Alston & Bird LLP provides strategic guidance to a roster of industry, spanning oil & gas, pharmaceutical, and construction, across the whole spectrum of federal environmental statutes in trial and appellate work. The practice is jointly headed up by Greg Christianson from San Francisco, chiefly focusing on Superfund cost recovery, natural resource damage claims, and toxic tort actions, while in Atlanta, Meaghan Boyd is the key contact for companies facing lawsuits resulting from discharges, spills, emissions, and other alleged acts. Out of Los Angeles, Jeffrey Dintzer has a demonstrable track record advising energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, and defense companies in administrative proceedings and civil litigation. From Atlanta, Clay Massey defends clients in toxic tort personal injury, while in LA, Greg Berlin takes point on environmental, product, and chemical disputes.
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Key clients
- Chevron U.S.A, Inc.
- Five Point Holdings
- Sabel Offshore Corp
- Sterigenics U.S. LLC
- Union Carbide Corporation
- Radius Recycling Inc. and MMGL LLC
- Georgia Power Company
- Ascend Elements
- Vulcan Materials Company
- Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company LLC
Work highlights
Representing Radius Recycling Inc. and MMGL in connection with sediment contamination at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, located on a ten-mile stretch of the Willamette River that runs through the Industrial section of Portland, Oregon.
Serve as lead trial counsel to Sterigenics, a global medical sterilization company on a number of matters, including (1) the high-profile environmental tort litigation by hundreds of plaintiffs against Sterigenics claiming ethylene oxide emissions from its Atlanta facility caused them to develop cancer or their properties to lose value; (2) defending Sterigenics against public nuisance and negligence claims brough by the New Mexico Attorney General over Sterigenics’ New Mexico facility’s ethylene oxide emissions; and (3) the very public multi-plaintiff environmental tort litigation against Sterigenics claiming ethylene oxide emissions from its Vernon, California, facilities caused them to develop cancers.
Serve as lead trial counsel to Sabel Offshore Corp. and its subsidiary, Pacific Pipeline Company, on several matters, including 1) two lawsuits brought by non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) against the Office of State Fire Marshal (“OSFM”) for issuing state waivers to Sable Offshore Corp. to perform repair and maintenance activities. Sable Offshore Corp. and its subsidiary, Pipeline Pacific Company, have been named as Real Parties in Interest in these lawsuits; 2) multi-billion dollar litigation against the California Coastal Commission regarding repair and maintenance work performed along the Las Flores Pipeline System and connected Santa Ynez Unit pursuant to existing coastal development permits; and 3) litigation stemming from recent legislation requiring pipeline operators that have inactive pipelines of 5 years to apply for new coastal development permits.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Greg Christianson; Meaghan Boyd
Other key lawyers
Matt Wickersham; Ronnie Gosselin; Jeff Carlin; Greg Berlin; Garrett Stanton; Jeffrey Dintzer