Bart’s experience includes advising project developers, financial institutions, private equity firms, state and local governments, and public and private companies on matters involving environmental and natural resources laws, including:
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund);
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA);
Endangered Species Act and other wildlife laws;
National Historic Preservation Act and tribal issues;
Clean Water Act;
Clean Air Act;
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA);
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Bart’s work includes transactions, project development and permitting, litigation, agency proceedings, and enforcement actions. He represents clients in matters involving federal and state agencies, including the U.S. EPA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and state and local environmental and resource protection agencies.
Bart has also handled numerous matters involving federal, state, and local economic incentives, grants, and loan guarantees. In particular, he has advised energy and commercial development clients on applying for and obtaining incentives for the redevelopment of brownfield sites.
Bart maintains an active pro bono practice that has included matters involving conservation, human trafficking, and family law. Prior to joining Orrick, Bart practiced at an international firm and a national firm focused on environmental law. He also served as senior counsel on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, focusing on environmental, energy, and climate issues.
Bart is described by Chambers USA as “highly fluent in the intricacies of EPA policymaking and possesses a wealth of knowledge about the U.S. market.”
Nicole graduated from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law in May 2023. She focused her studies on trial advocacy, earning a Trial Advocacy Certificate and serving as a Teaching Assistant in the trial advocacy program.
Prior to law school, Nicole worked as a Paralegal for Buckley LLP in its Washington, DC office. Having satisfied the requirements of the firm's Paralegal Law School Bonus Program, she received an offer to return as a Summer Associate after completing her first year in law school. Following her 2L year, having accepted a second offer for a Summer Associate position, she again returned to Buckley. Today, Nicole is an Associate in Orrick's Washington, DC office.
Katie's litigation experience includes reviewing documents, assisting with trial and witness preparation, drafting motions, oppositions, and replies, and preparing expert reports. Katie has also worked with appellate teams, assisting with briefs and preparing for oral argument before the Supreme Court. Her trademark prosecution and transactional experience includes trademark clearance, applications, oppositions, drafting cease and desist letters in both copyright and trademark matters, and representing parties on both sides of Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy disputes.
Katie is a graduate of the Franklin Pierce University of New Hampshire School of Law. While in law school, she externed for the Honorable Joseph Laplante of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. She also participated in the IP & Transactional Clinic and published a paper on trademark registrability for political slogans. She focused her studies on the Intellectual Property and Sports and Entertainment fields, obtaining specialization certificates in Intellectual Property Law, Sports Law, and Entertainment Law. Katie also received the Sports and Entertainment Institute's Entertainment Award in 2020.
Nicholas has extensive experience with arbitral proceedings under the auspices of all of the major arbitral institutions and rules (e.g., ICC, DIS, SCC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, ICSID, ad hoc).
Nicholas graduated from law school in 2003 (University of Munster), earned a PhD in law and an Executive Master of Business Administration (M&A) in 2005 and was allowed to the German bar in 2007. In 2008 he received a Master of Laws diploma from the University of Cambridge (UK) and was entered on the roll as Solicitor of England & Wales in 2010.
Dr. Kessler is a visiting lecturer at the University of Münster and teaches the international arbitration and mediation in the university's post graduate program on mergers and acquisitions. He frequently publishes and holds speeches on arbitration and litigation-related topics.
Tom represents Orrick's renewable energy and infrastructure clients in a vast array of commercial, warranty, and construction litigation matters throughout the U.S. and around the globe, previously having served as a member of the Orrick team that represented Hemlock Semiconductor (a leading producer of solar-grade polycrystalline silicon) in a host of litigations and proceedings arising from the breach of its long-term supply agreements by counterparties. His practice touches all types of renewable energy disputes from PPA litigation, to development and construction claims, to component supply and performance disputes, and everything in between.
In addition to representing his clients in courts and confidential arbitrations, Tom regularly provides pre-litigation counseling to Orrick's renewable energy and infrastructure clients, helping them manage their enterprise liability and pursue and defend claims through mediation and pre-dispute procedures, often resolving matters amicably before they devolve into full litigation or arbitration.
Tom also has litigated structured finance issues for his entire career, representing securitization sponsors and loan servicers in an array of litigations from securities fraud and loan repurchase disputes to ERISA and consumer class actions, also consulting and advising on the interpretation of securitization documents and events of default.
In addition, Tom represents audit firms and accountants in regulatory proceedings commenced by the SEC and the PCAOB along with related civil litigations. He has experience managing and conducting large scale internal investigations, liaising with regulators, remediating problems, and managing risk and liability in delicate circumstances.
Tom maintains an active pro bono practice representing asylum seekers and U.S. veterans seeking discharge status upgrades.
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