Climate Change

• With lawyers in California, New York, Washington, DC, Europe, and Asia our team is well-versed in international and domestic climate change matters, and our knowledge has been showcased through our multiple articles and commentary in publications such as the Wall Street Journal; New York Times; New York Law Journal; and American Bar Association.
• Our attorneys are actively involved the first significant global warming tort lawsuits, including an action brought by an Eskimo village asserting injury from carbon emissions, and a lawsuit relating to injuries arising out of Hurricane Katrina.
• In 2007, O’Melveny launched its "Green Office Initiative" to conserve resources and reduce the carbon footprint of its 14 offices around the globe. Three significant achievements of this initiative include being among the first law firms to achieve nationwide compliance with the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge Best Paper Practices program, attaining 100% usage of wind power in our New York office, and the recent move of our San Francisco office into a new building that achieved Gold certification through the US Green Building Council’s LEED program for commercial interiors, making O'Melveny the first law firm to have achieved a Gold rating—the next-to-highest rating possible in the LEED scale—for renovated space in an existing building.
• Our team is in the trenches advising clients daily on existing and pending state, local and federal greenhouse gas regulation and legislation.
• We advise investment funds, banks, and companies, including Edison Mission Energy, on the Kyoto mechanisms and wider climate change issues, and we regularly represent trade associations and energy sector clients on international climate change initiatives, including disclosure obligations for public concerns.
• O’Melveny’s team provides fund formation and transaction services for carbon projects. We advised Impax Group plc on its mezzanine and equity investments in European renewable energy and related sectors, as well as in the successful launch of Impax New Energy Investors LP, a private equity fund targeting investments in projects in the renewable energy and related sectors. This fund aims to exploit the significant investment opportunities in Europe arising from the legally binding European targets for renewable energy supply.
• Our clean tech experience covers solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and synfuels, waste-to-energy, landfill gas, coal gasification, and zero emission vehicle projects and includes all related regulatory licensing and approval matters. Our lawyers are engaged in early stage and mature alternative energy finance and M&A transactions including the successful IPO of China Sunergy Co., Ltd on the Nasdaq Global Market exchange. Additionally, our intellectual property staff regularly works on patent prosecution and protection with regard to alternative energy technology.
• O’Melveny has embarked on a program of charitable contributions to reduce its carbon footprint. For example, since 2006, we have contributed to the Rainforest Alliance (RA), an international nonprofit organization that leads efforts to certify sustainable forestry, agriculture, land use, and business practices. We also work with RA on numerous pro bono projects, including international policy affecting the use of forests and carbon sequestration to create carbon credits. In addition, we represent pro bono client Forest Stewardship Council in various certification and carbon sequestration projects.
• O’Melveny donated a 672 acre Grenada Hills park to the city of LA which maintains the same. The park was formerly owned by Firm founder John O'Melveny.

What Others Say About Us

• Our lawyers have been honored in Chambers USA, International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, PLC Which Lawyer?, and Law & Politics Media Inc.
• Chambers USA (2009) states that clients call on our team for “matters where we [clients] need substantial firepower.” Chambers also cites our experience in the environmental and renewable energy/clean technology sectors.
• Chambers USA (2008) states that "the international dimension of this practice cannot be underestimated," and says that clients characterize our environmental team as “a superb group - responsive, knowledgeable and extremely reliable.”
• Asian Legal Business awarded us its inaugural "China Deals of the Year Award" in the Energy, Mining, and Resources category for our role as international counsel in the negotiation and execution of US$20 billion of long-term sales contracts for liquid natural gas (LNG) in 2004.