Jennifer A. Smokelin

Whether in Pennsylvania or across the country, she dedicates herself to her clients, her profession, and her community, helping them understand the potential impact, strengths, weaknesses, and business opportunities of current and emerging energy issues, organizational risk management, and climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. Jennifer’s experience in this area runs the gamut, including carbon footprint assessments, net zero plans, corporate social responsibility, sustainability and climate-related corporate reporting, ESG compliance, carbon offsetting and neutrality objectives, green energy, and renewable and alternative/sustainable fuels regulation. She has shared speaking engagements with the White House special assistant to the president for energy and climate change.

Additionally, Jennifer is an adjunct professor of law at her alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she teaches Climate Change and the Law.

ESG Experience

Jennifer has led clients through successful assessments, records reviews, and policy drafting regarding issues associated with responsible supply chain management, including reviewing and updating procurement contracts and purchase orders to reflect ESG issues. She is very familiar with the Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct and shepherding organizations through assessment and implementation of waste reduction and water reduction goals to be in line with it. Jennifer has additional experience benchmarking clients’ ESG goals with peer organizations on ESG issues so that clients can be assured of alliance with the market in connection with the ESG changes. Jennifer is dedicated to continuously educating herself on business strategies and has completed Stanford University’s Executive Education program focused on developing sustainability strategies to transform business initiatives.

Energy and Greenhouse Gas Experience

Jennifer has argued before administrative tribunals on emerging Clean Air Act issues involving greenhouse gases, developed standardized trading agreements for carbon projects in California and across the United States, and performed due diligence on major acquisitions in the Marcellus Shale play. As well as being a delegate at the Paris climate talks and other international climate negotiations, she has led or participated on teams in some of the most significant air appeals and hearings on air aggregation issues for the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania.

Environmental Litigation Experience

Jennifer also represents clients in a broad range of environmental issues, including civil enforcement and litigation matters concerning the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, RCRA, and the Clean Water Act, as well as various state law equivalents. She has been involved in groundbreaking air permitting aggregation litigation, as well as 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 water, and groundwater. She has researched, selected, retained, and supervised numerous experts regarding hydrology, fate and transport, and toxicology issues associated with third-party property damage to sediment, groundwater, and surface water for a major multinational manufacturing company, and is experienced in both defending and taking expert depositions on these issues.

Environmental Due Diligence Experience

Jennifer is a key player in due diligence on major domestic and international acquisitions that include real estate and/or environmental risk. From single property real estate transactions to multiparcel mega-deals, she has reviewed and evaluated environmental assessments involving facilities at diverse locations around the world, helping clients understand the pros and cons of alternative provisions and different deal structures for doing business and purchasing real estate. Jennifer advises clients, including REITs, on the purchase of real estate, on qualifying as bona fide purchasers under CERCLA or meeting the test for innocent landowner and contiguous property owner defenses, and on obtaining liability protection for buyers of contaminated property under various state programs.