Beveridge & Diamond recently elected Lauren Hopkins, Eric Klein, Heidi Knight, Jayni Lanham, John Paul, and Bina Reddy as Principals of the firm.

“We are delighted to welcome these six diverse and accomplished attorneys as Principals in the firm,” said Managing Principal Ben Wilson. “Each will serve important roles in serving and growing our environmental and litigation practices, and we thank them for their dedication to the firm and its clients.”

Lauren Hopkins (San Francisco) focuses primarily on global product stewardship, supply chain due diligence, and environmental advertising and marketing. In particular, she advises on various corporate social responsibility and supply chain disclosure initiatives including conflict minerals due diligence and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosures, paper sourcing and Lacey Act compliance, and labor and human rights issues in the supply chain. Her practice also extends to product-related environmental requirements such as material restrictions in the U.S. and Europe, worldwide product safety regulations, energy efficiency and design requirements, and product take-back and recycling.

Eric Klein (Washington, DC) concentrates his practice on commercial and environmental litigation, and he has significant experience handling a variety of complex civil and commercial matters before juries, trial and appellate courts, arbitrators, and administrative tribunals. Eric frequently litigates both statutory and common law claims and specializes in challenging and defending technical experts in the litigation of complex environmental torts. In a recent six-week federal jury trial on liability and equitable allocation for a $12 million cleanup of PCBs in a Boston waterway, Eric conducted direct and cross-examinations of the primary causation experts on both sides; the jury ultimately determined that the firm’s client, a major global manufacturer, had not released PCBs and was not liable for response costs. 

Heidi Knight (Boston) focuses her practice on regulatory compliance, environmental audits, due diligence, and related litigation, with particular emphasis on the Clean Air Act and its state equivalents. She counsels clients on permitting and compliance issues, rulemakings, the environmental aspects of acquiring industrial facilities, and federal and state environmental enforcement actions. As an example, Heidi was part of a team representing a raw material processing and handling company in successfully opposing the intervention of citizens in a federal CAA enforcement action and achieving the entry of a consent decree resolving that action.

Jayni Lanham (Baltimore) represents clients in cases before federal, state, and administrative courts involving environmental statutes, occupational safety and health statutes, and common law claims. Recently, she represented an investor-owned electric utility in successful defense of allegations relating to contamination from coal ash. Jayni also counsels clients on regulatory compliance, with a particular focus on the Occupational Safety and Health Act and on reporting requirements arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, and the Clean Water Act, and their state equivalents.

John Paul (New York) advises a wide range of clients on regulatory compliance, permitting, project development, site contamination, and brownfields development matters. He supports private and municipal clients in compliance with regulatory programs that govern solid and hazardous wastes, stormwater and wastewater, and wetland development. As one example, John served on the team that counseled six municipalities and two sewer districts in New York’s Capital District on the development and implementation of a unique inter-municipal agreement to conduct a 15-year, 52-project, $136 million stormwater infrastructure improvement plan. John assists with asset and property dispositions through due diligence review and contract negotiations. He also represents clients in state and federal environmental and commercial litigation.

Bina Reddy (Washington, DC) has handled cases in federal and state courts across the country. She represents clients, including Fortune 50 companies, in litigation involving the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the Clean Water Act, state environmental statutes, constitutional claims, toxic tort and product liability claims, and putative class actions. Bina has devoted a substantial portion of her practice to litigation under environmental citizen suit provisions and has successfully defended numerous citizen suits under RCRA. Her experience includes representing major municipalities in environmental and toxic tort litigation, including relating to alleged lead in drinking water.