Climate Change

Courts are already determining liability for failing to plan or account for climate impacts.  State and federal courts, along with legislatures and implementing regulatory agencies will be deciding both the broad and narrow details of assessing responsibility for climate impacts, mitigation, and adaptation. Our litigation expertise is nationally recognized— for its unsurpassed depth in industry liability. Assisted by our business and environmental professionals, who have extensive experience in litigation consultation and negotiation of complex settlements of both state and federal environmental claims, we are available should the need for climate change-related litigation arise.

With deep experience in the finer points of solar, wind, biomass, hydro, battery, and gas generation; merchant generation and transmission; distributed resource integration; and associated legal and political challenges, our Climate Change Group assists clients with renewable energy projects of all sizes. In addition to serving hundreds of renewable energy clients, this Group also regularly counsels stakeholders and decision-makers on detailed energy policy around grid modernization from Maryland to Minnesota to Maine.

Our environmental team is involved in the policies and politics surrounding local, state, and federal environmental law, and we are in regular contact with governmental agencies to help our clients maintain or achieve compliance. In the development process, or when mergers and acquisitions take place, our environmental team provides due diligence support to help ensure that permits match ownership and operations, and provide counsel on ensuring compliance at all levels of government. This team also regularly negotiates complex settlement agreements on behalf of clients to resolve any alleged violations and associated litigation.

Our team’s professionals have a substantial background in navigating the State Houses and regulatory agencies of Maine and New Hampshire. We also have experience working with the White House and with relevant energy and environmental agencies. Our governmental affairs team has particular expertise in media outreach, and our attorneys have advised clients in half of the U.S. capitals in recent years on climate-related energy and environmental issues.

From greenhouse gas offset deals to inking complex generation developments and financings to business restructuring, our attorneys are involved in matters across the U.S. increasingly involving climate risk mitigation.

We provide general strategic advice to clients on climate risks including change of law risk, liability trends, and how to position their businesses for challenges and opportunities in meeting climate change head-on. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is once again updating its guidance for addressing climate risk for publicly traded companies, and we are closely monitoring these updates to provide our clients with the best path forward. As clients work to mitigate climate change, we provide advice on how to structure transactions to maximize the benefits of tax credits and state initiatives for clean energy projects.