Heather T. Friedman

Heather focuses her practice on resolving complex environmental issues from a business perspective. She draws on her extensive understanding of environmental considerations and their legal ramifications to advise clients across sectors on a wide range of environmental matters. She works closely with clients on the acquisition, development, disposition, management, and financing of properties throughout the country. Her practice involves both developed and underutilized environmentally impacted properties for uses including industrial, retail, hotel, office, residential, and mixed-use purposes. She serves as environmental counsel for a wide variety of clients, including national REITs, developers, regulated parties, financial institutions, and institutional lenders.

• Served as lead environmental counsel in a multiyear, high-profile brownfield redevelopment that included more than 200 properties subject to overlapping regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state environmental agency. Led negotiations with the EPA’s headquarters and Region 4 offices to resolve environmental issues connected to the initial phase of construction. This representation included spearheading the removal of the property from the EPA’s National Priorities List, enabling entry into the state’s voluntary cleanup program, and allowing the pursuit of residential development.
• Nationwide environmental counsel for a publicly traded retail real estate investment trust (REIT), with past and current projects involving navigation of state environmental regulatory frameworks and implementation of environmental strategies for the acquisition, management, and development of retail centers.
• Counsel for an insurance agency in an EPA Superfund enforcement matter that resulted in the successful removal of the claimant from designation as a party responsible for cleanup costs.
• Environmental counsel for a global manufacturing organization on both Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permitting and ongoing compliance, as well as the disposition of legacy environmentally affected properties regulated by RCRA for redevelopment.
• Environmental counsel for a client with two New York state matters that required negotiation and resolution of agreements with New York state regulatory counsel for cleanup and liability protection.
• Lead environmental counsel for the acquisition and ongoing development of a former General Motors facility in Atlanta, regulated under the Georgia Brownfield Program for redevelopment into a combined film studio complex and mixed-use development.
• Served as counsel for a nationwide property management company in negotiations with the EPA for a substantial reduction of penalties in Toxic Substances Control Act enforcement matters.
• Lead environmental counsel for the acquisition of a 2.3 million-square-foot, $250 million industrial facility in Dallas, located on a naval base with regulatory oversight by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
• Environmental representation of financial institutions in loan transactions, with a particular focus on environmental insurance, and in real estate transactions.