© 2013 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
Environmental attorney Christopher Bell joined Greenberg Traurig earlier this month as a shareholder in its Houston office after practicing for more than 25 years at Sidley Austin. His colleagues say they look forward to the depth he will add to the firm’s environmental practice.
“His longstanding presence at the forefront of industrial environmental law and his learning on regulation of toxics and hazardous waste help us serve all our clients,” environmental practice co-chairs David Mandelbaum, Kerri Barsh and David Weinstein, said jointly in a statement.
“Chris’s home in Houston and decades of ties in Washington further consolidate our environmental strength where our clients need us.”
Bell says he will focus on helping his clients in three ways: helping clients anticipate and manage environmental issues through effective compliance counseling and regulatory advocacy in the U.S. and internationally; defending clients in enforcement actions, investigations and litigation when they face allegations of wrongdoing or demands to clean up contaminated sites; and advising them on U.S. and international market access issues tied to product and chemical regulations.
The University of Michigan Law School graduate says the hot issues facing he and his clients are related to regulation.
“Key challenges facing our clients include the ever-increasing regulation of the production, distribution and use of energy through the myriad of climate change related regulations, managing the growing web of domestic and international product regulations that are creating significant market access issues, while all the while continuing to comply with the basic environmental laws dealing with air, waste and water,” he said.
Bell, who was one of the lead U.S. international negotiator responsible for creating the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard, is also serving on the U.S. international negotiating team working on developing ISO standards for nanotechnologies that he says will promote the responsible development of nanotechnology in a wide range of economic sectors, including medicine, electronics, advanced materials and consumer products.
As an example, he is part of an effort working on a standard for labeling consumer products containing nanomaterials and one on setting occupational exposure limits for nanomaterials.
”At the same time, regulators around the world are wrestling with how to regulate nanomaterials while not stifling the development of what most people agree is a very promising and beneficial enabling technology,” he said.
The new Greenberg Traurig shareholder says he looks forward to being a part of the firm’s strong commitment to pro bono work. One of his current pro bono projects is representing the SS United States Conservancy, which is dedicated to saving what was once one of the nation’s premier ocean liners, the SS United States.
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