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1666 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006

TEL: (202) 370-3923

Laura Ford Brust

Counsel

Laura Ford Brust serves as counsel to the Environmental & Natural Resources and Climate-Related Business & Technology Groups in our Washington, D.C. office. She has extensive experience advising clients with regard to environmental regulatory compliance, administrative proceedings, and litigation, including evolving issues related to climate change and green building. She advises clients regarding opportunities to enhance marketing of energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly products through existing incentive and consumer education programs, and regarding legislative and regulatory opportunities to gain marketplace advantages. She assists clients in capitalizing on the market opportunities offered by participation in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating Systems and other green construction programs.

Ms. Brust represents clients in administrative and civil proceedings under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and analogous state laws, including responding to notices of liability and requests for information, defending government enforcement and cost recovery actions, pursuing and defending private contribution claims, negotiating settlements with governmental authorities and private parties, and working with agency personnel and consultants on remedy issues. Ms. Brust also advises clients regarding environmental remediation, compliance with regulatory requirements, and Superfund liabilities. Her work under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) includes advising clients on compliance with corrective action obligations and closure requirements for treatment and storage facilities. Ms. Brust has represented clients at a wide variety of sites, including solvent recycling facilities, battery recycling facilities, manufactured gas plants, industrial landfills, trans-shipment sites, barrel reconditioning facilities, manufacturing facilities and toll manufacturing facilities. She has performed environmental due diligence for mergers and acquisitions involving complex environmental liabilities, permitting and compliance issues. Ms. Brust advises clients on the regulatory implications of new technologies, including nanotechnology.

Ms. Brust is a regular contributor to the Business Aviation Law Blog.

Representative Client Work

  • Represents clients performing remediation of Superfund sites in numerous states, including Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Rhode Island
  • Gained inclusion in LEED Green Building Rating System for Existing Buildings credits in the operation and maintenance category for a manufacturer of battery-powered, non-GHG or particulate-emitting outdoor power equipment
  • Advised a manufacturer of new energy efficiency and conservation products regarding opportunities to enhance product marketing through existing government incentive and consumer education programs, and regarding legislative and regulatory opportunities to gain marketplace advantage
  • Participated on behalf of a major consumer products manufacturer in informal industry standard-setting process resulting in LEED credits for energy-efficient faucets and shower heads
  • Advised a power tool manufacturer of new marketing opportunities in the green building field
  • Represented a client in negotiations with EPA leading to characterization of dioxin-impacted remediation waste as non-hazardous
  • Performed environmental due diligence and negotiated indemnity provision for purchaser of mosquito control company with locations in multiple states
  • Prepared voluntary disclosures of potential violations of Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know (EPCRA) and CERCLA reporting requirements and negotiated settlements of statutory penalties
  • Advised a client regarding National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of proposed project in national forest, including comments on Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Bar & Court Admissions

  • District of Columbia, 1999
  • Maryland, 1998
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Publications

  • ZAG/S&W LLP Launches Water Resource Development Group, ZAG/S&W Press Release (February 4, 2010)
  • "New York State Offers Tax Incentive for Green Buildings" (with Jeffrey Karp), Practical US/Domestic Tax Strategies (April 2007), and NAIOP Green Development News (May 2007)

Client Advisories

Professional & Civic Activities

  • American Bar Association
  • District of Columbia Bar Association, Environmental and Natural Resources and Litigation Sections

Education

  • J.D., cum laude, Duke University School of Law, 1998
  • M.A., Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, 1998
  • B.A., with honors, Johns Hopkins University, 1995
Practice Areas
Industries
News