Six attorneys with extensive energy and environmental experience have joined Baker Hostetler’s Energy and Environmental Law Practice, and reside in the firm’s Houston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., offices.
The six new attorneys are partner Richard T. (Tom) Stilwell and associate Marie L. Carlisle in Houston, partner Joanne Lichtman in Los Angeles and partners Gilbert S. Keteltas and Robert N. Steinwurtzel and associate María R. Coor in Washington, D.C.
"The addition of these six highly respected attorneys enhances Baker Hostetler’s already strong energy and environmental practice and increases our team's bench strength coast to coast," said Ben L. Pfefferle III, national leader of Baker Hostetler’s Environmental and Energy Practice Team. "We welcome these talented attorneys to the firm and look forward to tapping their considerable practice strengths to serve our ever-growing stable of clients with energy and environmental law needs," Pfefferle added.
Please join us in welcoming our newest additions to the Environmental and Energy Team.
Gilbert S. KeteltasPartner, Washington, D.C., Office
Gil Keteltas tries and litigates complex commercial, tort and environmental disputes in federal, state and administrative courts. As lead trial counsel, Mr. Keteltas won an unprecedented trial verdict in a case of first impression against the California Air Resources Board. He also assisted in the defense and settlement of the largest mobile source enforcement action in history and the defense and trial of the second largest environmental enforcement case ever tried to a jury.
Mr. Keteltas represents clients in enforcement actions by state and federal agencies, product liability cases, NEPA litigation, toxic torts, citizen suits and other private party actions. As a member of a national legal team at his previous firm, Mr. Keteltas co-managed the nationwide environmental litigation docket for a major petroleum company. He is lead trial counsel to U.S. sugarbeet growers and processors, defending their ability to plant genetically-engineered sugarbeets in multiple NEPA cases. He also serves as national counsel to a global manufacturer in tort and environmental suits based on alleged exposure to vehicle emissions.
Mr. Keteltas has an extensive background in tort risk reduction and frequently lectures on the topic. Recognized as a thought leader on emerging climate change litigation matters, he also acts as a trusted advisor and advocate to FORTUNE 500 clients on electronic discovery strategy.
Joanne LichtmanPartner, Los Angeles Office
Joanne Lichtman has been named one of California’s "Top Women Litigators" for 2010 by the Los Angeles/San Francisco Daily Journal and in 2009 was named to "L.A.’s Top 100 Lawyers" list by the Los Angeles Business Journal. She also has been repeatedly distinguished as one of Southern California’s "Super Lawyers" in the area of Civil Litigation Defense. This annual list of top lawyers in Southern California is published by Law & Politics and Los Angeles magazine.
Ms. Lichtman represents clients in federal and state litigation throughout the United States. Her experience includes a broad array of substantive areas of complex commercial litigation, with particular knowledge of consumer and antitrust class actions, product liability, false advertising, unfair business practices and a wide range of environmental litigation.
Robert N. SteinwurtzelPartner, Washington, D.C., Office
Robert Steinwurtzel’s practice focuses on environmental issues with an emphasis on regulatory proceedings, compliance issues, litigation and arbitration/mediation. Mr. Steinwurtzel represents a wide variety of clients, including corporations and trade associations in the petroleum, oilfield, chemical, mining, non-ferrous smelting, metals, battery manufacturing and steel industries. For these industries, Mr. Steinwurtzel has handled numerous enforcement, private party and citizen suit claims and lawsuits. He also serves as common or litigation counsel for multiple parties at Superfund sites located in Alabama, Indiana, North Carolina and Florida. He participates in major rulemakings for the EPA and OSHA concerning the use, production or exposure to lead and other metals, as well as subsequent judicial challenges before the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Steinwurtzel’s clients rely upon his extensive experience and knowledge in resolving significant and varied environmental claims and his business-oriented approach in achieving solutions.
Mr. Steinwurtzel’s practice extends to representation before OSHA, where he successfully negotiated the issuance of the first permanent variance from a health standard. He has handled numerous temporary variance and interim order applications, and negotiated voluntary compliance programs for industries confronted with engineering control obligations. Mr. Steinwurtzel’s practice includes the defense of OSHA citations.
