Experience
The depth of our subject matter experience and environmental regulatory expertise enables us to conduct effective internal investigations and present the facts in a thorough and credible manner that garners the government’s respect. This often bridges the gap between our clients and the authorities.
Clients faced with environmental challenges need assistance investigating such matters and determining the best course of action. Alston & Bird’s highly skilled internal investigation and environmental audits team has perform internal investigations with minimal disruption to our clients’ businesses. We have a proven record of keeping investigations confidential unless or until a regulatory requirement calls for disclosure or it is in the best interest of our clients to do so. When disclosure has been required, Alston & Bird has advised our clients on how best to disclose and guided them through enforcement actions.
Many of our clients want to get out ahead of any problems. Alston & Bird has developed and designed environmental audits in conjunction with a number of engineering outfits, and we routinely conduct audits under an attorney-client privilege that provides our clients with wide discretion about what and when to disclose provided there is no regulatory mandate that requires otherwise.
Accolades
With decades of combined federal and state environmental and prosecutorial experience, we speak the language of environmental regulators and prosecutors. Our team includes the following industry experts:
- a former assistant chief of the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section;
- the former director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, who was also deputy secretary for law enforcement and general counsel of the California Environmental Protection Agency;
- the former EPA deputy regional administrator (Region IV), immediate past chair of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) and SEER delegate to the ABA House of Delegates;
- a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina;
- the chair of the ABA Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee; and
- a former member of the U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Enforcement Section.
Bringing Value to Our Clients
While we pride ourselves on being formidable advocates and trial attorneys, our greatest successes are our least publicized ones—those in which the civil or criminal investigation is never begun, or where it ends without any charges being brought.