Tracie Renfroe > King & Spalding LLP > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile

King & Spalding LLP has an active environmental law practice, specializing in high-stakes enforcement cases. With a team of former EPA and state enforcement officials, alongside technical experts, it handles complex litigation involving toxic chemicals, climate change, and mobile source emissions. Known for its work on landmark Clean Air Act cases, including the Volkswagen emissions scandal, the firm also excels in managing industrial accidents, providing swift legal support in chemical spills, explosions, and safety protocols, with vastly experience environmental practitioner Granta Nakayama a key name. Ilana Saltzbart  co-heads the team, focusing on environmental health & safety issues, advising on enforcement, renewable fuels, and new regulations. Tracie Renfroe , head of the firm’s product liability team in Houston, is an expert in defending energy and industrial clients in environmental and toxic tort cases, with deep expertise in groundwater contamination, international arbitration, and climate change litigation.

With backgrounds in engineering and chemistry, the team at King & Spalding LLP acts across a full spectrum of litigation involving product liability, mass tort and cases involving alleged toxic chemicals including ethylene oxide, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and asbestos. Additionally, the practice is skilled in handling bet-the-company litigation involving environmental issues ranging from emissions, to groundwater and wastewater as well as toxic chemicals and wetlands. Based in San Francisco, Matthew Blaschke  focuses on litigation involving scientific and technical issues, and has represented clients in the energy, pharma and chemical industry.  Situated in Houston, Tracie Renfroe  is experienced in groundwater and drinking water contamination from chlorinated solvents, oilfield materials and PCBs, and Elizabeth Taber, also in Houston, represents oilfield services clients in high-stakes environmental litigation.

King & Spalding LLP’s energy litigation practice excels in high-stakes disputes across the oil and gas sector. The team has a strong track record in traditional litigation while also leading the charge on emerging claims tied to the industry’s transition toward decarbonization and carbon capture technologies. Clients turn to the firm for its ability to navigate novel legal challenges that arise in the evolving low-carbon landscape. The practice is co-led by Houston-based Tracie Renfroe, a veteran trial and arbitration lawyer with 37 years of experience handling toxic tort, environmental, product liability, and commercial disputes. She is particularly adept at presenting complex scientific and technical issues, including ecotoxicology and regulatory compliance, in legacy oilfield contamination cases. Houston-based Elizabeth Taber brings extensive experience in mass torts, catastrophic injury claims, environmental contamination, and oil and gas disputes, frequently handling large-scale, multiparty, and multi-district litigation. San Francisco-based Charles Correll is a key practitioner specializing in complex commercial, mass tort, and environmental litigation, representing clients in domestic and international disputes in federal and state courts as well as before arbitration panels.

King & Spalding LLP represents clients in every segment of the life sciences industry in high-stakes product liability, class action, and mass torts. Leveraging its cross-practice expertise, the team collaborates closely with appellate, regulatory, and life science lawyers. It regularly serves as national and regional coordinating counsel, and its strategic resolution team has favorably resolved large litigations. The practice is led by Atlanta’s Andy Bayman, who serves as lead counsel for Boehringer Ingelheim in litigation involving Zantac; and Houston’s Tracie Renfroe, who represents clients in federal and state civil jury trials, MDLs, and class actions. TaCara Harris, in Atlanta, chairs the firm’s pharmaceutical & medical device litigation practice group. Shaila Rahman Diwan departed the team in May 2025.