People on the Move

Monty Cooper has been elected a partner at Crowell & Moring LLP. As a counselor and trial attorney, his practice focuses on civil litigation (trials, appeals, discovery, and motion practice) on issues of product liability, environmental and torts, and contracts. Cooper is active in the Section as a member of the Council and former chair of the Special Committee for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. He spoke in October on Water Woes: Ensuring Safe Drinking Water, at the Section’s 31st Fall Conference in Washington, D.C. 

Jad Davis, a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, has been selected as his firm’s managing partner for its Orange County, California, office. He represents clients in regulatory compliance; environmental enforcement; and civil costs recovery involving the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, RCRA, and California’s Proposition 65; Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act; and Hazardous Waste Control Law. His litigation practice includes federal and state courts and state and federal agencies, typically involving claims as to contamination issues with soils, water, and air.

Lawson Fite has joined Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C., as a shareholder in the firm’s Portland, Oregon, office. He was formerly a partner at Marten Law LLP, also in Portland. Fite began his legal career as a trial attorney at the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, followed by private practice in commercial, environmental, and natural resources litigation and transactions. He has served as general counsel of the American Forest Resource Council. Fite supports the Section with presentations and writings, and is currently co-chair of the Section’s Biodiversity Committee.

Juge Gregg is now a partner at Crowell & Moring LLP. He was senior corporate counsel on the sustainability legal team at Amazon’s Seattle, Washington, office. Gregg’s practice representing multinational clients includes managing climate, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), greenwashing, and sustainability issues for industries in the fields of technology, retail, energy, transportation, and manufacturing. He was also recently elected to the board of directors of the Environmental Law Institute. Gregg is active in the Section, currently the chair of the Keynote Committee, and a mentor in the Leadership Development Program.

Stacey Halliday has joined Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP as a partner, from Beveridge & Diamond P.C., both in Washington, D.C. Her experience in diverse litigation and regulatory compliance includes issues as to environmental justice and enforcement, and corporate responsibility. Halliday’s clients in the chemical, electronics, energy, and textile industries seek advice and representation in energy transition and climate change, contaminated properties, global supply chain issues, and sustainability disclosures. She currently serves on the Section’s Council and serves as Council liaison to the Membership Service Group, special advisor to the ABA Environmental Justice Task Force, and as the Environmental Justice/Just Transition vice chair for the Climate Change Committee.

Chad Higgins has joined Dentons as a partner, from Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P.A., in Portland, Maine. He represents clients across the United States, focusing on environmental litigation in products liability and mass tort defense actions. He defends businesses in contamination lawsuits including PFAS and MTBE groundwater cases, and he provides counsel in FDA regulatory matters and grand jury investigations. Higgins also counsels clients as to compliance with California’s Proposition 65, consumer class actions, Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations, and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

Gabriella Mickel, a LL.M. candidate at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, has received the law school’s Professor John R. Nolon Student Achievement Award. She is active in the Section, serving as a vice chair for the Section’s upcoming 53rd Spring Conference (April 2–5, 2024) as well as the written content vice chair for the Section’s Environmental, Social, Governance, and Sustainability Committee. She also participates in the Section’s Leadership Development Program.

William (Bill) Nelson, an attorney with Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., in Madison, Wisconsin, has joined the board of directors of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona, Wisconsin. He also made a presentation on PFAS at the recent State Bar of Wisconsin’s 35th Annual Environmental Law Update. Nelson’s practice with the firm’s Environmental and Energy Strategies Practice Group includes a range of environmental and energy law issues, including complex remediation projects (e.g., brownfields properties), permitting and enforcement, and renewable energy development projects.

Elizabeth (Liz) Och has been promoted to counsel at Hogan Lovells US LLP in the firm’s Denver, Colorado, office. She is dedicated to resolving her clients' complex litigation challenges, by pairing written and oral advocacy skills with her scientific background. Och’s litigation experience includes federal laws such as CERCLA, the Clean Air Act, the False Claims Act, and the Freedom of Information Act. She is experienced in case assessment, motions practice, trials, compliance investigations, and resolving internal and government compliance investigations.

Scott Sachs has been promoted to partner at Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, PLC, in Cerritos, California. He represents private and governmental entities in complex litigation in environmental law, data privacy/security issues, and construction. His practice in environmental law includes counseling and representation for hazardous substances releases, effluent limitations, water quality standards, NPDES permits, and client remediation goals, site clearance, and related contamination issues. Sachs has been active in the Section for many years.

Alexis K. Segal has become director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs for the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. Before her recent appointment, she was the senior policy advisor for environment and natural resources for the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. (The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) established the Council. See FAST-41 Fact Sheet.)

Courtney Shephard was elevated to shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Garber Schreck, LLP.  Shephard is based in the firm’s Denver, Colorado, office. Shephard counsels companies in the energy, mining, and recreation industries on compliance with federal laws, including NEPA, NHPA, FLPMA, CAA, and the ESA. She also represents companies in connection with local development approvals, methane emissions, and carbon management. She also works with public and private clients to obtain and defend water rights, and to build water supply and water-related infrastructure projects.