March 6, 2017
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Avi Garbow will join the firm as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office. Garbow most recently served as the General Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), following prior service as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Environmental Crimes Section. At Gibson Dunn, he will focus on high-stakes environmental litigation, investigations and enforcement defense, and cutting-edge environmental policy matters, including those relating to global climate change policies and regulations, and the development and use of emerging environmental technologies.
"We are excited to have Avi join our firm," said Ken Doran, Chairman and Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. "Avi has served in top positions at the EPA for the last eight years and is the longest-serving General Counsel in the history of the EPA. He brings to the firm a rare combination of high-level policy and regulatory experience from the EPA and litigation and environmental criminal experience from the DOJ. Both perspectives will be a valuable resource for our clients. Avi also played a critical and active role in a multitude of domestic and international efforts to address climate change, and is uniquely qualified to provide counsel to businesses operating worldwide concerning important implications of climate change policies, regulations, and the landscape of advanced energy services and solutions."
"As EPA General Counsel, Avi has overseen one of the most active regulatory periods in the Agency’s history," said Dan Nelson, Co-Partner in Charge of the Washington, D.C. office and Co-Chair of the Environmental Litigation and Mass Tort Practice Group. "With the Trump Administration’s focus on changing environmental regulations and programs, and as states and environmental organizations ramp up their own enforcement and litigation efforts, we will be well-positioned with Avi on our team to advise clients on the regulatory and litigation challenges ahead."
"Gibson Dunn has a deep bench of highly experienced environmental attorneys and an impressive client roster," said Garbow. "The firm is a destination for Fortune 500 companies facing the most challenging, high-profile environmental enforcement, litigation, mass tort and environmental policy matters. The firm’s clients are also on the cutting-edge of cleantech, developing and marketing advanced environmental technologies, and adopting corporate sustainability practices that enhance global business profitability. I’m looking forward to tackling these cutting-edge matters with my new colleagues."
About Avi Garbow
Appointed by President Obama and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate, Garbow served as the EPA’s General Counsel from 2013 to 2017. In this role, he was the chief legal advisor to the agency, advising on the development of regulations, guidance and policies under every major environmental statute. He was directly involved with major domestic elements of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, including the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, renewable energy programs and mobile source emissions control regulations. He also engaged frequently with other major federal agencies on national and international environmental matters, such as trade and export-import issues, enforcement, administrative law and other cross-agency issues, and twice led the EPA delegation to the United States-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue.
Prior to his tenure as General Counsel, Garbow served as Deputy General Counsel at the EPA from 2009 to 2013. He practiced with WilmerHale and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll from 2002 to 2009. Prior to his time in private practice, he served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section from 1997 to 2002 and as an Attorney-Advisor and Special Assistant with the EPA from 1992 to 1997. Garbow graduated in 1992 from University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Public Service and a member of the Environmental Law Journal.