Joe is Chair of the firm's Environmental Department and focuses his practice on complex multiple party environmental litigation and dispute resolution. Joe's particular expertise is creative pursuit of responsible parties under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). He has twice won cases against the United States on the useful product defense.
Described by his peers in Chambers USA as a "real fighter, a bulldog litigator (and) the attorney of choice for some of the toughest cases nationally," Joe has tried cases involving pipeline accidents, environmental criminal prosecutions and disputes over high-rise office building fires and nature preserves. He successfully argued one of the largest CERCLA cases in the country involving the spinoff of nearly 1,000 parcels of former railroad property.
Joe's environmental practice spans 30 states and several Fortune 100 companies. He began handling nationwide litigation involving environmental contamination after joining Monsanto Co. in 1974. Twelve years later, Joe left Monsanto and started the Environmental Department, which is one of the largest environmental practices in the country.
Awards & Recognitions
· The Best Lawyers In America, Environmental Law, 2003-2012
· Chambers USA, Environmental Law (Missouri), 2007-2011
· Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, Environmental Law, 2006-2010
· Who's Who in Environmental Law, 2007-2010
Professional Associations & Memberships
· American Bar Association
· The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
· Illinois State Bar Association
· The Missouri Bar
News & Publications
News
9.6.11, More Than 100 Husch Blackwell Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers 2012
6.13.11, Husch Blackwell Receives High Rankings, Praise from Clients in Chambers USA 2011
10.13.10, Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers 2010 Names 64 Husch Blackwell Attorneys; An Additional 20 Listed as Rising Stars
10.22.09, Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers 2009 Names 73 Husch Blackwell Sanders Attorneys
Publications
9.24.10, The Assault on § 107 Recovery Claims, Environmental Law 360