The emerging "clean," "green," and "climate change" movements present enormous business challenges, but also provide strategic opportunities for growth in a changing legal, economic, and regulatory landscape. On the cutting edge of this changing landscape, Luce Forward has created an interdisciplinary group to help its clients navigate the maze of regulations and courtroom challenges. This interdisciplinary team meets regularly and includes attorneys from each of the firm's practice groups, an approach to lawyering developed over the firm's 135 year history. The attorneys in this group bring expertise in the following fields:
Business / Corporate / Tax. The corporate attorneys in our climate change/clean technology practice leverage their in-depth business knowledge, financing expertise, and merger and acquisition experience to provide across the board legal counsel to clean technology and traditional and alternative energy businesses both large and small. In conjunction with our environmental attorneys, the corporate group provides counseling on corporate management issues such as environmental, health and safety compliance, environmental audits and suspected violations and environmental management systems and policies. Our tax attorneys have a background in tax benefits available for alternative energy systems and energy saving devices.
Energy and Regulatory. Our energy attorneys have broad experience representing clients in matters related to regulation of and transactions in the energy industry. The firm represents energy users as well as energy suppliers and marketers concerning competitive service opportunities in an evolving energy industry environment. Our attorneys negotiate contracts for the purchase and sale of energy, as well as contracts for the sale, management, and operation of traditional and renewable energy facilities. Our attorneys have extensive experience before state and federal regulatory agencies, making Luce Forward a valuable partner in pursuing commercial and regulatory objectives in the area of climate change.
Environmental. The environmental lawyers in our practice have expertise in addressing the regulatory and financial implications of environmental issues, regulatory compliance, including regulatory audits, obtaining regulatory agency clearance and permits and general environmental risk analyses. The attorneys have extensive knowledge of air and water quality issues, hazardous materials, natural resource problems, and pollution issues. The attorneys also have experience negotiating with regulatory agencies, obtaining natural resource permits, and negotiating insurance clean-up costs and environmental indemnities. Our team assists clients addressing climate change in environmental impact assessments and environmental review documents. They are well-equipped to counsel clients on compliance and mitigation strategies, carbon trading and offsets, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies.
Insurance. The insurance attorneys in our practice counsel clients on matters ranging from coverage disputes arising from global warming insurance claims under CGL policies to the impacts of global warming laws and regulations on the industry. They are also experts in insurance-related lawsuits arising out of natural disaster claims, having successfully handled over 1,000 lawsuits arising out of earthquake, wildfire and flood disasters.
Intellectual Property. "Green," "Clean," "Low Carbon Emissions" increasingly provide marketing benefits as consumer perceptions change. In this changing landscape, our intellectual property attorneys provide expertise on advertising claims and standards, and related trademark protection and clearance issues. The emergence of new energy saving or clean technologies also present patent protection challenges. Our attorneys have experience in advising companies on patent clearance and protection issues in these technologies, as well as licensing strategies and enforcement through litigation. Among the technologies handled by our attorneys are energy storage and power savings technologies, energy efficient lighting solutions, low volume irrigation and water filtration systems.
Land Use. Our land use attorneys have broad expertise and decades of experience in obtaining entitlements for all manner of development projects. In that regard, we are experienced at working with local governments, communities and our clients in responding to the ever changing legal, political, physical and regulatory environment with respect to issues such as water resources, smart growth, global warming and green building standards. We are well-versed about the green buildings process, including LEED certification, and we have worked closely with architects, urban planners, local officials, community members and our clients on such issues. The attorneys in our land use group also advise our clients on how to prepare CEQA documents to address issues raised by the passage of AB 32 and climate change in general. As our clients and our attorneys well know, it takes more than technical expertise to get development projects approved. Our attorneys' backgrounds in law, planning, government, politics and architecture allows us to provide the most practical project guidance so as to anticipate potential opposition and to develop strategies for success.
Litigation. The business and real estate litigators in our practice have expertise in disputes involving environmental, nuisance, energy regulatory compliance and liability issues throughout California and the country. We help our clients to identify the critical issues in a dispute and to quantify litigation decisions in terms of risk and cost containment. We guide our clients throughout the adversarial process. If litigation becomes necessary, our trial lawyers draw on extensive courtroom experience in state, federal and appellate courts through out the country, and in mediation and arbitration. Attorneys in our practice have extensive trial experience before federal and state courts, arbitration panels and administrative agency tribunals, including the California Coastal Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Energy.
Mergers and Acquisitions. The mergers and acquisitions specialists in our practice assist energy and clean technology clients in structuring and documenting mergers and acquisitions and other purchases and sales of businesses of all sizes and complexities. We represent start-up venture capital backed corporations and closely held companies as well as publicly traded and multinational corporations headquartered across the United States and abroad. Our attorneys have significant experience in various cross-border acquisitions, joint ventures, and international licensing.
Real Estate / Sustainable Development. The attorneys in our practice represent developers, owners and lenders in major commercial and residential real estate developments throughout California and across the nation. Our real estate team works closely with clients to navigate the acquisition, entitlement, development, leasing, construction, renovation and disposition of various types of real property, including sustainable buildings. We assist clients in navigating various federal, state and local regulations, including the emerging green building requirements and incentives, and green building certification programs, including the U.S. Green Building Counsel's Leadership in Energy and Efficient Design ("LEED") certification process. Our team assists clients with the LEED certification process as well as addressing various construction, renovation and operation issues related to sustainable buildings regardless of certification.