G&Reen Technology & Climate Change

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it" - Mark Twain

Global climate change is a complicated environmental issue that is altering the way in which businesses around the world operate. Both established and emerging businesses must now contend with new and continually evolving requirements for managing their greenhouse gas emissions. The rise of cleantech businesses, alternative and renewable energy sources and green buildings are needed as a way of reducing our carbon dioxide emissions and solving our environmental problems.

This emerging practice area has seen a lot of recent activity including the passage of California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) while numerous other states simultaneously announce their own greenhouse gas emission targets and legislation. In addition, large investments have been flowing into new technologies in the "Clean Tech"/"Green Tech" sector. More and more cities are also "going green" with revisions to their building codes.

Companies need a law firm that combines broad legal and industry expertise with the agility to help clients navigate the frequent changes in this emerging statutory and regulatory landscape. Gordon & Rees' Green Technology and Climate Change Practice group combines and integrates expertise across a full range of critical legal service areas to assist both established and emerging businesses in this rapidly changing area. Our areas of expertise include intellectual property, business transactions, construction, green buildings, environmental tort, litigation and real estate matters.

Our multidisciplinary approach anticipates and helps clients manage the business risks and opportunities presented by climate change and their unique green business solutions. Our Climate Change and Green Technology group handles matters in:

• Intellectual Property:
  

  Securing and enforcing patents and trademarks
  Technology licensing
  Protecting trade secrets
  Drafting research and development agreements.
  
  

• Construction:
  

  Construction litigation
  LEED® and green buildings
  Drafting and negotiating building and development contracts
  Real estate
  
  

• Corporate and Business Transactions:
  

  Corporate formation, structuring and governance
  Tax
  Securities
  Contracts
  Project financing
  Project development agreements
  
  

• Litigation:
  

  Commercial
  Environmental/ Toxic Tort Law
  SEC compliance
  Officers and Directors Liability
  
  

• Insurance Coverage:
  

  Liability
  Property
  Officers and Directors Liability
  
  

Gordon & Rees' Green Technology and Climate Change Practice Group consists of a team of attorneys who counsel, and advocate for, clients on climate change and green technology issues. Our team can assist you to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities presented by regulatory and corporate responses to climate change.

Our Firm's climate change team can assist clients in the following areas:

Intellectual Property - Our patent protection team includes attorneys who are also scientists and engineers with degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering, chemistry, life science fields, and computer science. We also have extensive experience with licensing technology, drafting research and development agreements, and drafting non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements. Protecting your intellectual property starts with your employee agreements. Gordon Rees LLP has considerable experience with employment law, including advising, counseling and defending employers.

Construction - Our established construction practice represents design professionals, developers, construction product manufacturers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. Projects with which our team has had experience include residential developments, commercial buildings, and power plants. Our construction team has experience with all aspects of construction-related litigation and transactions.

We are at the forefront of the "green building" phenomena. We currently have several attorneys studying to become LEED® Accredited Professionals.

As cites across the nation are rapidly adopting green building codes, San Francisco has been at the nation's forefront. We are ideally suited to assist our construction clients as we are a national firm headquartered in San Francisco and have a large established construction law practice.

Corporate - In addition to providing counsel to clients on all facets of corporate formation, operations, business transactions, financing, and tax planning, we can also assist management and directors in responding to increased pressure for disclosure and assessment of the climate change impacts of corporate operations and their obligations under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules and the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley Act).

Litigation - Increased public and regulatory attention to climate change issues is resulting in increased and multi-faceted litigation as well. This will result in more and more Clean Air Act challenges, NEPA and CEQA claims, common law nuisance litigation, federal-state preemption lawsuits and corporate liability and disclosure issues. We regularly defend toxic tort, nuisance and environmental justice claims. We can represent potentially responsible parties in administrative and enforcement proceedings and litigation under a wide variety of climate change and environmental statutes and their implementing regulations.

Project Development - New greenhouse gas emission regulations will continue to result in the investment and development of alternative energy resources. Our team is well positioned to represent developers of biofuels, geothermal resources, hydroelectric facilities, wind and solar energy companies in the development of new projects to facilitate the delivery of energy.

Regulatory Compliance - We have experience with environmental rulemaking and regulatory compliance. As new climate change initiatives emerge, we can help clients prepare for and efficiently manage compliance with the numerous emerging laws and regulations mandating greenhouse gas emission reductions, including California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, and similar initiatives in other states, and at the federal level.

Insurance Coverage - We represent insurance companies in evaluating and responding to claims for insurance benefits for the variety of challenges faced by businesses, including those presented by climate change.

Why Us? - We are a full-service Firm with operations in 10 states, including five offices in California (the leading state in climate change legislation). Our Green Technology and Climate Change Practice possesses the integrated skills and experience to assist companies specifically in the cleantech, greentech or green building space, or other established or emerging companies contemplating a voluntary or regulated greenhouse gas reduction strategy.