Criminal Law

• Traffic Violations
  While there is no way around the increased transactional costs and time involved with deals involving contaminated properties, a Municipal Setting Designation (“MSD”) for a contaminated site has the potential for both lowering the cost of site assessment and remediation and also speeding up the timeline to get a closure determination from the State of Texas, so deals can be completed. MSDs provide an important tool for property owners needing an exit strategy for environmentally-impacted properties, and for purchasers and developers dealing with the challenges of redeveloping contaminated property. As a result MSDs are impacting, in a very positive way, the market for urban infill properties in Texas.

Business and Corporate Law

• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Environmental issues can play a pivotal role in real estate sales and acquisitions, public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions, and asset-based financing. The manner in which a potential environmental liability or risk is (or is not) evaluated and allocated can have material financial consequences for the parties involved. In the transactional context, our firm’s role is two-fold.
• Business Transactions
  Our attorneys have extensive experience in helping commercial and retail enterprises effectively manage environmental issues in business transactions, operations, and litigation.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  40th Annual State Bar of Texas Advanced Real Estate Law Course (July 2018) (prepared in connection with related speaking engagement). View this article.
• Construction Litigation
  Jean M. Flores presented "Environmental Law Impacts in Construction Projects," to the Austin Bar Association Construction Law Section, February 15, 2018.
• Real Estate Transactions
  Our environmental lawyers frequently team with corporate, real estate, and trial attorneys at other law firms. Attorneys know that environmental laws and regulations have a pervasive impact on business operations and real estate transactions. Environmental problems usually prove to be factually complex and involve highly elusive and arcane concepts. Developing effective and creative solutions to environmental challenges, therefore, typically requires years of practical experience in the field.
• Land Use and Zoning

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  The firm also has experience in litigating and consulting with clients concerning property damages and personal injury resulting from exposure to alleged toxic materials, including pesticides and herbicides, chlorinated solvents, heavy metals, asbestos, and black mold.

Finance Law

• Foreclosure
  ‘ We see them as the people the other firms go to for these specialist issues’, say clients, endorsing the group’s strong knowledge in such environmental matters. In another innovative piece of work, the group developed an environmental policy for a bank to manage environmental issues relating to collateral prior to lending and before and after foreclosure activities, demonstrating the range of work that current market trends are throwing up for the firm.