Environmental Law | Section Update

Environmental Law | Section Update

Dear Section Members:

I hope all of you and your families are weathering this unprecedented time. May this message find you all in good health. I know establishing a new normal for and finding balance between our careers and our families/personal lives has been difficult in unique and challenging ways over the past two months. As the remote working and social distancing practices extend on, I wanted to provide a long overdue update on ELS business and propose some opportunities for Section members to network and connect virtually in the coming months. Please read through for updates on the Summer Seminar, future CLE opportunities, and the annual ELS Student Awards.

2020 Summer Seminar Canceled

As you likely surmised from the lack of news concerning registration and programming, the North Carolina Bar Association and conference planning committee decided to cancel the 2020 Three State Environmental Law Seminar which was scheduled for June 5-6 in Asheville. It does not appear it will be rescheduled in 2020.

Many of our Section members volunteered to plan, moderate and participate in programs and panels. I appreciate all of your efforts to create timely, informative and practical educational opportunities for our members. I do not wish to see those efforts wasted. Thanks to the staff of our State Bar, we can develop and offer CLE programs to our Section members via Zoom. Consider this a call to action: If you don’t want to see your seminar program efforts wasted or you have a new idea for a CLE, please contact me. We are eager to offer our Section virtual CLE opportunities this summer and fall.

We expect to have some continuing education programs to offer you soon. Speaking of…

Timely Roundtable Discussion this Wednesday

ELS Section Member Charlie Denton is taking part in a timely roundtable this Wednesday, May 20, at 1:30 p.m., addressing the impact of COVID-19 federal and state enforcement actions and site remediation. Here is the registration link [ form.jotform.com ] , and more details below:

Impacts of COVID-19 on Federal and State Enforcement Actions and Clean-Ups

ABA Section of Litigation, Environmental & Energy Litigation Committee

Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. ET

Program Description:

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a patchwork of emergency orders, including mandatory stay-at-home and social distancing orders, exemptions for various essential businesses and activities and varying guidance issued by federal and state authorities regarding whether environmental investigations and remedial activities are essential activities and may proceed. Our expert panelists will explain this patchwork, and give participants the benefit of their experience navigating the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19 regulations in the environmental context.

Panelists:

– Charles M. Denton, Esq., Barnes & Thornburg LLP
– Bethany W. Kristovich, Esq., Munger Tolles & Olson LLP
– Jon Schuyler Brooks, Esq., Freeborn & Peters LLP
– David J. Scriven-Young, Esq., Peckar & Abramsom, P.C.
– Orell Anderson, MAI, Strategic Property Analytics, Inc.
– Michael R. Leslie, Esq., King & Spalding LLP (Moderator)

Register. [ form.jotform.com ]

2020 ELS Student Awards

The Environmental Law Section, with assistance from faculty and staff at each law school, recently named four recipients of the Section’s annual Student Awards, which recognize exceptional environmental scholars at Georgia’s law schools. Unfortunately, we cannot properly honor these students at a luncheon or happy hour event this spring/summer as is tradition, but please join me in congratulating these deserving students. Some are wrapping up their law school experiences in the most unusual conditions, while others have one year remaining graduation. Regardless, they will all make excellent additions to our corner of the Bar, and are listed below if any Section members wish to reach out to learn more about these students.

2020 Recipients

– Marguerite Mills – Emory University School of Law (marguerite.mills@emory.edu)
– Samuel Richards – Georgia State University College of Law (srichards19@student.gsu.edu)
– Emily Brogdon – Mercer University School of Law (ebrogdon20@lawmail.mercer.edu)
– Christopher Bertrand – University of Georgia School of Law (Christopher.Bertrand@uga.edu)

Thank you all. Please stay healthy, productive and responsibly distant for the foreseeable future!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments on Section business.

Sincerely,

Kevin Jeselnik, Chair
Environmental Law Section
State Bar of Georgia