Granta Nakayama > King & Spalding LLP > Washington DC, United States > Lawyer Profile

Alongside its expertise in mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, projects, and financing in the environmental sector, King & Spalding LLP‘s environmental team is known for advising private equity and energy companies on the full spectrum of their green transition objectives. Practice head Granta Nakayama has considerable knowledge of the energy sector, regularly advising companies on a range of regulatory and enforcement issues. The team also includes Cynthia Stroman, a specialist in the energy, renewables and environmental sectors, Joseph Eisert, an expert in transactional, enforcement and incident response matters, and Chicago-based Karl Heisler, who chairs the firm’s environmental, health and safety’s practice in the Midwest. Attorneys are based in Washington DC unless otherwise stated.

Representing automotive and transportation companies and suppliers, King & Spalding LLP‘s recent experience encompasses the the automotive industry’s diesel-related issues. In addition to the firm’s regulatory, enforcement and policy work, the group assists automakers with litigation, government investigations, international trade, and data privacy and security issues. Representing automotive manufacturers and transportation companies in product liability, class action and mass tort actions, Susan Clare chairs the automotive and transportation litigation team from Atlanta, where Geoffrey Drake assists vehicle manufacturers in disputes; Madison Kitchens defends automotive sector-related product manufacturers; and Adam Reinke assists automotive clients with defense-side class actions. In New York, John Hooper‘s track record includes automotive industry-related mass tort litigation settlements, while Jacquie Seidel is a class and mass action litigation specialist. Over in Washington DC, Granta Nakayama‘s experience includes assisting automakers with diesel-related issues, and Ilana Saltzbart advises on battery storage, recycling, transportation, and marketing regulations. The practice further includes Chicago-based Livia Kiser, an adviser to automotive manufacturers, automotive technology companies, distributors and suppliers on vehicle components; and Los Angeles’ product liability expert Susan Vargas.

King & Spalding LLP is a name to note for environmental and climate change litigation for its special focus on matters related to air pollution, toxic chemicals and industrial disasters. The team is co-headed by Washington DC’s Granta Nakayama, who handles a spread of environmental health and safety matters, in addition to New York’s Kristen Fournier and San Francisco’s Matt Blaschke, who jointly lead the firm’s toxic and environmental torts team, and are recommended for their product liability work. Tracie Renfroe , of the Houston office, attracts clients from across the energy and industrial sector for her national and international arbitration expertise, especially those relating to contamination, toxic tort and product liability, while Atlanta’s Douglas Henderson is well versed in dealing with property rights disputes to do with chemical exposure, groundwater contamination and the Clean Water Act. Over in Los Angeles, Peter Hsiao heads the West Coast environmental, health & safety practice, his wide experience covers natural resources and climate change litigation, in addition to toxic tort work.

Fielding a team of experts backed by agency experience, King & Spalding LLP is well equipped to handle a spread of environmental matters, relating to materials compliance, renewables, emissions and toxic substances. The team is led by Granta Nakayama, based in Washington DC, whose wide practice spans the breadth of air, water, waste, toxic chemicals and pesticides enforcement and compliance work. Peter Hsiao, of the Los Angeles office heads the West Coast environmental health and safety practice, leveraging his experience in environment, climate change and natural resources legislation, while the Chicago-based Karl Heisler handles a spread of enforcement and incident response matters, which ranges from fires and explosions, right through to pipeline releases and the abandonment of hazardous waste. Ilana Saltzbart specializes in renewables and biofuels, while Cynthia Stroman is a name to note in energy and chemicals regulation. Both practitioners are based in Washington DC.