Practice Areas

Environmental law has its roots in federal, state, and local statutes. The most familiar of these are the federal Clean Water and Clean Air acts. In addition to these, there are the federal superfund and hazardous waste laws, and parallel state regulations. A typical environmental claim would be one seeking assessment or cleanup of a hazardous waste site or enforcement of an air or water permit. States may have additional laws, such as California's Proposition 65 which requires identification and labeling of certain hazardous and carcinogenic substances.

Toxic injury law, technically termed "toxic tort" law, has its roots in individual state common laws. The most familiar examples of toxic tort cases are the cases made famous by the movies Erin Brockovich and A Civil Action. The prototypical case is one where an industrial or hazardous waste site has exposed the surrounding public, either through the air, soil, or water, to toxic chemicals and caused some diagnosed injury, such as cancer. These common law claims can also be brought for property damages, water contamination, nuisance, and medical monitoring.

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