Description of Practice

Transcription

1 Kenneth A. Reich, Esq. Kenneth Reich Law, LLC 1155 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Suite 500 Washington, D.C (part-time) and 255 Massachusetts Ave. Suite 1018 Boston, MA website: Kenneth A. Reich has been practicing law for more than three decades and has a national practice. He concentrates in environmental and energy law. He also counsels and represents clients on local, state and federal regulatory matters, handles administrative and civil litigation and provides general corporate and transactional advice. Mr. Reich has managed significant matters on behalf of the federal government as well as in the private sector on behalf of corporate, institutional and public clients. Mr. Reich brings this wealth of experience to bear to provide his clients with high quality legal representation. For further information, see his website: Description of Practice Mr. Reich has had a distinguished career practicing law in the public and private sector. He was a trial attorney, then Assistant Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section, U.S. Department of Justice, where he litigated as well as supervised a number of complex, precedential cases in the federal courts and worked on policy issues. Mr. Reich received a number of awards and honors during his tenure at Justice. Prior to and following his tenure at the Department of Justice he was at several prominent regional and national law firms, including until 2009 WolfBlock, where he was a partner, co-chair of the firm s Environmental and Land Use Practice Group and a leading member of its Energy Group. Mr. Reich formed his own firm in order to provide his clients with high quality legal representation without the expensive 1

2 overhead and bureaucracy of a large firm. He has available the necessary resources to fully serve his clients, including a network of experienced as well as junior attorneys across the country. Mr. Reich represents a broad range of national as well as regional clients, providing them legal services in the fields of environmental law, including advice on Climate Change regulations and potential regulations; environmental, health and safety, including OSHA; environmental litigation, including defense of governmental enforcement actions and Superfund matters; energy, including traditional and alternative energy; federal, state and local regulatory advice and representation; general civil litigation; and general corporate advice. His practice includes counseling, litigation and transactional matters. He is a certified experienced mediator. Mr. Reich has an independent contractor affiliation with the minority (woman) owned firm, Bailey Law Group ( in its Washington office, in order to provide his clients with national advice and representation based on his wealth of experience and contacts in the government and to augment his legal resources. Recent representative matters include: Representation of a rural electric cooperative in successfully obtaining a favorable federal/state EIS and a major air permit for its proposed new coal-fired project, including defending the federal, state and administrative litigation filed by the project s opponents. Major environmental law issues included adverse (visual) impacts to a national historic landmark; whether CO2 is a regulated pollutant under the state and federal clean air acts; the federal and state requirements for a BACT analysis of particulate matter controls, for which Mr. Reich was lead counsel in a three day evidentiary hearing; and mercury impacts, regulation and control. Filing of an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association before USEPA s Environmental Appeals Board in the Deseret Power Electric Cooperative case--on the issue of the regulation of CO2 under the federal Clean Air Act. 2

3 Representation of alternative energy companies. Advice to a national alternative energy company in reporting potential environmental law violations pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of USEPA s Audit Policy and in setting up a nationwide audit program pursuant to that Policy. Representation of a major national corporation in defense of enforcement proceedings by USEPA, including protracted negotiations leading to a precedential national judicial consent decree requiring payment of a civil penalty, establishment of a company-wide environmental compliance and audit program, and performance of an innovative supplemental environmental project. Representation of a national bank in negotiations with a state department of environmental protection and the state attorney general s office in cleaning up a contaminated industrial site under the brownfields program, converting it to a model recreation complex and obtaining protection from further liability for the site. Representation of a major transportation company in obtaining state certification of emission reduction credits as a result of its fuel conversion from diesel to electric. Jury trial on behalf of an owner of contaminated property seeking cost recovery against the prior owner, leading to a verdict in favor of the present owner and award of past and future damages, costs and interest. Representation of a manufacturer in connection with an ammonia release that potentially threatened the safety of workers and the surrounding community, and in dealing with the myriad federal, state and local investigative and enforcement agencies, including OSHA and EPA. 3

4 Representation of individual and group PRP s in major Superfund cleanup cases and in litigation. Counsel to an international company in defense of equipment lease litigation. Lead counsel on a number of major, complex enforcement actions under the federal Superfund Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and other federal statutes as a trial attorney/assistant Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. Professional Activities Mr. Reich frequently speaks and writes on energy and environmental topics and has been quoted in the national media and trade press. Selected recent articles and publications include: Coping with the Uncertainties of Mercury Regulation (Power Engineering, September 2006), Turning Brown into Green: How Developers Limit Liability (Banker & Tradesman, July 2006); Chapter on the Massachusetts Clean Air Act, Massachusetts Environmental Law (MCLE, several editions). Mr. Reich submitted materials for publication and spoke at the 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 Legal Seminar conferences of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association on the subject of major environmental permitting issues in development of power plants and related issues. He spoke on traditional and alternative energy issues at the 2008 CleanTech Conference in Boston, MA and moderated a panel on innovative energy projects at the 2008 Green Innovation Venture Capital Summit (Opal Financial) in Scottsdale, AZ. He has been interviewed in a podcast and video on energy and environmental topics. Mr. Reich also publishes periodic articles on important developments in environmental and energy issues. See reprints of the articles on his website. 4

5 Bio of Kenneth A, Reich, Esq. A long-standing member of the ABA s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Mr. Reich has served as co-chair of the Environmental Litigation Committee and as co-founder and co-chair of the Clean Air Committee of the Boston Bar Association. Mr. Reich is teaching an advanced environmental law case study seminar at Boston University Law School in the Fall Bar Admissions and Education Mr. Reich is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, Maryland, the District of Columbia and Montana. He is also admitted in a number of federal appellate and district courts. He is a graduate of Harvard Law Sch ool (J.D. cum laude) and Cornell University (B.A. in Government). Mentoring In 2011 Mr. Reich started a separate mentoring service to address recent Law School graduates manifest need for mentoring and practice/career advice, particularly those lawyers in their own or small firm practices. Mr. Reich also mentors and provides career counseling to more senior lawyers and other professionals. The mentoring service includes group sessions, one-on-one mentoring/career guidance and workshops on the practical aspects of the profession. See Mr. Reich s mentoring website for further information on his mentoring service: 5