SAN FRANCISCO (July 9, 2008) – Morrison & Foerster LLP announced that senior environmental lawyer Michael J. Steel has joined the firm as a partner in its Cleantech and Land Use and Environmental Law groups, working primarily out of the San Francisco office.  In more than 25 years of environmental work, Mr. Steel has developed an especially broad practice, encompassing litigation and crisis management, transactions and regulatory compliance.

Mr. Steel comes to Morrison & Foerster from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where he was co-leader of the Environmental Litigation and Climate Change groups and former managing partner of Pillsbury’s San Francisco office.

Mr. Steel represents companies across numerous industries, frequently handling litigation related to California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65), as well as air permitting and related regulatory issues. He has served as lead counsel in actions alleging unsafe levels of lead in water and foods, as well as suits claiming toxic levels of exhaust emissions from engines.  He has also defended unfair practices actions alleging failure to disclose the presence of carcinogens or toxins in a wide range of products.

Among his noteworthy clients, Mr. Steel represents Union Pacific Railroad, Home Depot, and Sears Holdings/Kmart. He represented Union Pacific in Association of American Railroads v. South Coast Air Quality Management District, a case challenging local regulation of locomotives.  Union Pacific prevailed last year in its suit against the regional smog control agency, arguing that the District’s rules were preempted by federal law.  The matter is currently on appeal before the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Steel bolsters Morrison & Foerster’s Environmental Law and Cleantech practices as climate change considerations are prompting new air quality laws and regulatory regimes, while giving rise to new businesses and products designed to address them.  He notes that transportation, real estate, manufacturing, and many other industries are facing fundamental changes to their operations and holdings to accommodate new standards for greenhouse gas emissions.

“Michael Steel brings a uniquely broad environmental practice platform to go with particular expertise in air quality regulations and related permitting, compliance, and enforcement,” said Morrison & Foerster chair Keith Wetmore. “So many of our clients face multiple challenges in navigating the brave new environmental legal landscape, including fending off new areas of litigation.  Michael’s eminence across all the key areas of environmental law will be of immense benefit to the companies and institutions we represent.”

Robert Falk, Chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Environmental Law Group, welcomed Mr. Steel’s addition to the firm.  “As a leading Proposition 65 litigator, Michael is an important addition to our own bench in this area,” Mr. Falk said.  “We are already a leading defense firm in Prop. 65 cases, so Michael’s arrival adds strength to strength, alongside his other accomplishments in environmental law.”

Mr. Falk noted that Mr. Steel’s command of air and water regulation will be a timely enhancement to the firm’s Cleantech group, given the California legislature’s climate change mandate in addressing global warming and carbon emissions.

California’s Air Resources Board is developing a detailed strategy for achieving dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.  The agency just released its first draft of a “Scoping Plan” to chart the course that California is to follow for reducing its emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. 

“The Scoping Plan will be adopted by the end of this year, and its approach will likely form a model for national legislation, as both U.S. Presidential candidates support it,” said Mr. Falk.

“In light of these developments, our Environmental Law and Cleantech groups expect increasing demand for help in understanding the new requirements and developing a strategy for compliance,” he added. 

Mr. Steel easily made the move to Morrison & Foerster, having followed the growth of its environmental practice for years.  “The firm is a bona fide leader in counseling clients striving to keep pace with changing environmental regulations,” he said.  “I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues in providing full-service environmental litigation and compliance counsel, especially in light of California’s coming global warming regulations.” 

Mr. Steel earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (1982), and his B.A. from University of California, Davis (1977).  He was noted in 2007 in the Legal 500’s Environmental Litigation category and was named in Chambers USA as a California Leading Lawyer (2003-2008).  A frequent lecturer in his field, Mr. Steel is chair of CLE International’s Second Annual Climate Change Law Conference in San Francisco.