Anne E. Viner

Biography

Anne E. Viner heads the firm's Environmental, Regulatory & Redevelopment Law practice. She represents corporate clients in a broad range of environmental and products liability matters, including federal and state litigation, regulatory compliance, permitting and operational issues, and finance. Anne has extensive experience at the intersection of real estate and environmental law, and regularly counsels manufacturers, consultants, developers, banks, financial institutions and other clients regarding the impact of environmental issues on transactions, investments and other strategic initiatives. An experienced negotiator and litigator, she takes a proactive approach to the complex issues involved in government investigations, law enforcement actions and other scientifically challenging business conflicts.

Anne has prosecuted and defended a number of environmental disputes (including class actions) on behalf of manufacturing clients in a wide range of industries. She has represented Superfund potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and has served as common counsel for a CERCLA PRP group with respect to remedy negotiations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, implementation of landfill remedies, operations and maintenance activities, allocation determinations and contribution litigation. Anne advises clients in the manufacturing, chemical, fuel and other industries on regulatory and compliance matters, including day-to-day operational issues, responses to violation notices and "no further remediation" letters.

Anne regularly counsels real estate developers, buyers and sellers during the acquisition and sale of industrial properties, including conducting due diligence investigations and negotiating and drafting the environmental provisions of deal documents. She also negotiates and drafts environmental services contracts with consultants and supervises consultants' work on environmental projects, including closures under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Superfund remedial actions, asbestos abatements, and the removal and cleanup of underground storage tanks. She frequently advises clients regarding voluntary environmental and Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance audits.

Anne draws on her dispute resolution experience to help clients identify risks and minimize the likelihood of potential disputes. When litigation is identified as the most appropriate option, she defends products liability and complex environmental cases in federal and state courts nationwide. Anne manages all aspects of such cases, including developing litigation strategies, identifying subject-matter experts, administering product inspections, implementing internal root-cause analyses and recall evaluations and representing clients at trial. She also regularly oversees local counsel and takes the lead in discovery and settlement negotiations.

Anne is Co-Chair of the firm's Women's Initiative and serves as a Much Shelist delegate to the Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law Firms.

Education

No information available.

Admissions/Licenses

• Bar Admissions: IL, NJ