Greg A. Christianson

• Represented an industrial company and landowner in connection with sediment contamination at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site in Oregon.
• Defended two multinational corporations in an environmental class action and mass-joinder toxic tort lawsuit in Florida.
• Represented a public entity pursuing an industrial operator for costs arising from perchlorate contamination.
• Defended a joint-defense group at the former Cal Compact Landfill in California against claims by the site owner and state regulators, and pursued contribution claims against 40 waste generators.
• Represented oil industry clients pursuing and defending cost-recovery claims at numerous sites.
• Defended an industrial operator against a Clean Air Act citizen suit based on alleged releases from a petroleum coke loading terminal.
• Advised clients in averting threatened litigation by nongovernmental organizations under the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.
• Represented a manufacturer in addressing EPA allegations of successor liability and assessing remedial investigation results and future cleanup requirements.
• Advised a former property owner in ongoing remediation for trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination at a former Silicon Valley facility.
• Represented a former operator in litigation and remedial investigation work related to arsenic contamination.

Greg A. Christianson is co-chair of the Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group. He advises clients in cost recovery matters, natural resource damage actions, federal and state citizen suits, and other complex litigation matters. Greg achieves results for his clients using alternative dispute resolution methods, including pursuing cost-effective, cooperative solutions with regulators, property owners, and potentially responsible parties to avoid litigation.

Greg defends private and public entities at sites nationwide, including various federal and state Superfund sites. Greg advises clients at a wide range of facilities, including contaminated waterways, mixed-use landfills, former mines, and other industrial operations. He has also pursued CERCLA, RCRA, and common-law claims through litigation and mediations, obtaining substantial funds for clients’ environmental cleanup work. Greg negotiates creative settlements, including multiparty federal and state consent decrees, and has defended settlements against third-party challenges at trial and appellate courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Greg has significant experience working with experts in the technical aspects of litigation, including contaminant fate and transport, identification of potentially responsible parties, and the range of factors affecting multiparty cost allocation.

Greg’s work includes defending clients in multiparty toxic tort actions for personal injury, medical monitoring, and property damage claims based on alleged groundwater contamination, surface-water releases, and air emissions. Greg is recognized in Chambers USA and The Best Lawyers in America^®.

Bar Admissions

• California
• U.S. Supreme Court

Education

• Stanford University (J.D., 1995)
• Princeton University (B.A., 1989)

Memberships