Chambers Recognizes Nossaman's Eminent Domain & Valuation, Environment & Land Use, Healthcare, Infrastructure and Real Estate Groups

Chambers & Partners has recognized 17 of our attorneys, along with our Eminent Domain & Valuation, Environment & Land Use, Healthcare, Infrastructure and Real Estate Groups in its 2023 Chambers USA guide of leading law firms and lawyers.

Once again, the 2023 edition recognizes our Infrastructure Group as one of only five practices in the top tier nationally in the Projects: Public Private Partnership (PPP) category. The group also is ranked in the top tier globally by Chambers. Our Infrastructure Group received high praise from clients for our performance during the past year, with one key client saying, “The Nossaman team is always very prepared, knowledgeable and helpful in balancing client protections against an ever-changing marketplace.”

Chambers highlights that the practice “offers comprehensive assistance across the life span of a project, including initial advice on legislation and obtaining environmental approvals, as well as representation at the construction, financing and operation stages. It possesses expertise in the establishment of PPP programs for public bodies…[and] has a well-known ability in road and rail PPP structures that is augmented by additional skill in social infrastructure projects.”

Infrastructure team members Barney Allison, Andrée Blais, Corey Boock, Elizabeth Cousins, Patrick Harder, Yukiko Kojima and Geoff Yarema are recognized as top lawyers in the category. Patrick, chair of our Infrastructure Group, is praised for his “central role in the development and financing of complex, high-value PPP projects in the social infrastructure and transportation sectors.” Andrée is recognized by clients as “very knowledgeable, organized and in tune with her clients’ needs [and] committed to the success of her clients.” Corey is highlighted for being “fantastic to work with, [and having a] tremendous amount of experience that can help resolve any matter [and] explaining things clearly in plain language.” Barney is noted for his work with “public agency clients on the development and financing of a wide range of infrastructure projects.” Geoff is singled out for “advising clients on PPP projects and broader strategy in the transportation sector.” Yukiko is complimented for her commitment to “delivering with excellence [and being] very much in-sync with the trends in the industry.”  Elizabeth is lauded for her “particular expertise in water infrastructure.”

Chambers also continues to recognize us as a leading law firm in environmental and land use law nationally and in California, Texas and Washington.

Offering commentary on the Firm’s national Environment & Land Use practice, Chambers notes we have a “a well-known team with a national presence in environmental law and land use matters such as groundwater contamination, natural resources damages and toxic tort litigation [and] advise clients on a broad spectrum of environmental statutes including CERCLA, CWA and NEPA [while] frequently representing trade associations, private corporations and public agencies from the utilities, energy and agriculture sectors.”

Speaking about our Environment & Land Use practice in California, Chambers writes that we have a “robust environment group able to handle an array of environmental and natural resource matters [with] strength in CWA and Endangered Species Act issues…[and can also lead] a wide spread of litigation and regulatory compliance matters, as well as land use and environmental permitting.”

In Texas, Chambers calls our team “well versed in advising clients on environmental compliance, permitting and regulatory issues [and on] sophisticated renewable energy projects.”

The Washington team is acknowledged for “assisting clients with the full gamut of environmental matters, including contaminated site remediation and resolution of natural resource damage claims as well as compliance and litigation relating to air and water quality, wildlife conservation and fisheries management.”

Mary Lynn Coffee (California), Robert Thornton (California), Svend Brandt-Erichsen (Washington), Leslie Nellermoe (Washington), Rebecca Hays Barho (Texas) and Brooke Marcus (Texas), all members of our Environment & Land Use Group, are recognized as leading attorneys in their states.

Mary Lynn receives praise for  being “engaged in important environmental issues all across the state. Her knowledge of these issues and her relationships allow her to successfully deliver results for her clients.” Rob is noted for his “expertise…managing the environmental aspects of infrastructure developments, and frequently guiding clients through disputes.” Svend’s clients laud him for his “exceptional experience and always being prompt and detailed in his responses to questions.” Leslie is highlighted for “advising companies and municipalities on regulatory compliance and permitting matters [and her] expertise in matters relating to site cleanup and remediation.” Brooke receives positive commentary from her clients for  “knowing the nuance, the science and the players [and for being] extremely commercial, a fantastic attorney and highly personable.” Rebecca is complimented by clients for being “a phenomenal attorney who works hard to develop a rapport with her clients and address their needs.”

Honored again as a leading firm in healthcare in California, clients say the group has a “clear understanding [of] the industry and the nuances of operating health plans as well as many facets of business finance, government regulation, the need for profit [and] community responsibilities.”

Group Co-Chair Raja Sékaran and Tom Curtis are recognized as leading healthcare lawyers and receive strong feedback from clients. Speaking of Raja, clients refer to him as an “an excellent counsel and adviser” and Chambers notes he leads matters that “include regulatory compliance concerns, external investigations and enforcement proceedings, and fraud and abuse disputes.” Regarding Tom, clients say he is a “seasoned lawyer” and represents a wide range of healthcare clients such as hospitals, health systems and health plans.

The Firm’s Eminent Domain & Valuation and Real Estate practices are again recognized in the Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use category in California, with Eminent Domain & Valuation Group Chair Brad Kuhn honored individually. The practices are noted for having best in class experience “on all aspects of the land use permitting process, including zoning, CEQA, coastal developments and eminent domain [and being] especially adept at counseling public agency clients, such as government associations and transport authorities.”

Brad’s clients emphasize that he is “extremely knowledgeable in the area of real property and eminent domain and provides sound advice to minimize risk and exposure on large infrastructure projects.”

Additionally, in the national Food & Beverages: Alcohol category, Marco Costales is honored for the second consecutive year. Clients say he “does an excellent job in an efficient manner…and is a pleasure to work with and is very responsive and knowledgeable.”