The lawyers at Kazmarek Geiger & Laseter have more than a half century of combined experience handling a wide range of environmental challenges, including:

    Transactional;
    Environmental Disputes & Litigation;
    Regulatory; and
    Other Areas.

Each of these practice areas is briefly described below.  We encourage you to contact us directly to discuss how our experience and capabilities match your needs.

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 and even divisions 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.

Environmental Disputes and Litigation.  Although we pride ourselves on being able to solve environmental problems through negotiation, when talks fail, KGL’s lawyers stand ready to litigate to protect their client’s interests.  We are actively engaged in both defense and plaintiff representations.  We have had substantial experience in toxic torts, citizens suits, cost recovery cases, regulatory enforcement actions, environmental insurance coverage claims, and a variety of other common law and statutory matters.  We can assist not only in litigation, but in what is frequently the more important phase of pre-litigation negotiation and counseling that can often head off such litigation before it saps unnecessary resources.  Indeed, we believe that liability management, long before the claims ever arise, is too frequently overlooked, leading to needless expense and loss of corporate good will.

In major cases, we often recommend a multi-disciplinary, team-based approach, especially where toxic tort or property damage litigation is a realistic possibility.  While the correct approach will always depend upon the particular circumstances of a given matter, we often recommend involving public relations and government affairs teams, and may go so far as to recommend other, more innovative techniques, including technical assistance grants to local community organizations, use of "community advisory groups," and alternative methods of dispute resolution, all designed to keep the path of litigation in line with the client’s overarching goals.

Likewise, in cost recovery and other forms of claims by responsible parties, we have had great success with various forms of alternative dispute resolution methods, notably "early neutral evaluation" and "mediated settlement" to invoke a form of case assessment by neutral parties early enough in the proceeding to resolve unnecessary (and expensive) disagreements, focusing instead on legitimate areas of disagreement.

If, despite best efforts otherwise, it comes to litigation, we have substantial litigation experience within KGL itself and, where the resources of a larger firm are necessary, we have access to litigation support through a wide variety of other firms upon whom we can call, or we can work closely with your current outside litigation counsel.

Regulatory Counseling. KGL attorneys have had a wide range of experience in all of the major regulatory subdisciplines of environmental practice, including Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA (or "Superfund"), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (both in the solid waste and hazardous waste elements), Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know, wetlands, and others. In these areas, we have wide experience in regulatory counseling, permitting, and enforcement defense, and our experience includes both federal practice and practice under the various state delegated programs.

Our regulatory practice is characterized by our positive relationships with agency personnel.  Except in extremely unusual circumstances, we find that a cooperative approach of candor and compromise leads not only to reduced legal costs, but usually better regulatory outcomes.  Perhaps more important than the outcome in any particular matter, this approach has the best chance of preserving and even enhancing the client’s overall reputation with the agency and the community as a whole.  In our experience, most regulators are well-intentioned and reasonable; where disagreements arise, they can usually be resolved by increasing the amount of light shed on a topic and decreasing the amount of heat.

One distinctive characteristic of our practice is that, for the past 20 years, we have been representing utilities in various environmental issues surrounding former "manufactured gas plants." Until natural gas was widely available, gas was actually manufactured from coal and other organic materials. When those MGPs were closed down in the early- to mid-20th century, the residuals of those operations (including coal tar) were often left in place, leading to a modern-day environmental legacy that began to receive serious regulatory attention in the mid-1980's. We have been involved in well over 30 MGP sites on behalf of a wide variety of utility clients, handling state and federal regulatory requirements, community relations, cost recovery, and toxic tort litigation. Please see our MGP Practice page for further information.

Other Areas. The regulatory world in which environmental matters arise is nearly boundless, so it is not surprising that we are frequently called upon to deal with environmental matters in subjects seemingly far removed from conventional "environmental" areas. For example, a considerable part of our practice lately has dealt with the requirements of disclosures of environmental costs and liabilities in various securities filings. Indeed, we have a considerable collection of written materials on disclosure issues, and invite you to contact us if you would be interested in receiving these. Other areas outside of traditional environmental regulations have included occupational safety and health matters, military base operations (including BRAC closures), tax and financing issues, and others. Basically, if it involves "the environment" in one way or another, chances are good that we've actually handled a similar matter or can figure it out in pretty short order.

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