Biography
Prior to joining the VLS faculty, he was a partner and chair of the environmental practice group at Gardner, Carton, and Douglas (now Drinker, Biddle and Reath) in Chicago and Washington, D.C. In his 15 years of private practice, he served as defense counsel for businesses, municipalities, and individuals in state, federal, civil, and administrative enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, RCRA, and EPCRA. He counseled clients regarding regulatory compliance under all major environmental statutes, particularly in the water, solid waste, hazardous waste, and spill/release reporting areas. He also assisted clients with environmental due diligence in a variety of transactions. His teaching includes courses in Torts, Environmental Issues in Business Transactions, Corporations and Other Business Organizations, and Environmental Law.
Publications
Commentaries
"Is sovereign immunity out of gas in pipeline condemnation case?" SCOTUSBlog (June 30, 2021).
Co-author, U.S. EPA’s Year 2000 Enforcement Policy: Is Your Environmental Control Equipment Ready to Face the New Millennium?, Gravure Mag.
Articles
Co-author, The Illinois Site Remediation Program: Turning Brownfields Green, Chicago Bar Association Record.
The Intersection of Tort and Environmental Law: Where the Twains Should Meet and Depart, 80 Fordham Law Review 737 (2011) (co-authored with Victor E. Schwartz and Christopher
E. Appel).
The BP Deepwater Horizon: A Cautionary Tale for CCS, Hydrofracking, Geoengineering and Other Emerging Technologies with Environmental and Human Health Risks, 36 William & Mary Environmental Law & Policy Review, Vol. 31 (2011).
(Un)restoring the Chemical, Physical, and Biological Integrity of Our Nation's Waters: The Emerging Clean Water Act Jurisprudence of the Roberts Court, 28 Virginia Envtl. L. J., 411 (2010).
The 2008-2009 Term and the Clean Water Act: Justice Kennedy Where Art Thou? 44 New England Law Review 293 (symposium book on the Supreme Court's 2008 Term environmental cases) (2010).
Bush v. Obama: The Fight for the Soul of Science in Environmental Policymaking, 1 Seattle University Envtl. L. J. 6 (symposium book covering environmental law and the first year of the Obama administration) (2010).
Environmental Liabilities and the Federal Securities Laws: A Proposal for Improved Disclosure of Climate Change-Related Liabilities, 39 Envtl. L. 647 (2009).
The Sunnyside of Climate Change (book review of B. Lomborg, Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming), 9 Vt. J. Envtl. L. 629 (2008).
The Rehnquist Court and the Pollution Control Cases: Anti-Environmental and Pro-Business? University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law (Fall 2007).
"Rapanos v. United States: Significant Nexus or Significant Confusion? The Failure of the Supreme Court to Clearly Define the Scope of Federal Wetland Jurisdiction," in The Supreme Court and the Clean Water Act: Five Essays, 4 VERMONT JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (2006).
After Tennessee Valley Authority v. Whitman: Should Courts Be More Receptive to Preenforcement Review of EPA Administrative Orders?, Envtl. L. Rep. (Environmental Law Institute September 2005).
Co-author, The Federal Wetlands Program: A Regulatory Program Run Amuck, 34 BNA Envtl. Rep., April 25, 2003, at 966.
EPA Regulation of Biotechnology, Wash. Bus. J., June 7, 2002 (supplement).
Maintaining Confidentiality of Environmental Audits: Legal Protections, 29 Journal of Health and Hospital Law (Jan./Feb. 1996).
Other
Commerce Clause Challenges to Landfill Statutes and Regulations: An Overview (part of course materials for ABA’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources fall meeting, October, 1999).
Environmental Disclosure Obligations in Residential Real Estate Transactions (part of course materials for ABA Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law 1998 annual meeting).
Contributing author, American Bar Association, Natural Resources, Energy & Environmental Law, Year in Review, Water Quality and Wetlands, 1995 Annual Report and 1996 Annual Report.
Presentations
Moderator, "Clean-Energy Justice," Vermont Journal of Environmental Law Annual Symposium, Vermont Law School (October 16, 2020).
“Police Officers and Qualified Immunity,” Embedded Racism in the Law Panel Series, Vermont Law School, July 23, 2020.
Training the Teachers Advanced Course, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China, February - March 2011.
"Environmental Lawsuits & Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Litigation in Promoting Good Environmental Practice Climate Change Litigation and Corporate Social Responsibility," Fordham University Law School, New York, NY, March 2010.
Panelist, "Careers in Environmental Law" panel, Law School Success panel, National Black Pre-Law Conference, University of Houston, Houston, TX, October 2, 2009.
"Nuts and Bolts of CERCLA Liability" (part of Brownfields Redevelopment CLE Program),
Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT, June 2008.
"The Clean Water Act: A Framework for Exploring Environmental Enforcement in the United States," Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, June 5, 2008.
Panelist, "The Mid-term Elections and the Environment," Annual Conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists, Burlington, VT, October 25–29, 2006.
Panelist, “Role of the State in Regulating Land Use Planning,” Land Use Institute Conference: “Vermont By Design: Next Steps,” Vermont Law School, February 14, 2006.
Panelist, "Environmental Perspectives on Homeland Security," Illinois Environmental Law Conference, Chicago, IL, 2003.
"Analysis of Proposed Revisions to the Illinois Facility Planning Area Process," Government Affairs in Water Pollution Control, Naperville, IL, 1999.
Panelist, "Commerce Clause Issues Associated with Landfill Siting," ABA's Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Meeting, San Diego, CA, 1999.
Lecturer and Faculty Member, "Environmental Due Diligence," Annual Comprehensive Corporate Due Diligence, Practicing Law Institute, Chicago, 1997–98.
Panelist, "Environmental Disclosure Obligations in Residential Real Estate Transactions," ABA's Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Annual Meeting, American Bar Association, San Antonio, TX, 1998.
Panelist, "CLE Seminar Urban Brownfield Redevelopment Case Studies and Strategies," Chicago Bar Association, 1993.
Panelist, "The Path Towards Tenure," Northeast People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference
Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA, September 3, 2008.
"RCRA, CERCLA, and Parallels with the Circular Economy Law," Conference: "Energy Efficiency and the Circular Economy," Sun Yat-sen University School of Law, Guangzhou, China, May 11–12, 2007.
Awards & Accomplishments
Service Work
Member, Board of Trustees of the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, 2006–present.
Trustee, Green Mountain College Board of Trustees (2009 to present; member Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee)
Trustee, Hubbard Brook Research Foundation (2007 to present)
Commissioner, Village of Mettawa (IL) Planning Commission, 1992-2005.
Chair, Good Neighbor Health Clinic Board of Trustees (2009 to present; Vice-chair 2008 to 2009)
Lead counsel in People v. Thomas as the attorney for an indigent capital defendant in post-conviction proceedings. Briefed and argued the case before the Illinois Supreme Court, federal district court, and before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Chair, David Adler Cultural Center Board of Directors, 1998-2000.
Panel member, Windsor County Juvenile Restorative Justice Program (2008 to present)
Awards, Honors or Grants
2009-2010 Vermont Law School Student Bar Association Faculty Service Award
Affiliations
Joined the VLS faculty, August 2005.
Partner, Environmental Law Group, Gardner Carton and Douglas LLP, Chicago, IL, 1998–2005; Associate, 1989–98.