News Releases

August 31, 2009

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Aug. 31, 2009) - Increasingly, companies are looking at the growing number of ways that environmental considerations factor into business transactions. In an effort to help Arkansas organizations stay ahead of the curve, the law firm of Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates and Woodyard, P.L.L.C. today announced the launch of a new sustainability practice focused on addressing business issues and needs related to these rapidly changing legal and regulatory areas.

The only law firm in the state to offer sustainability-focused legal services, the highly integrated team of attorneys from the Mitchell Williams’ environmental, energy, real estate, business and finance, corporate, utility, intellectual property, and tax practices uses a multi-disciplinary approach to provide counsel.

“This is something that touches every person and every industry and is changing the way individuals, companies and lawmakers make day-to-day decisions,” said Mitchell Williams Managing Director Harry Hamlin. “To stay competitive, businesses of all sizes need to embrace the concepts of environmental integrity and social responsibility through the lens of sustainability. We want to help our clients determine the most efficient and profitable way to meet their overall resource and energy needs while being good stewards of the environment.”

Mitchell Williams attorney Heather M. Bell, counsel in the firm’s northwest Arkansas office in Rogers, will serve as team leader for the practice. Bell joined the firm in May 2008, providing counsel in the areas of business and corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, lending and financing, and securities and real estate matters.

“Sustainability, among other green initiatives, is a business approach that can create long-term shareholder value simply by embracing these opportunities and risks,” said Bell. “Our team’s collective experience offers comprehensive services and counsel through commercial, regulatory, and litigation support. We believe this full-service approach will give clients the ability to meet their needs without compromising those of future generations.”

In addition to providing counsel on a wide array of issues that arise in connection with the generation and distribution of renewable and alternative energy resources and the development and financing of new sustainability technologies, the team’s attorneys will also help clients evaluate current policies and standards, manage emerging risks, navigate climate change regulations, understand and benefit from emissions trading programs, audit current practices, and develop new sustainability initiatives.

Other services included in the practice are:

• Renewable energy technology
• Economic development and government incentives
• Green leasing, financing, acquisitions and sales
• Land use, entitlements and repositioning of projects
• Environmental due diligence, permitting, audits and compliance
• Brownfields redevelopment, incentives and Superfund laws
• Procurement law and government contracts
• Environmental infrastructure project development, including water supply and wastewater facilities and contaminated sediment dredging projects
• Energy infrastructure project development, including solar, wind, hydroelectric and biofuel
• Government affairs and public policy
• Construction and real estate litigation and dispute resolution
• Carbon audits, offsets and investments in new carbon markets
• Real estate and LEED-certified green building construction, including design, leasing, marketing, insurance and risk management
• Tax incentives, including conservation easements

« RETURN TO NEWS RELEASES