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Jennifer represents clients in a broad range of environmental issues, including environmental civil enforcement and litigation matters, as well as regulatory and transactional issues.  For the past several years, Jennifer has focused her practice on emerging climate change issues, and has lectured and counseled clients extensively on that subject.

Climate Change Experience

Jennifer is involved in helping clients understand the potential impact, strengths and weaknesses, and business opportunities of greenhouse gas legislation in the RGGI states, California, and the European Union. She is also involved with the requirements for carbon projects, including carbon finance, and creating and trading voluntary carbon emission credits and offsets in several programs, such as The Climate Registry, CDM, and Chicago Climate Exchange. Jennifer has advised clients on (1) the regulatory compliance aspects of the EPA's recent mandatory GHG Inventory rule, (2) the Renewable Fuel Standards or RFS under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, (3) dealing with climate risks in an acquisition document, and (4) sustainability issues in development, including LEED certification (silver) for a theater project. Jennifer has compiled a survey of existing and proposed cap-and-trade programs in the United States and elsewhere, and can provide advice on state and regional variations in emission regulation and reporting compliance as well as advice to carbon project developers or buyers of credits and offsets on compliance procedures under various state, regional, federal and private rules. She has helped clients grasp the legal issues associated with measuring a business unit’s carbon footprint. Jennifer is also a Professor of Law (adjunct) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she teaches the course, "Climate Change and the Law." The course is designed to help students understand the science, law, and business of climate change by exploring the problems of global warming and climate change, and how law and policy and corporate America are responding to them on a regional and national basis. In addition to her classroom work, Jennifer publishes and lectures frequently on the business opportunities, co-benefits, and risks inherent in various climate change regulation schemes. Specifically, Jennifer lectures on national and international panels and publishes regularly on the cap-and-trade legislation, the future of the energy sector (particularly the regulation of renewable energy), the EPA's Endangerment Finding, and the United Nations climate negotiations.  Most recently, Jennifer was a delegate to the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) under the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009.

Brownfield Experience

Jennifer is very involved in Brownfield redevelopment on a local and state-wide level, with an emphasis on an in-depth knowledge of vapor intrusion issues, environmental covenants (including enforceability issues and the UECA), liability transfer mechanisms, and eminent domain law. She is well versed in the financial incentives and legal protection offered under the state and local programs in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. Jennifer has been asked to serve on a state-wide committee with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to implement Pennsylvania’s new UECA, particularly issues associated with the conversion of pre-UECA covenants.

Environmental Litigation Experience

Jennifer represents clients in a broad range of environmental issues, including environmental civil enforcement and litigation matters concerning the Clean Air Act, Superfund, RCRA, and the Clean Water Act, as well as various state law equivalents.  Jennifer has been involved with several successful Title V permitting challenges for Pennsylvania clients, along with defending toxic tort and property damage claims based on the discharge of hazardous pollutants into the air, soil, surface and groundwater. 

Enforcement and Penalty Actions — Defense of government enforcement actions resulting from alleged permits violation or the failure to obtain permits for storage of hazardous materials, air sources, and landfill operations.  She is familiar with policies and rules governing the calculation of civil penalties, and has successfully negotiated many favorable settlements in the form of consent decrees or administrative orders.

Rulemaking — Comments on proposed rule and challenge of rules under RCRA, including the land disposal regulations.

Toxic Tort and Property Damages — Toxic tort and property damage claims based on the discharge of air pollutants, and releases of hazardous pollutants into the air, soil, surface and groundwater. An example of her cases includes personal injuries from the release of emissions from railroad tanker cars carrying petroleum by-products.

Superfund and Related State Legislation — Defense of claims for response costs and clean-up orders by the EPA and state agencies, including sites involving former Department of Defense installations. Prosecution of contribution actions and participation in allocation proceedings. Her experience includes researching historical evidence of contamination, working with fate and transport models, co-mingled plumes, landfills, and leaking gasoline tanks.

Environmental Insurance Claims — Experience with obtaining insurance coverage for environmental damages under historic primary and excess liability policies, and claims for reimbursement under cost-cap insurance. Recent experience with cost-cap claims has resulted in settlements with insurers totaling close to 100 percent of claimed cost overruns.

Environmental Permits — Defense of permits for the appeal of unlawful permit conditions, including unsupported BACT determinations.

Sewer and Water — Defense of disputes involving allegations of violations of sewage service contracts, and defense of personal injury and property damage claims related to discharge to sewer that allegedly cause injury.

Jennifer’s litigation clients have included textile manufacturers, battery recycling facilities, iron and steel manufacturers, petroleum refiners, chemical producers, chapter 11 bankruptcy debtors and creditors, landfill operators, and municipalities and municipal redevelopment authorities. She has represented clients in the state courts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia; in the U.S. District Courts throughout the Midwest and the Eastern United States; and in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal for the Third Circuit and the District of Columbia.

