Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.

Borne of the EPA, Beveridge & Diamond has developed in symbiosis with significant environmental legislation throughout the last quarter of the 20th century and early 21st, giving its clients insider access to the complexities of environmental law, natural resource law, land use, and litigation. Government and corporate clients alike reap the benefits of Beveridge & Diamond's specialties in alternative dispute resolution, high-stakes environmental and commercial litigation, toxic torts, and white collar defense.

EPA Roots

In 1974 a group of lawyers that included Bill Ruckelshaus, the first Administrator of the EPA; Henry Diamond (1932-2016), the first Commissioner of NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; and name partner Albert J. Beveridge III formed a firm to address the needs of companies and municipalities relating to emerging environmental law. From those not-so-humble beginnings, the firm's rise in the area of environmental law has continued, making the firm one of the most sought-after midsize firms. Chambers ranks Beveridge & Diamond nationally and regionally in California, Massachusetts, New York, DC, Texas, and Washington state.

From Wetlands to Waste

Complex environmental litigation, regulatory, transactional, and legislative matters at the federal and state levels are de rigueur for Beveridge and Diamond. As the No. 1 firm in Vault’s Environmental Law Practice Area ranking, Beveridge Diamond is well known for its deep experience. The firm has also been recognized by the likes of Chambers, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers. 

The firm is well practiced in the intricacies of environmental law, handling matters as diverse as biotechnology, wetlands, products regulation, environmental auditing, endangered species, toxic chemicals, Superfund, pesticides regulation, food safety, hazardous and solid waste, Clean Air, Act Clean Water Act and risk assessment. State—or national—boundaries don't stop Beveridge & Diamond, which is home to an active international environmental practice that practices in Asia, Europe, South America, and beyond. Beveridge & Diamond does whatever it takes, including settlements, dispositions, trials, and appeals for its clients.

That’s Sustainable

Beveridge & Diamond’s focus on the environment extends beyond legal matters—the firm has made sustainability a key value. In fact, the firm has a formal sustainability policy and engages in various initiatives. The firm is part of the Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy initiative, dedicating a certain amount of pro bono services toward environmental sustainability. It has contributed to the American Legal Industry Sustainability Standard, a tool that guides law firms in their sustainability programs. And the firm uses paper made of post-consumer recycled content, as well as Energy Star-compliant computers. These are just a few ways the firm embraces sustainability.

COVID-19 Update

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Beveridge & Diamond is taking a measured and practical approach to attorney recruiting. The firm is conducting interviews via Webex in lieu of in-person interviews at this time, and our 2020 and 2021 classes worked on a fully remote basis. We plan that our 2022 summer program will take place at least partially in person in our offices, but we remain flexible and focused on the health and safety of all of our employees and their loved ones.

• Providing key support to the Independent Corporate Compliance Monitor and Auditor for Volkswagen (VW), as part of VW’s criminal plea agreement (including a $2.8 billion penalty) stemming from the company’s scheme to sell vehicles designed to cheat on U.S. emissions tests.

• Leading the allocation process at the Portland Harbor Superfund Site, the largest site west of the Mississippi River, with estimated cleanup costs exceeding $2.5 billion. The site involves about 250 parties, ongoing cleanup work, and negotiations, federal litigation, Natural Resource Damage claims, and nearly 100 parties in an allocation process.

• Representing clients facing cutting-edge legal issues, such as PFAS liability and regulations; plastic waste; climate change; environmental justice; environmental, social, and governance (ESG); circular economy and sustainability; product stewardship; and EHS issues related to the covid pandemic.

• Defending client Waste Connections, Inc. in one of the country’s largest nuisance and personal injury cases re its Jefferson Parish Landfill near New Orleans, Louisiana. B&D secured the dismissal of 261 individual plaintiffs for failure to comply with their discovery obligations, and the case is set for a unique, two-week causation trial in January 2022.