin, our environmental practice is a core practice within our firm.
We help assure compliance with environmental regulations related to remediation of assets that our clients own or operate. We also prepare environmental contract terms for transactional matters. In some cases, we have served as environmental counsel for significant corporate transactions of a national scope, which has often included conducting environmental site audits, conducting due diligence reporting on potential contamination, and advising on possible cleanup and remediation strategies.
In addition, we assist with a wide range of regulatory compliance, licensing, and permitting transactions, including:
- solid waste utility licensing and transaction approvals
- solid waste facility permitting
- hazardous waste disposal
- medical waste disposal
- real estate, hazardous waste landfill, brownfields permitting and approvals
- air pollution
- Pennsylvania’s Land Recycling Program known as Act 2
- water pollution
- stormwater management
- water supply
- underground storage tank regulation
- Environmental Justice considerations
- chemical product regulation
- environmentally sensitive land uses such as wetlands, coastal and riparian lands, and threatened and endangered species
- management of Licensed Site Remediation Professional projects
- Industrial Site Recovery Act compliance
- all aspects of solar energy projects including approvals, negotiation of power purchase agreements and site acquisition and access agreements.
When disputes do arise, our environmental litigation team represents clients in claims related to liability arising from environmental contamination, most notably for sites located in New Jersey, New York, or Pennsylvania. We also represent clients nationwide in significant Superfund/CERCLA matters, including allocation proceedings, as well as other litigation involving environmental issues.
Many of our clients also face insurance carrier disputes related to environmental coverage claims. We routinely handle claims and declaratory judgment actions against insurance companies in the tri-state area and frequently assist clients in cost-recovery efforts, which can help them recoup costs related to remediation or litigation.
With our nationally recognized and awarded team of environmental attorneys, our clients get the peace of mind that comes from knowing your legal counsel has it covered.
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