Environmental

Blake Biles has more than 35 years of experience as an environmental attorney, including five years with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and over 30 years in private practice. He has provided services to a wide variety of clients concerning virtually the full range of environmental requirements, and encompassing all types of legal matters: counseling, transactions, rulemakings, compliance audits, and both enforcement and appellate litigation.

Mr. Biles has considerable experience in matters involving the regulation of, and potential liabilities associated with, chemicals and other commercial products. This includes requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), hazard communication and right-to-know standards, biotechnology and life sciences, nanotechnology, consumer product safety, and related product liability issues. He has worked extensively on matters involving hazard and risk evaluations, and their legal implications: chemical-specific risk assessments, EPA IRIS assessments, National Toxicology Program evaluations, National Academies reviews, and product/process failure mode and effects analysis (FEMAs).

Mr. Biles has represented international business interests with respect to emerging chemical liability regimes; provided advice concerning treaty developments and obligations; served as a member of the OECD/BIAC, the US Council for International Business (USCIB), and International Chamber of Commerce committees; and directed environmental/tort due diligence in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Mr. Biles has long provided pro bono services to low-income and other vulnerable populations, including representation of tenants to preserve affordable housing; work for AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly (including Chair of the LCE Board of Directors); service on the Neighborhood Legal Services Program Board of Directors; representation of homeless individuals, persons seeking social security disability benefits, and residents of substandard nursing homes; and advocacy for mentally-ill persons in institutional settings, including prisons. The DC Bar has recognized Mr. Biles as Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year.

At EPA from 1975 to 1980, Mr. Biles was an attorney in the Office of Enforcement, and in the Office of General Counsel. Thereafter, he was the first Director of the new-chemicals review program in the Office of Toxic Substances.

Environmental Representative Matters

• Counsel to a range of business entities with respect to governmental and private-plaintiff actions involving "at-risk" chemicals, including perfluorinated chemicals (PFC), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and other flame-retardant products, methyl bromide, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), formaldehyde, and asbestos.
• Negotiation of many TSCA Audit Agreements with US EPA for major chemical companies, and ongoing representation in their subsequent audit implementation.
• Representation of companies in numerous EPA enforcement actions alleging violation of TSCA and other chemical-control requirements.
• Lead counsel to a large publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager (with approximately US$57 billion in assets under management) concerning the environmental aspects of acquisitions, divestitures, and financings of real-property transactions throughout the US and around the world.
• Consultant in a federal criminal prosecution alleging a company's violation of statutory reporting requirements..
• Advice to a FORTUNE 50 company in its development of new products, focusing upon hazard and risk evaluations with respect to both safety and liability considerations.
• Representation of numerous companies in reporting and recall actions involving consumer products that are subject to laws administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• Counsel to business interests in the DC Circuit litigation that established a five-year federal statute of limitations for the imposition of civil administrative penalties.