Rachel Levick

Rachel Levick is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She practices in the firm’s Litigation Department and is a member of the Environmental Litigation and Mass Tort and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practice Groups.

Rachel represents companies across multiple industries in a wide range of federal and state litigation, agency enforcement actions, and administrative rulemaking proceedings. She works with her clients to assess compliance, navigate enforcement actions, and defend against litigation under a variety of environmental statutes and programs, including the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA/Superfund). In addition to her federal enforcement defense and litigation experience, Rachel helps clients address environmental compliance and enforcement issues with state regulators, particularly in California. She also advises clients in a variety of corporate, private equity, finance and real estate transactions, identifying environmental risks and negotiating transactional documents for buyers, sellers and investors of manufacturing, service, technology, aerospace, petroleum, energy, and financial industry clients.

Rachel was recognized by Law360 as a 2023 Environmental “Rising Star,” and in the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation edition. She was also named by Best Lawyers as “One to Watch” in Environmental Litigation for 2022 and 2023.

Representative engagements include:

• Successfully obtaining on behalf of eBay Inc. Rule 12 dismissal of claims by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleging violations of three major federal environmental statutes, a victory recognized as an American Lawyer Litigator of the Week Runner-Up. United States v. eBay Inc., No. 23-CV-7173, 2024 WL 4350523 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2024).
• Representing Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC in investigation and civil enforcement action regarding compliance with Clean Air Act requirements governing emissions controls and in related settlement of civil claims with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Attorney General, the California Air Resources Board, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. United States v. Daimler AG, No. 20-2564 (D.D.C.).
• Advising a multinational oil company in the defense of a $1.8 billion civil lawsuit regarding oil remediation in Indonesia, resulting in the complete dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims by the trial court, subsequently affirmed on appeal.
• Representing various clients in developing substantial regulatory comments to major EPA proposed regulations under the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.
• Defending a major Fortune 500 biomedical manufacturing company in state enforcement action concerning multimillion dollar remediation of groundwater contamination.
• Securing dismissal with prejudice of claims against Beckman Coulter, Inc. as third-party defendant in CERCLA cost recovery action brought by the United States. United States v. Puerto Rico Indus. Dev. Co., No. 15-2328 (D.P.R.).
• Representing a coalition of major automotive manufacturers as intervenors in several consolidated challenges to NHTSA’s rulemaking finding that state greenhouse gas emissions regulations are preempted by federal law, and to EPA’s parallel rulemaking revoking California’s Clean Air Act preemption waiver. Union of Concerned Scientists v. NHTSA, No. 19-1230 (D.C. Cir.); California v. Chao, No. 19-2826 (D.D.C.).
• Prosecuting a $250 million CERCLA cost recovery action against the United States, resulting in a significant recovery after a multi-week bench trial in federal court. Lockheed Martin Corp. v. United States, 35 F. Supp. 3d 92 (D.D.C.).

Recent speaking engagements include:

• Webcast, “2024 Environmental Update,” Washington, DC (Feb. 27, 2024).
• Webcast, “2023 Environmental Update,” Washington, DC (Feb. 15, 2023).
• Webcast, “2022 Environmental Update,” Washington, DC (Feb. 9, 2022).
• Webcast, “Biden’s EPA: The First 60 Days and Beyond,” Washington, DC (Mar. 23, 2021).

Rachel was an associate at Gibson Dunn from 2013 to 2014. From 2014 to 2016, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She rejoined the firm in 2016.

Rachel received her law degree cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2013, where she was a recipient of the Levy Scholarship. During law school, she served as a Senior Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review and as a Louderback Legal Writing Instructor. Rachel earned her Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010.

Rachel is admitted to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia, and before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Capabilities

• Environmental Litigation and Mass Tort
• Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
• Litigation
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Private Equity

Credentials

Education:

• University of Pennsylvania - 2013 Juris Doctor
• University of Pennsylvania - 2010 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• District of Columbia Bar
• Maryland Bar

Clerkships:

• USDC, District of Columbia, Hon. Amy Berman Jackson, 2014 - 2016