Counseling and Transactional Experience

Jennifer has counseled her clients on virtually every environmental regulatory requirement affecting the business community.  She assists the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Real Estate Groups in the design of appropriate contractual provisions for their deals; negotiates protocols for performing environmental due diligence in connection with those transactions; and evaluates the results. She has reviewed and evaluated environmental assessments involving multiple facilities at diverse locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, including states with super lien laws. She is experienced in using insurance to replace traditional indemnity provisions to cap clean-up liability, and as part of a program allowing business to remove environmental liabilities from their financial statements. She has evaluated and negotiated environmental claims under various forms of contracts, warranty and indemnification provisions. Jennifer has negotiated and drafted the environmental provisions of stock and asset purchase agreements, leases, indemnity agreements, releases and other documents. She helps clients understand the pros and cons of alternative provisions and different structures for doing business. She has helped clients design audit protocols; directed and assisted in the compliance review process; evaluated third-party auditor findings; and assisted clients in identifying and disclosing violations to EPA in an appropriate manner.

Due Diligence Experience

Jennifer advises clients, including REITs, with the purchase of real estate.  She has also advised on qualifying as bona fide purchasers under CERCLA or meeting the test for innocent landowner and contiguous property owner defenses, and obtained liability protection for buyers of contaminated property under various state programs.

Publications

• Co-author, "After Copenhagen, it is clear there will be winners and losers," The National Law Journal (Feb. 8, 2010)
• "After the Copenhagen Accord: What Can We Expect Domestically?" ALL4's 4 The Record (January 2010)
• "EBA Reporter on the Copenhagen Scene: The COP and the Role of Private Sector in Financing Adaptation," EBA's Environmental BANKNOTES (4th Qtr., Oct., Nov., and Dec. 2009)
• Co-author, "House Passes the American Clean Energy and Security Act, First-Ever Congressional Bill to Address Climate Change," The Environmental Counselor, Issue No. 252 (August 2009)
• “A CAP-ital Idea: Business Opportunities for Covered Sources in the Lieberman-Warner GHG Cap and Trade System,” Andrews Publications [Westlaw] (Phyllis Skupien, ed.), submitted for publication July 2008
• "Get Ready: Environmental Covenants in Pennsylvania," The Natural ReSource Vol. II, No.3 (Oct. 1, 2007)
• “The winds of change blow in from the Windy City: The Chicago Climate Exchange,” The Natural ReSource Vol. II, No. 2 (June 27, 2007)
• "President Signs Tax Law that Spurs Development of Brownfield Sites," Reed Smith e-Flash (Dec. 27, 2007)
• "A Practical Guide to Litigation with DEP," with Louis A. Naugle ,Pennsylvania Environmental Law and Practice, Fifth Edition (January 2006)
• "The Environmental Toolbox: Vapor Intrusion (a/k/a Indoor Air Pollution)," with Mark L. Manewitz, ABA Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Newsletter (November 2005)
• "Are you Meeting Your Environmental Obligations?" with Louis A. Naugle, Reed Smith Client Bulletin 04-14 (March 2004)

Speeches / Presentations

• Delegate to the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) under the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark (December 2009)
• Workshop on Climate Change and Bayesian Risk Management organized by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany) in cooperation with the Climate Decision Making Center and the European Climate Forum, presenter on “Climate Change Litigation (U.S.)” (June 12-13, 2008)
• "Emerging Issues in Pennsylvania Brownfield Law," presented at Promoting Revitalization in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Brownfield 2007 Putting the Deal Together (Oct. 2, 2007)
• "Legal Issues and Climate Change: RGGI and Massachusetts GHG Trading Program," presented at Reed Smith University (Aug. 7, 2007)
• "Recent Developments in Pennsylvania Eminent Domain Law," for Washington County Bench Bar Conference, presented (Feb. 2, 2007)

Experience

Legal Education

Undergraduate Education

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

• Pennsylvania

Professional Affiliations

• Allegheny County Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Bar Association – Member of the Environmental, Mineral, and Natural Resources Section
• National Brownfields Association – Pennsylvania Chapter Member of the Policy & Legislative Committee and the Technical Committee

Press Releases

• "Copenhagen summit is destination for Pittsburgh lawyers," by Joyce Gannon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Dec. 08, 2009)
• "New Law Class Focuses on Climate Change," by Patricia Lomando White, Pitt Chronicle, Feb. 4, 2008

Notable Quotes

• "Melt Down: The Winds of Change Buffet Climate Change Policy," By Melissa Maleske, Mary Swanton and Lauren Williamson, Inside Counsel (April 1, 2010)
• "Environmental Cases To Watch In 2010," by Leigh Kamping-Carder, Law360, (Jan. 01, 2010)
• "Copenhagen Accord Might Help Senate To Act: Experts," by Jesse Greenspan, Law360 (Dec. 22, 2009)
• "Climate Bill Unlikely To Pass Before Copenhagen: Attys," by Jesse Greenspan, Law360 (Oct 16, 2009)
• "Vapor Intrusion Could Be Next Big Toxic Tort," by Jocelyn Allison, Law360 (Sept. 30, 2008)