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Governments around the world are moving to re-shape their energy policies, regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and help society adjust to the effects of global warming. Anticipating our clients’ climate change law and policy needs, we have gathered attorneys from the firm’s diverse practice areas into a Climate Change & Sustainability Practice group. The team is based in the major policy and industry centers of California, New York, Houston, Washington, DC, London and Shanghai.
On the Front Line of Emerging Issues
The group’s attorneys come from different legal disciplines, but have in common national and international reputations for their work on the most critical issues driving climate change policy in the U.S. and around the world.
Our attorneys have served as top officials in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) and have negotiated international climate treaties, served in Congress, and forged relationships as lobbyists. The team also includes leading transactional and regulatory energy attorneys as well as members of the firm’s nationally-recognized environmental and real estate practices.
Risks and Opportunities
Deep concerns about the global energy supply, climate change and sustainability will continue to transform the markets and legal environments in which businesses operate. Clients rely on Pillsbury to help them manage emerging risks and capitalize on new opportunities.
Energy Project Development. Against the backdrop of a revolutionary transformation of energy policy worldwide, our attorneys are working with clients on some of the most innovative energy projects involving wind, solar, landfill methane, nuclear and ethanol. We provide advice and representation on all aspects of project development including structure, finance, taxation, energy subsidies, intellectual property, permitting and licensing, and due diligence.
Carbon Credits. The firm has offices in China, the developing country at the forefront of generating carbon credits, and London, the leading market for such credits. The group includes environmental practitioners who have decades of experience with emissions trading programs. Together with the group’s authorities on project development, they offer the legal experience needed to design GHG reduction projects in developing countries, secure marketable credits for such reductions, and to make sound investments in these credits.
Public Policy Formation. The group includes experienced lobbyists such as a former congressman, an international treaty negotiator, and former top officials at the EPA, NOAA, DOJ and DOI. The team is actively monitoring and advising clients on developments in the federal legislative arena, while it also helps counsel clients on the implementation of AB 32, California's greenhouse gas statute. We are familiar with the politics and substance of the various proposals already introduced in the U.S. Senate, and are actively monitoring the House's efforts to develop a select committee on global warming legislation. We can provide full spectrum counseling on climate change regulatory regimes, including advice on whether, how and when individual companies should advocate their interests before Congress.
Environmental Regulation. The Climate Change & Sustainability team includes nationally-recognized leaders in the field of environmental law, including former top EPA, NOAA, DOJ and DOI officials. They offer unrivaled experience in the areas of due diligence for energy projects, air permitting, emissions trading, wetlands, and endangered species.
Litigation. Our litigation practice includes attorneys with national and international reach, proficient in handling environmental, nuisance or product liability litigation in any state or federal venue.
Real Estate. The group includes experienced real estate practitioners who have handled green building projects in several U.S. cities.
Corporate Governance. Our efforts in this area are led by nationally-recognized authorities on SEC disclosure requirements, director and officer liabilities, and the formulation of codes of corporate social responsibility.
New Markets. We are advising clients pursuing new investment opportunities across diverse markets:
Pillsbury offers the wide-ranging legal experience businesses need to seize new market opportunities and meet the legal challenges that emerge as climate change policy and legislation evolve.
Recent Representative Matters
- Advised one of the world's leading industrial mineral producers on creating a strategic plan to address potential GHG emission regulations and identifying business opportunities that have arisen from such regulations.
- Advised over a dozen state and national retailers on compliance under California's Proposition 65.
- Advised an investment banking group with $1.5 billion under management on trading in emerging carbon markets.
- Represented a real estate development group on "smart" urban infill and transit-oriented mixed use development in Washington, DC. The project received an Enterprise Green Communities Initiative Grant and was recognized by the Smart Growth Alliance. LEED certification is pending.
- Adviser to one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the U.S. on national and state legislation and strategic initiatives related to climate change and sustainability.
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