Environmental

Dinsmore & Shohl's Environmental Practice Group provides clients with a broad range of services to help achieve and maintain compliance with environmental laws and regulations and, when necessary, successfully litigate environmental and toxic tort cases. Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in federal and state administrative, civil, and criminal environmental and related litigation matters throughout the United States. Through Dinsmore & Shohl's comprehensive capabilities to provide preventive environmental counseling, business transactions advice, and dispute resolution and litigation services, our attorneys enable our clients to effectively manage the risks associated with environmental regulations, toxic tort claims, and related matters throughout their operations.

Regulatory

Our attorneys counsel clients in a wide variety of compliance requirements under local, state, and federal environmental statutes and regulations. As the national and state focus on environmental issues continues to grow, we help clients meet their business goals while navigating the increasingly complex regulatory environment.

• Regulatory compliance counseling
• Advice and representation on permitting, licensing, negotiating compliance plans and responding to citizen group challenges
• Advice and representation in federal and state rulemaking and legislative initiatives
• Fiduciary responsibilities (trustees) and bankruptcy issues
• Advice on U.S. EPA and state auditing policies
• Sarbanes Oxley reporting and disclosure counseling

Transactional & EMS

Our attorneys can support the due diligence needed to identify potential environmental liabilities that may arise in the course of complex business transactions. Furthermore, our attorneys can offer creative solutions for allocating such potential risk or liability as an integrated part of the overall deal strategy.

Our attorneys are also often called upon to head multi-disciplinary teams that conduct audits as a part of corporate environmental management systems. When needed, we work with qualified technical consultants to assist our clients in negotiating and developing plans to bring their operations into compliance, settle past violations, and minimize the risk of future issues. In many cases, our participation brings the benefits of additional privileges against disclosure in subsequent administrative proceedings and litigation.

• Transactional auditing and counseling regarding asset and stock sales and acquisitions, real estate (Phase I and Phase II assessments), corporate, etc.
• Compliance audits as part of a corporate environmental management system (EMS)
• Industrial process compliance assessments
• Advice on U.S. EPA and state auditing policies

Enforcement & Litigation

From appearing before local administrative tribunals to handling nationwide toxic tort defense litigation, Dinsmore & Shohl offers our clients premiere litigation and regulatory enforcement defense capabilities regardless of the scope or complexity of the matter. Over the years, the firm has represented clients in numerous cases involving injuries allegedly caused by exposures to chemicals and other toxins. Most recently, we have developed an extensive experience in mold-related toxic tort claims having represented numerous property owners, contractors, and manufacturers facing such claims throughout the United States.

• Representation at enforcement and permitting proceedings, and other administrative proceedings
• Superfund Litigation - representing potentially responsible parties (PRPs) in asserting and defending cost recovery claims.  This includes extensive experience serving as Common Counsel for PRP Groups
• Statutory-based litigation (Superfund, SMCRA, CWA, NEPA, etc.)
• Criminal enforcement
• Nationwide toxic tort and chemical exposure defense in federal and state courts, including coordinated pretrial proceedings before the Federal Judicial Panel on multi-district litigation
• Property & natural resource damage actions
• Eminent domain, zoning and nuisance matters

Insurance Coverage

Appropriate insurance coverage is a vital part of managing overall business risks arising from potential environmental contamination. Our attorneys advise clients on acquiring and structuring insurance coverage for potential environmental liabilities to help minimize this risk, and are also experienced at litigating complex coverage issues when claims and liabilities relating to environmental contamination do arise.

• Environmental cleanup cost recovery litigation
• Insurance coverage counseling for waste cleanup and disposal issues
• Risk allocation between buyers and sellers of potentially contaminated sites