Couch White LLP

Environmental, Energy, Renewable Energy Transactions, Real Estate, and Commercial and Complex Litigation

Partner and Chair of the Environmental Practice Group

Alita is the Chair of our Environmental Practice Group and regularly represents various industrial and commercial clients in all facets of environmental law, zoning and land use issues, related administrative and judicial proceedings, and commercial litigation. She is highly experienced in developing strategies to ensure a timely and thorough environmental, land use and/or permitting process occurs that will both comply with law and provide the client a defensible record. She regularly advises energy companies developing, acquiring, and operating renewable and other energy projects on all aspects of environmental and land use law, remediation issues, and the environmental aspects of commercial transactions.  She has extensive knowledge of New York’s solid waste program, including for the management of asphalt, concrete, fill and other C&D materials, and regularly represents clients on these issues.  She has also represented a number of clients in the New York Brownfield Cleanup Program, including advice on the remediation and tax credit aspects of the program.  She also assists clients with respect to contamination issues, including remediation pursuant to federal and state remedial programs. She has advised clients regarding a number of complex environmental statutes, such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Act, CERCLA, SEQRA, and others. She is also an experienced litigator who has researched and drafted numerous Article 78 petitions, injunctions, complaints, motions and other documents, in addition to overseeing complex litigation in a variety of practice areas, including breach of contract, construction defect, commercial landlord and tenant, eminent domain, trade name protection and real property.

Albany County Bar Association Rensselaer County Bar Association Capital District Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York New York State Bar Association, Environmental Law Section, Co-Chair, Mining and Oil and Gas Exploration Committee New York Construction Materials Association Associated General Contractors of New York State LLC Women's Energy Network Women Presidents Organization Ranked in Band 3 for legal services in Upstate New York: Environmental by Chambers & Partners 2026 Rated by Super Lawyers in the Upstate New York Edition Environment Law

Colgate University, B.A., 2002, magna cum laude; Albany Law School of Union University, J.D., 2006