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Vault Law Resource Center

Environmental Law

Overview

Environmental law can differ greatly depending on an attorney’s client base; one can work for a public interest group or firm to fight to preserve the environment or can represent companies to navigate environmental regulations. On either side, the practice heavily involves regulations and laws at the national, state, and local level. Practitioners in this area should be comfortable with science as well as politics, which both figure heavily into the practice. Environmental lawyers for public interest groups can work long hours for little pay and feel that they are always fighting deeper pockets. Lawyers representing companies can feel frustrated by the regulations that prevent commercial activity. In large firms, many real estate, energy, and project finance lawyers will deal with environmental regulations in their deals, and litigators representing companies in these sectors will also deal with environmental issues. Among areas environmental lawyers may handle include air quality, chemicals regulation, California’s environmental standards, contamination, hazardous materials, insurance, natural resources, mining, occupational safety and health, Superfund, sustainability, toxic torts, water, wildlife protection, and more.

Top Ranked Firms


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Practice Area Q&A’s

Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.

Erika H. Spanton & Mary K. Burdette

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Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Rachel Saltzman

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Latham & Watkins

Stacey VanBelleghem & Robin Hulshizer

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Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.

Kaitlyn Shannon & Leigh Barton

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Kirkland & Ellis

Emily Tabak

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"Our practice area provides top-of-themarket transactional training, as well as opportunities to counsel clients on environmental regulatory compliance issues that can be critical in litigation, as well as in the restructuring context. Our practice area also provides an opportunity to learn from and grow with a smaller group of lawyers … within a large firm, focusing on cutting-edge matters with incredibly sophisticated clients."

— Emily Tabak , Kirkland & Ellis

"Environmental law is dynamic and constantly changes—particularly at the state level. There are also issues companies grapple with, such as ESG considerations, that can impact what a client wants to do. We are often called upon to analyze complex legal and policy considerations to assist clients with making business decisions."

— Kaitlyn Shannon , Beveridge & Diamond P.C.

Advice from Vault Law

The Top Five Environmental Law Firms

The Top Five Environmental Law Firms

By Travis Whitsitt

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Practice Area Insights: How to Break Into an Environmental Law Practice

Practice Area Insights: How to Break Into an Environmental Law Practice

By Vault Law Editors

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What’s Hot, or Not, in 2023

What’s Hot, or Not, in 2023

By Rebecca King-Newman

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