Richard L. Lewis

Richard L. Lewis

Richard L. Lewis
Member

Richard L. Lewis
Member


Richard Lewis concentrates his practice in the areas of environmental law, environmental litigation, corporate law, and international transactions. Mr. Lewis is experienced in all aspects of environmental regulation and litigation, as well as counseling for mergers, acquisitions and other business transactions.  He serves as Assistant Chair of the Business Department.


AREAS OF CONCENTRATION

Environmental Law
Mr. Lewis has represented clients from a variety of industries including chemical companies, mining companies and medium to heavy manufacturing companies. Mr. Lewis further has extensive experience representing publicly owned entities. Mr. Lewis' practice has consisted of counseling clients regarding permitting and regulatory requirements for solid and hazardous waste (including Brownfields), water resources, air resources, underground injection wells, underground storage tanks, radioactive wastes, solid and hazardous waste recycling, and mining. Mr. Lewis has also represented clients in litigation before administrative boards and in state and federal courts.

Mr. Lewis' practice has included the following matters:

  • Complex federal superfund litigation
  • Complex federal citizen suit litigation
  • Complex state and federal toxic tort litigation
  • Negotiation of consent decrees under the Clean Water Act, CERCLA and state hazardous waste laws
  • Radioactive waste management and disposal under the Atomic Energy Act
  • Evaluation of environmental site assessments
  • Assistance in permitting procedures
  • Corporate transactions and reorganizations
  • Acquisitor of the first "certificate of completion" under West Virginia's Voluntary Remediation Law

Business Law
Mr. Lewis has represented clients in corporate mergers and acquisitions, including both asset deals and stock transactions. Mr. Lewis routinely advises clients on environmental aspects of corporate transactions, and on corporate restructuring to protect assets from extraordinary environmental liabilities.

Mr. Lewis has also represented clients in the negotiation of a variety of corporate and business transactions, including, for example, negotiation of a 150 million dollar operation and maintenance contract for a power-generating facility in India. Mr. Lewis also provides general counsel services to several business organizations both in West Virginia and nationally.

Prior to joining Steptoe & Johnson, Mr. Lewis was with the Cleveland, Ohio law firms of Vorys, Sater, Seymore & Pease, and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey.

Prior to law school, Mr. Lewis was employed by Shell Oil Company in a variety of positions. Mr. Lewis worked as a mining engineer and manager in the Houston, Texas and Springfield, Illinois offices. His responsibilities included design and management of several environmental control projects. Mr. Lewis was reassigned to the International Division of Shell and lived as an expatriate in Damascus, Syria for a year with responsibilities for inventory control management. Mr. Lewis left Shell International in 1987 in order to return to the United States and attend Harvard Law School.

PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS

Mr. Lewis is admitted to practice in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. Mr. Lewis is also certified as an Illinois Mine Manager and Mine Examiner.

Mr. Lewis is a member of the American and West Virginia State Bar Associations, the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute and the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation. Mr. Lewis is on the Environmental Committee of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and is the past Chairman of the local chapter of the Society of Mining Engineers.  He is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of environmental law.

EDUCATION

Mr. Lewis received his Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School where he was an editor of The Harvard Environmental Law Review and was twice listed in the Who's Who Among American Law Students.

Mr. Lewis received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering of Mines, magna cum laude, from West Virginia University in 1981.


 
 
 

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