Transactional
We believe our ability to resolve environmental issues in corporate, real estate and associated financing transactions is one of our principal strengths. Since the 1980s, our attorneys have been creating strategies for overcoming environmental obstacles in transactions and even exploiting the opportunities those challenges can create. We pride ourselves on being deal makers, not deal breakers, an attitude that has helped us in salvaging countless deals others dismissed as doomed because of environmental complications.
We began helping clients buy, finance and sell contaminated property long before the term "Brownfield" came into vogue. Working with clients spotting opportunities in the collapse of the savings and loan industry nearly two decades ago, we handled the acquisition, financing, securitization and resale of entire portfolios of environmental distressed properties. We also helped merger and acquisition clients isolate properties with potential environmental issues. We invented a number of strategies for allocating environmental risks, even in cases where the potential magnitude of the problems might exceed the available assets.
Ever since those early days, we have been active in this highly dynamic area. We have used private Brownfield transactions, participation in a federal or state Brownfield programs, environmental insurance, on-the-ground investigation and cleanup solutions, and financial mechanisms to address even the most formidable contaminated property challenges. Indeed, we strongly believe that there is simply no "one size fits all" approach to contaminated property transactions; each situation may demand its own customized solution to create the most value for our client.
We have considerable depth in using environmental insurance products to solve problems in transactions. We have worked both on the placement of environmental insurance and on claims arising under those policies. This experience makes us especially well suited to understand the important differences between buying insurance and actually getting a carrier to pay for an environmental problem.
KGL lawyers are also experienced in exploiting hidden, pre-existing cost recovery sources to bridge economic gaps in transactions caused by environmental problems. These sources include old, pre-"pollution exclusion" insurance policies that may cover pre-existing environmental problems, negotiated settlements with other liable parties outside the transaction in question, and even government assistance to pay for investigation and clean up.
We began helping clients buy, finance and sell contaminated property long before the term "Brownfield" came into vogue. Working with clients spotting opportunities in the collapse of the savings and loan industry nearly two decades ago, we handled the acquisition, financing, securitization and resale of entire portfolios of environmental distressed properties. We also helped merger and acquisition clients isolate properties with potential environmental issues. We invented a number of strategies for allocating environmental risks, even in cases where the potential magnitude of the problems might exceed the available assets.
Ever since those early days, we have been active in this highly dynamic area. We have used private Brownfield transactions, participation in a federal or state Brownfield programs, environmental insurance, on-the-ground investigation and cleanup solutions, and financial mechanisms to address even the most formidable contaminated property challenges. Indeed, we strongly believe that there is simply no "one size fits all" approach to contaminated property transactions; each situation may demand its own customized solution to create the most value for our client.
We have considerable depth in using environmental insurance products to solve problems in transactions. We have worked both on the placement of environmental insurance and on claims arising under those policies. This experience makes us especially well suited to understand the important differences between buying insurance and actually getting a carrier to pay for an environmental problem.
KGL lawyers are also experienced in exploiting hidden, pre-existing cost recovery sources to bridge economic gaps in transactions caused by environmental problems. These sources include old, pre-"pollution exclusion" insurance policies that may cover pre-existing environmental problems, negotiated settlements with other liable parties outside the transaction in question, and even government assistance to pay for investigation and clean up.