Intro
Louise advises businesses on navigating complex regulatory frameworks, with a focus on environmental compliance and permitting, air emissions, water quality, waste management, and environmental mitigation and remediation.
She represents clients facing regulation and enforcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies, including the California Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Bay Area Air District and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Louise brings a pragmatic, solutions oriented approach to regulatory challenges and, when necessary, provides assertive defense for companies involved in the generation, transmission, storage, and sale of energy, as well as manufacturers, retailers, and real estate developers.
Before joining private practice, Louise built a distinguished academic career focused on California history, urban development, and infrastructure governance. She has taught and published extensively on environmental justice, land use, and metropolitan policy, bringing a unique perspective to her legal practice.
Areas of Focus
Education
Admissions and Courts
Defend enforcement actions under federal environmental laws including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, RCRA, TSCA and FIFRA
Represent companies with liability for contamination at Superfund and other remediation sites in negotiations with states, federal agencies and tribes, as well as in litigation and arbitration proceedings
Advocate on behalf of public and private sector clients before the California Public Utilities Commission with respect to carbon capture, utilization and storage policy within carbon-neutrality and net zero greenhouse gas rulemaking
Advise and negotiating complex challenges related to permit compliance and mitigation requirements, successfully achieving significant reductions in fees and penalties
Provide environmental diligence and risk analysis for transactions and projects involving brownfields, environmentally sensitive areas, and other complex sites
Support and advising companies seeking to secure incentives related to energy development such as the Community Energy Tax Credit, or to participate in credit trading programs such as California’s cap-and-trade program for climate emissions
Prepare companies for future compliance challenges, particularly with respect to emissions controls and emerging contaminants such as PFAS
San Francisco Bar Association, Environmental Section, Executive Committee Member
ASTM Committee E-50 Voting Member (responsible for Phase I and Phase II ESA standards)
ABA Section of Environment, Energy & Resources, Waste and Resource Recovery Committee
“Strategically Green: Realizing the Potential of Brownfields,” NAIOP Development Magazine (2024)
“Brownfields Definition Key to Energy Community Tax Credit,” Law360 (December 2023)
“The Future of SEPs in Citizen Suits,” ABA NATURAL RESOURCES & ENV. (2021)
“Federal PFAS Regulation and the States,” WESTLAW J. ENV. (April 2020)
“Aquifers and Democracy: Enforcing Voter Equal Protection to Save California’s Imperiled Groundwater and Redeem Local Government,” 105 CALIFORNIA L.REV. 1471 (October 2017)
“Environmental Diligence 101: Phase I ESAs and Other Basics” SMRH CLE Webinar (July 2024)
“New Standards for Environmental Diligence: Implications for Prospective Owners, Operators & Investors,” SMRH CLE Webinar (February 2023)
“PFAS & Real Property Transactions: Essentials of Diligence & Compliance,” SMRH CLE Webinar (June 2022)