Bio
Stephen C. Jones is Senior Counsel in the firm's Environmental Practice Group. He has practiced environmental law for over 25 years and represents venture capital and private equity investors, real estate opportunity funds, private developers, chemical, health care, energy, and manufacturing companies, among others. Mr. Jones is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, California, and Washington, D.C.
Mr. Jones' national practice focuses on counseling clients regarding complex regulatory matters and representing clients before regulatory agencies, regarding solid and hazardous waste, water quality, air quality, and hazardous materials issues. He also represents clients in mergers, acquisitions, and other transactions involving contaminated properties, regulatory compliance, wetlands, endangered species, and other environmental issues affecting real property and industrial operations. In particular, he advises developers and investors in brownfield transactions and structuring, developing, and financing such risk management mechanisms as indemnity arrangements, environmental trusts, and environmental insurance.
Mr. Jones has also helped companies develop carbon strategies, advising clients regarding greenhouse gas reporting and disclosure obligations, and the creation, trading, and monetization of carbon credits and offsets. He has represented public agencies and private parties in all aspects of the California Environmental Quality Act, including preparation of, comments on, and challenges to negative declarations, mitigated negative declarations, and environmental impact reports, development of and challenges to mitigation determinations, and advising clients regarding climate change significance determinations and disclosures.
He was recognized in 2008 by the Los Angeles Business Journal on the publication's list of "Top Environmental Attorneys in the Los Angeles Area."
Education
- J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1977
- B.A., University of California at Davis, 1974
Bar Memberships
- Pennsylvania
- District of Columbia
- California
Affiliations
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, The California Bar Association
- Member, The District of Columbia Bar Association
- Member, The Pennsylvania Bar Association
Representative Experience
- Environmental risk management and due diligence in business transactions
- Environmental and regulatory compliance
- Advising highly-regulated industries regarding compliance issues and risk management
- Structuring, developing and financing environmental risk management mechanisms
- Greenhouse gas compliance strategies, and reporting and disclosure counseling
- Creation, monetization and trading of carbon credit offsets
- California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) issues
Publications
- Co-Author, "Coal to Gas: Regulatory and environmental challenges for power plant conversion," Public Utilities Fortnightly, October 2014
- Co-Author, "Rethinking Environmental Due Diligence: The Challenge of Accounting for Vapor Intrusion in Real Estate Transactions," Bloomberg Corporate Law Journal, Volume 3, Issue 3, Summer 2008
- Author, "Accountable Environmental Management; Transforming Environmental Due Diligence and Management," BNA Real Estate and Environmental Liability Journal
- Author, "Creativity Helps Companies Cut Penalties," The National Law Journal
- Author, "EPA Targets 'Environmental Racism,'" The National Law Journal
- Author, "Reviewing Old CGL Policies: Basic Steps Should Be Taken," Hazardous Waste and Toxic Torts Law and Strategy
- Author, "Tax Treatment of Cleanup Costs at Issue," The National Law Journal
- Co-Author, "EPA Proposes Rule to Protect Banks from Cleanup Liability," Commercial Lending Review
- Co-Author, "Looking for Liability in the EC," Legal Times Supplement
- Co-Author, "Proposition 65: A New Concept in Toxic Chemical Regulation," Western State University Law Review
- Co-Author, "Supreme Court Requires EPA to Evaluate Greenhouse Gases," Martindale-Hubbell Counsel-to-Counsel
- Co-Author, "The Effect of Shell Oil on Federal and State RCRA Actions," EPA Administrative Law Reporter
News & Insights
Education
- J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1977
- B.A., University of California at Davis, 1974
Bar Memberships
- Pennsylvania
- District of Columbia
- California
Affiliations
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, The California Bar Association
- Member, The District of Columbia Bar Association
- Member, The Pennsylvania Bar Association