Due Diligence and Transaction Support
Practical, results-driven legal advice on environmental risks for all your business transactions
Capabilities at a glance
- We interpret environmental data to communicate risk, present options and negotiate for and document our clients’ decisions.
- We negotiate contractual provisions to allocate risk to meet client objectives, close transactions and minimize post-closing environmental obligations.
- We recognize opportunities for and negotiate environmental insurance to shift risk to a third-party insurance carrier.
- We assist in post-closing obligations, such as transfer of permits, negotiations with environmental regulators and, where necessary, remediation.
- We represent assignors and assignees of total environmental liability transfers.
- We assist in conducting environmental compliance audits, including developing and implementing compliance plans.
- Our advice is grounded in deep experience with environmental and natural resources law and backed up by a robust network of people with technical and environmental knowledge.
Keeping your business prepared and well-informed to minimize your risks
With Quarles you can expect reliable, knowledgeable advice on environmental and natural resources law to support your transactions. Whether we represent the buyer, the seller, or the lender, we understand our client does not want surprises regarding environmental risks. Our due diligence and contract negotiation address your concerns and your business objectives, while ensuring compliance and minimizing risk for your transactions. We regularly partner with our real estate and corporate attorneys, along with outside consultants and environmental insurance brokers, to advise you of risk and offer alternatives to reduce it. And when necessary, we help implement post-transaction requirements, such as permit transfers and remediation of contamination. Whether the transfer of ongoing industrial operations, redevelopment of brownfields or total transfers of known and unknown environmental liabilities, we’ve done it and we can help you do it.
Knowledgeable environmental attorneys to support your transactions
Our environmental and natural resources attorneys have on average over 25 years of experience in environmental and natural resources law. We are respected by regulators, environmental professionals and the counsel we sit across from. We’ll help you in every aspect of your transaction, from nationwide due diligence, redevelopment of brownfields, transfers of assets or stock in industrial companies, or the acquisition or disposition of known and suspect environmental liabilities.
Experience
- Due diligence document coordination and review
- Negotiating and drafting deal terms
- Obtaining liability protections
- Negotiate environmental insurance
- Advise on and allocate environmental risks
- Permit transfers
- Archaeological and historic resources
- Water rights
- Wetlands management
- Endangered species evaluation and permitting
- Stormwater management and NPDES permitting
- Overseeing post-closing environmental obligations
Successes
- After assisting our client with the environmental aspects of purchasing a 200+-acre former oil refinery, we negotiated numerous agreements with the state agency to allow our client to close Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) units, and complete other requirements of the associated cleanup order, at a pace and in a manner generally consistent with the site’s redevelopment. We also testified before the state commission considering draft asbestos regulations that would have significantly increased our client’s redevelopment and cleanup costs, resulting in revisions to the draft regulations that will save our client significant costs.
- We recently assisted a client in selling its automotive dealership business, including coordination of pre-transaction environmental due diligence to expedite the transaction timeline, drafting of a post-closing environmental remediation agreement, creation and administration of a remediation escrow account, oversight of the ensuing remediation and ultimate obtaining of multiple No Further Action certifications for multiple properties.
