When environmental, health, and safety incidents occur, we mobilize immediately, helping companies control risk, lead crisis response, and manage regulatory, enforcement, and litigation exposure from the outset. 

What Should a Company do in the First 24–72 Hours After an Environmental Incident? 

The first hours and days following an environmental, health, and safety incident can define a company’s legal, operational, and reputational future. In the aftermath of an incident, companies must take rapid, coordinated action, such as promptly reporting to authorities, containing releases, retaining experts to conduct necessary air or water monitoring, addressing employee concerns, implementing effective incident response plans, preserving evidence, and managing insurance implications, including timely notice to carriers. We help companies decisively respond to environmental releases, fires, explosions, and workplace accidents. We have extensive experience guiding manufacturers, energy companies, chemical and pharmaceutical companies, retailers, and other industrial operators through immediate response, regulatory scrutiny, and long‑term recovery. 

Integrated Crisis Response When It Matters Most 

Environmental and safety incidents trigger simultaneous operational, technical, regulatory, legal, insurance, and communications challenges. Our team brings decades of on‑the‑ground experience responding to catastrophic incidents across the U.S. and internationally, often deploying onsite within hours of an incident. We work closely with operations personnel, technical experts, insurers, and crisis communications professionals to address immediate risks while anticipating longer‑term liabilities. 

Our lawyers routinely help clients: 

• Manage emergency response and mitigate environmental harm  
• Coordinate with regulators and enforcement agencies 
• Conduct privileged cause‑and‑origin and compliance investigations 
• Navigate insurance notifications and claims 
• Preserve business continuity and accelerate a safe return to operations 

Which Enforcement Bodies Respond to an Incident?  

Serious incidents attract intense attention from multiple enforcement bodies, often within days. Depending on the circumstances, this can include: 

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state environmental agencies 
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 
• Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) 
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) 
• National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 
• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) 
• U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) for offshore incidents 

We regularly defend clients facing parallel civil, criminal, administrative, and congressional investigations and understand how to stay ahead of regulators, investigators, and plaintiffs’ counsel. 

Industry Depth and Technical Advantage 

Our team includes environmental and workplace safety lawyers with backgrounds in engineering, chemistry, biology, land use, environmental policy, and safety, as well as former EPA and state enforcement attorneys and former federal prosecutors. This technical fluency allows us to align legal strategy with operational realities – an essential advantage in high‑stakes incident response. 

We also maintain a vetted roster of leading third‑party experts, including: 

• Cause‑and‑origin investigators 
• Fire, explosion, detonation, and combustible dust specialists 
• Environmental experts (air, water, soil) 
• Industrial hygienists and toxicologists 
• Structural, process, chemical, corrosion, and materials engineers 

Proactive Readiness and Risk Mitigation 

Beyond crisis response, we work with our clients to prepare for crises by conducting audits, compliance gap assessments, preparedness drills, and tabletop exercises, and develop tailored incident response playbooks, emergency response plans, and communications strategies designed to preserve privilege and reduce exposure. 

Integrated Safety and OSHA Capabilities  

Worker safety is central to both incident prevention and regulatory risk management. We advise clients on all aspects of workplace safety, including OSHA compliance, process safety management (PSM), hazard analysis, and post-incident corrective actions. Our team routinely supports clients in navigating OSHA inspections, responding to citations, and managing enforcement proceedings, while working alongside operational teams to strengthen safety programs and reduce future risk. 

What is an Environmental Emergency Response Plan, and how Often Should it be Updated? 

An environmental emergency response plan establishes how a company will respond to incidents such as spills, releases, or fires, including containment strategies, regulatory reporting, coordination with authorities, and internal escalation procedures. A well-developed plan complies with regulatory requirements and enables companies to respond quickly and effectively while managing legal risk and maintaining operational continuity. Our team works with clients to develop, refine, and maintain these plans, ensuring they are practical, legally sound, and aligned with evolving regulatory requirements and expectations and operational realities. 

Examples of our Experience 

A Fortune 50 energy company in connection with civil, criminal and administrative investigations by DOJ, EPA, OSHA, the CSB and various state and local agencies into an explosion, fire, and near-miss at an oil refinery. Led incident investigation and secured declination of federal criminal charges and no contest pleas for state and local criminal charges. Also led the litigation defense against toxic tort claims brought by local residents.  

A chemical manufacturer after experiencing an accidental release of phosgene during facility operations, resulting in investigations by numerous federal, state, and local agencies, including OSHA, EPA, CSB, and several others, successfully resolving all outstanding concerns. 

One of the largest pipeline companies in the United States as standby incident response counsel, including in connection with multiple EPA, PHMSA, NTSB and state environmental investigations into releases from underground petroleum pipelines.   

One of the world’s largest automakers in drafting an incident response playbook for lawyers who may be called upon to respond to a fire, explosion, spill or other incidents, including lithium-ion battery concerns.  

A manufacturer following a catastrophic, eight-alarm fire that resulted in near-total destruction of a facility, including the related investigations by ATF, OSHA, EPA, and local authorities. Successfully resolved subsequent insurance disputes with carriers.