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Michèle Corash is a partner in the firm’s environmental law practice group. She served as General Counsel of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 1979 to 1982 and previously as Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy and special assistant to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

Ms. Corash represents companies on a broad range of state, national, and international environmental issues and claims regarding exposure to toxic substances. She works regularly with government agencies and legislatures in the development and implementation of environmental laws and programs. She has defended clients in numerous enforcement and private actions brought under state and federal environmental and toxics laws, and has also brought and defended cost recovery actions. She defended one of California’s largest environmental criminal actions. She helped draft the original superfund statute in 1980, and many of the federal regulations under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Resources Conservation and Recovery Acts.

Another significant component of her practice has been actions brought under state consumer and competition protection statutes, including false advertising and false claims statutes. Ms. Corash is considered one of the nation’s leading experts on Proposition 65 and has defended hundreds of cases under that law, including Dowhal v. SmithKline that resulted is a unanimous California Supreme Court decision for her client.

Ms. Corash consistently receives the highest rating (Band 1) from Chambers USA and is selected annually for listing in Best Lawyers in America as a leader in the field of environmental law. She is named as the country’s #1 environmental lawyer on the “Top Ten Lawyers for Environmental Law,” US Lawyer Rankings (2006-2008). California Lawyer Magazine cited her as one of the “Best of the West” lawyers because of landmark wins in two environmental court decisions. She is listed among Northern California’s top 50 female Super Lawyers, as well as top 100 overall, and she has also been selected to be listed as on of 2008’s Northern California Super Lawyers. For the last five years she has been named to the Top California Women Litigators List by the Daily Journal. Ms. Corash was listed in Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides to the World’s Leading Lawyers - The Best of the Best.” (A guide to the world’s leading 20 practitioners across 10 areas of law based on peer nomination.)Representative Matters

• Won the first defense verdict under Proposition 65 and has won every Proposition 65 case she litigated to judgment thereafter.
• Currently defending two multinational companies in a lawsuit under the Alien Tort Statute alleging their conduct overseas violated human rights and the law of nations.
• Negotiated the first agreement entered by the EPA releasing a foreclosing lender and its successors from cleanup liability at a superfund site.
• Defended Bank One in the federal court case asserting that, as trustee, the bank was not liable for contaminated property held in trust.
• Won a substantial contribution to clean up costs from the United States Department of Energy at a uranium mine site in Oregon.