Constantly evolving laws and regulations affect building and construction, energy use, contamination control and waste practices.

These evolving environmental considerations present opportunities for businesses that think ahead of the curve.

We are your strategic advantage

Cole Schotz’s Environmental Department stands out from its competitors for its unusually broad team of business attorneys with a deep knowledge of environmental issues. We are strategic thinkers, skilled in evaluating risks and opportunities, accustomed to planning ten steps ahead in any situation.

What we do

Our clients range from investment funds to developers to private and public business and landowners nationwide and across industry sectors. We help navigate the complexities of environmental issues arising in all aspects of business, including:

• Real estate acquisitions and leasing
• Brownfield redevelopment
• Remediation project management
• Insurance cost recovery
• Permitting and land use
• Regulatory compliance counseling
• Financing
• Litigation
• Corporate transactions
• Estate planning

Highlights of our practice include:

• Counselling developers, buyers, sellers, investors and lenders in the environmental aspects of complex real estate and corporate transactions involving risk allocation and risk transfer, and negotiating environmental insurance policies to make these transactions work
• Advising clients on all aspects of contaminated property clean-up, from drafting protective contracts with environmental contractors, to development of appropriate remedial strategies and coordination with construction activities
• Representing plaintiffs and defendants in environmental litigation actions involving strict liability remediation statutes and environmental land use issues, as well as private party cost recovery and insurance cost recovery actions, in both federal and state courts and before administrative law judges
• Representing potentially responsible parties in complex, multi-party federal Superfund (CERCLA) matters
• Counselling and defending clients on air, water and waste discharge laws
• Counselling clients and their consultants on commercial and industrial brownfield redevelopment projects including coordination with remediation and environmental land use obligations, such as wetland and flood hazard area permitting
• Obtaining government brownfield incentive funds to pay for environmental clean-ups