Mr. Steinwurtzel’s practice also focuses on representation of sellers and purchasers of contaminated properties. He has handled numerous transactions involving the assessment and allocation of liabilities through contract negotiations, insurance, prospective purchaser agreements and voluntary cleanup programs.
Richard T. (Tom) StilwellPartner, Houston Office
Tom Stilwell focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on energy-related matters. He has handled cases in state and federal courts in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico, as well as conducting a significant arbitration practice involving matters in ad hoc and administered proceedings.
Mr. Stilwell’s energy practice includes representation of oil and gas companies that are engaged in exploration and development transportation of liquids and gases through pipeline systems, and contracting for drilling and equipment services. He has represented various companies in disputes arising from project development controversies/delays, owner/operator disagreements, joint venture agreements, master service contracts, offshore matters declarations of force majeure and maritime/admiralty claims. Additionally he represents pipeline owners, operators and shippers in state and federal investigations, nomination and rate disputes and carrier/shipper controversies. His experience has included disputes involving trades and sales of crude oil natural gas refined products and biofuels. Mr. Stilwell also litigates and arbitrates matters involving indemnity claims, insurance recovery and insurance coverage for his energy clients in significant commercial loss situations, notably following hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and well blowouts, both offshore and on-shore.
In the course of representing clients in the oil and gas industry, Mr. Stilwell has reviewed, drafted and negotiated provisions in offshore oil and gas gathering and transport agreements, offshore project development transactions and master service agreements. He regularly consults with and advises clients on the scope and effect of contractual risk shifting provisions, including indemnity clauses, anti-indemnity statutes, additional insured provisions, dispute resolution (arbitration) mechanisms, force majeure language, choice of law provisions, forum selection clauses and state and federal regulatory/jurisdictional concerns.
Marie L. CarlisleAssociate, Houston Office
Marie Carlisle focuses her practice on commercial, energy and environmental litigation. She has trial and arbitration experience in breach of contract issues, business disputes, maritime disputes, oil and gas royalty disputes and environmental matters. Ms. Carlisle has served as second and third chair in separate trials and second chaired multiple lawsuits that settled through mediation or on the eve of trial resulting in favorable resolution for the client.
Prior to attending law school, Ms. Carlisle worked as an analytical chemist in the environmental industry. Ms. Carlisle’s work experience includes working for NASA as an analytical chemist in the toxicology department, drafting protocol for performing analytical tests on soil, water and air samples to comply with federal, state and local environmental laws, and performing soil and water analyses for various chemical plants and refineries in the Houston area.
María R. CoorAssociate, Washington, D.C., Office
María Coor’s practice focuses on a variety of environmental litigation, regulatory and transactional matters. She serves as counsel to clients at both state-led and EPA-led Superfund sites and has experience negotiating administrative settlements with the EPA, including drafting and overseeing implementation of Supplemental Environmental Projects. Ms. Coor provides advice to clients on RCRA, CAA and FIFRA compliance issues and assists in evaluating the potential impacts of regulatory developments on industries and facilities. She also performs environmental due diligence for corporate acquisitions and is experienced in identifying potential environmental liabilities associated with both domestic and international target facilities. Ms. Coor has worked on international arbitration matters and has counseled clients on environmental compliance issues for facilities located in Latin America.
Ms. Coor is active in pro bono work, most recently representing plaintiffs in a Fair Labor Standards Act class action litigation involving a class of over 400 individuals resulting in a judicially approved favorable settlement. Prior to starting her legal career, she researched energy and environmental policy issues at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C. She also worked as a consultant on a rural electrification project in Honduras, quantifying carbon dioxide offsets from solar home systems. In addition, Ms. Coor interned at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Ms. Coor is a native Spanish speaker and is proficient in Portuguese. She spent a semester of law school studying electricity sector and telecommunications law at Austral University in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and studied Portuguese at the Brazilian American Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. From 2008 to 2009, she served as Vice Chair of the ABA’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Committee on Diversity Fellowships in Environmental Law.
About Baker HostetlerBaker Hostetler is among the nation's 100 largest law firms with more than 700 attorneys, and over 40 attorneys practicing energy and environmental law. The firm has offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Costa Mesa, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Washington, D.C.
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