AREAS OF EXPERTISE & FOCUS

Dave quarterbacked a team of national law firms in a complex corporate and environmental litigation in federal court in Tennessee involving alleged regional groundwater contamination. The case was heard in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, where summary judgment on corporate successor liability in the client’s favor was upheld.

• Real Estate Transactions, including lease counseling for landowners on wind farm and solar farm projects
• Corporate M&A due diligence and environmental risk and contract negotiation and drafting
• Environmental litigation and enforcement, including civil and criminal matters
• Brownfield redevelopment issues
• Development, implementation and monitoring of compliance programs
• Superfund matters
• Regulatory counseling for all environmental media
• Negotiating consultant contracts and providing direct oversight for an array of environmental investigations and remediation projects
• Advanced and renewable energy permitting and regulatory counseling for developers and owners, before federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, U.S. Wildlife Service, U.S. EPA, Ohio Power Siting Board, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio EPA
• Successfully negotiated regulatory hurdles on two of the first functioning wind turbines on the southern shore of Lake Erie
• Counseling on Renewable Energy Credit, Energy Efficiency, and Carbon Emission credit and offset projects
• Corporate sustainability strategy design and implementation
• Climate Change risk management counseling

Professional Involvement

• Corporate Sustainability Network, Co-Founder
• Member, Mayor Jackson’s Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Stewardship Council, 2009 – 2021
• American Bar Association Renewable Energy Teleconference Series, Co-Chair, 2008-2009
• Member, Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force 2006-2008
• Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, Executive Committee, Corporate Secretary, 2005-2010
• American Bar Association, Vice Chair, Smart Growth and Urban Policy Committee
• Ohio State Bar Association, Chair of the Environmental Law Committee, 2001-2003
• Served as chair of the Environmental Law Section of the Cleveland Bar Association

Educational Involvement

• Member, Visiting Committee, Monte Ahuja College of Business, Cleveland State University
• Member, Industrial Advisory Board, College of Applied Engineering, Aeronautics and Technology, Kent State University
• Member, Sustainability Major Advisory Board, Baldwin-Wallace University

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

• “Environmental Law 101 for Business Lawyers,” Ohio State Bar Association CLE Webinar, July 21, 2020
• “Taking Control of Regulatory Compliance Messaging in the Instant Communication Age,” with Andrea Salimbene, One Water Government Affairs Workshop, March 8, 2018
• “TSCA REFORM IN A NUTSHELL: What’s happened and What to Expect Under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” Ohio State Bar Association Annual Environment, Energy and Resources Law Seminar, March 2017
• “Volkswagen Air Pollution Defeat Device Scandal–Legal Considerations for Professional Engineers,” Ohio University Russ College of Engineering, March 16, 2017
• Panel Member, presentation to Republican National Convention delegates at Cleveland State University on Corporate Sustainability, July 2016
• “Volkswagen Air Pollution Defeat Device Scandal–Legal Considerations for Professional Engineers,” Ohio Society of Professional Engineers, June 4, 2016
• “Environmental Law 101 for Business Lawyers,” OSBA Business Law Conference, May 23, 2016
• “Infrastructure Finance Tools,” Ohio Water Law and Community Opportunities for Innovative Water System Management presented by Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and McMahon DeGulis LLP, New Philadelphia, March 22, 2016
• Moderated a panel discussion at the 2014 Baldwin Wallace University Sustainability Symposium on “Vision and Leadership in the Public Sector – Creating a Sustainable Region by 2050,” which included the Executive Directors of the Cleveland MetroParks, the Northern Ohio Regional Sewer District and the City of Cleveland’s Chief of Sustainability.
• “CMHA Solar Project: Making Legal Complexities Simpler Than Sunlight. Really,” NAHRO 2013 National Conference & Exhibition, October 25, 2013
• “Pushing the Envelope-Lessons Learned From Sustainable Cleveland” Ohio University, Voinovich School, September 18, 2012
• “Sustainable Business Practices,” Cleveland State University, Global Gateway, June 22, 2012
• “Oil and Gas Issues: Technical and Legal Issues Regarding Oil and Gas Development,” May 31, 2012
• “Sustainable Business Practices,” National Black MBA Association, February 7, 2012
• “H2OHIO-Building Sustainable Offshore Wind Power In Lake Erie,” Ohio State Bar Association 26th  Annual Environment, Energy and Resources Law Seminar, April 7, 2011
• “No Guts, No Glory-Litigation Risks In Offshore Wind,” American Bar Association 20th Annual TTEL Spring CLE Meeting, New Frontier: Science Technology & the Law in 2011; April 2, 2011
• “Developing Offshore Wind Power in Reverse: Community Driven Development Models,” Offshore Wind Energy in North America, Great Lakes Conference; September 9, 2010
• “Harvesting the Winds of Change: County and Local Stakeholder Involvement in Wind Negotiations,” Ohio Township Association, August 2010
• “Developing Offshore Wind Power in Reverse: Community Driven Development Models,” ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Quick Teleconference,  June 23, 2010
• “Environmental Risk Update: What’s Coming But Not Here Yet,” Risk and Insurance Management Society, November 2009
• “The Current Regulatory Environment and Its Impact on High Performance Building,” RPM Executive Forum, November 2009
• “Blue Acres is the Place for Me,” Offshore Wind Energy Summit North America, October 2009
• “Sustainability Law-The Next Generation,” OSBA Environmental Law Seminar, April 2009
• “Harvesting the Winds of Change-Legal and Regulatory Solutions in Wind Development,” Green Energy Ohio Renewable Energy Showcase, March 2009
• “Coordinating the Regulatory Approval Process-One Stop Shopping for Renewable Energy Project Permits,” American Council on Renewable Energy Teleconference, January 2009

ACHIEVEMENTS & HONORS

• Named by Chambers & Partners as a leading practitioner in Environmental Law in Ohio, 2004-2021
• Nationally recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^© for Environmental Law (since 1995-96), Environmental Litigation (since 2011) and Energy Regulatory Law (since 2015)
• Recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Environment, 2021
• Named to the Corporate Responsibility Magazine list of Who’s Who in Environmental Law, 2014
• Named Cleveland Environmental Lawyer of the Year for 2013 by Best Lawyers
• Listed as “SuperLawyer” from 2004-2021 by Law & Politics
• Recipient of the 2009 Green Lantern Award for Champions of Sustainability, presented by Crains Cleveland Business
• Ohio State Bar Foundation, Fellow, Class of 2001

EDUCATION

Dave received his BA in Politics, magna cum laude, from Wake Forest University, where he was also Phi Beta Kappa.  He received his JD with honors from Duke University School of Law.