David Berz heads the firm's Environmental practice and is a nationally acknowledged authority on US and international environmental law. He has been recognized by Chambers USA 2011 as a leader in the field of environment, and described by clients as "incredibly impressive expertise in environmental litigation" and "is especially adept at quickly cutting to the essence of a matter." He has also been recognized in The Legal 500, PLC Which Lawyer?, The Best Lawyers in America, and SuperLawyers as a leader in his field.
Mr. Berz represents a wide range of clients and handles major transaction and restructuring work related to environmental and regulatory issues. As a litigator, he serves as lead counsel in civil and criminal environmental matters involving federal and state water, air, and hazardous waste and substance statutes. He regularly counsels multinational corporations, their senior management, and boards of directors in developing environmental compliance programs, and serves as environmental counsel to financial institutions.
Mr. Berz worked directly with the Hungarian Government in the drafting of that country’s comprehensive environmental protection statute, and as environmental counsel to the Government of Canada in conjunction with the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Mr. Berz is an experienced litigator in declaratory judgment cases brought to resolve insurance coverage disputes in a variety of contexts. Among his clients are General Electric Company, CBS Broadcasting, Elementis Corporation, General Motors, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Metallurg, Inc., JPS Industries, Inc., SEACOR Holdings Inc., and Tontine Partners, L.P.
Most recently Mr. Berz served as debtor’s counsel to General Motors in its chapter 11 filing, leading the team that handled environmental remediation issues and helping to spearhead the creation of a $700 million trust fund – the largest of its kind in US history – to remediate 90 now-closed GM plants as part of a clean-up settlement with the US government, numerous state governments, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.
Mr. Berz co-authors Environmental Law in Real Estate and Business Transactions, Matthew Bender (1992-2009) and recently published two articles, “Recent Developments in Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Risk” (April-May 2008, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel). He frequently lectures on a broad range of environmental topics. Mr. Berz received the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources 2011 Award for Excellence in Environmental and Resources Stewardship.