Nicholas Van Aelstyn > Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP > San Francisco, United States > Lawyer Profile
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Offices
FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER
SEVENTEENTH FLOOR
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111
CALIFORNIA
United States
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Nicholas Van Aelstyn
Work Department
Real Estate, Energy, Land Use & Environmental
Position
Nicholas W. (“Nico”) van Aelstyn is a partner in the Real Estate, Energy, Land Use & Environmental Practice Group in the firm’s San Francisco office.
Nicholas has more than 25 years of environmental counseling and litigation experience. His environmental compliance counseling practice focuses on climate change, Brownfields redevelopment, sustainability and other regulatory and transactional matters. His climate change practice encompasses California’s Cap-and-Trade Program (compliance, rulemaking, enforcement and emission trading contracts) and other aspects of AB 32, as well as related state, federal and international programs and international offset projects. His climate finance practice includes handling complex offset transactions, market advice, and ESG counseling (environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities). Nico’s transactional experience also includes environmental due diligence for a wide variety of real estate and corporate transactions, with special expertise in the development of renewable energy projects. Nico’s environmental litigation practice focuses on cost recovery actions, regulatory enforcement actions (e.g., administrative enforcement proceedings brought by CARB, DTSC, DPR, AQMDs, RWQCBs and other agencies), writ proceedings to challenge regulations and representation of PRPs and PRP groups at Superfund sites; he has particular expertise with contaminated sediment sites. Nico has represented clients in every lawsuit filed to date challenging California’s Cap-and-Trade Program. His broad litigation experience also includes commercial, real estate, intellectual property and appellate cases. He has handled matters in state and federal courts across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and various administrative fora.
Education
J.D., University of Oregon, 1990, Order of the Coif, Associate Editor, Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation
B.A., Williams College, 1986
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Environment > Environment: litigation
The team at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is known for its ability to navigate a full spread of environmental issues relating to soil and groundwater contamination, land use, hazardous waste and water and air quality. The group is led from Los Angeles by Jeffrey Parker, who predominantly handles product liability cases, and Whitney Roy, who is a name to note for tort litigation. In San Francisco, Nicholas Van Aelstyn’s wide practice encompasses cost recovery actions and regulatory enforcement actions, regularly handling a range of Superfund and contaminated sites matters.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
Firm Rankings
- Government > Government contracts
- Healthcare > Health insurers
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Tax > Not-for-profit (Fortune 1000 private foundations, national trade associations, and charities)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Insurance > Advice to insurers
- Real estate > Real estate finance