Concentration

Environmental, health, safety compliance, permitting and risk assessment and resolution, Superfund and contaminated site issues, commercial real estate transactions

Summary

Aileen Hooks regularly provides legal counsel to clients on regulatory and permitting matters relating to environmental, health and safety issues, including air and water quality, solid and hazardous waste, pipeline safety regulations and fuel regulations. She has advised clients on issues related to state and federal Superfund sites and other contaminated properties since the 1980s. She regularly works on environmental issues affecting the upstream, midstream and downstream energy industry sectors. Ms. Hooks has experience working with a number of state and federal environmental agencies, including the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Railroad Commission of Texas. Additionally, Ms. Hooks works on the environmental and facilities-related aspects of corporate and real estate transactions, including international matters. She has managed and participated in the assessment and management of environmental risks and negotiation of environmental terms for transactions involving upstream oil and gas assets, refineries, pipelines and terminals, wind projects, ethanol plants and nuclear power plants as well as the chemical, paper and semiconductor industries.

Ms. Hooks has extensive experience handling complex and sensitive contract negotiations, performing environmental, health and safety site assessments and compliance audits, and evaluating and resolving environmental liability concerns. She has helped clients in a variety of industries design and implement audit and compliance programs and policies related to environmental, health and safety issues.

Ms. Hooks’ environmental practice also encompasses sustainability and climate change issues. She is active in the United States Business Council for Sustainable Development. On a pro bono basis, she worked on the drafting and negotiation of a memorandum of understanding between the Council and the U.S. EPA on Scientific and Technical Cooperation in the Fields of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development.

Aileen Hooks has a multidisciplinary practice encompassing technology and real estate transactions, in addition to environmental law. Her wide-ranging experience in corporate and real estate matters includes mergers and acquisitions and commercial real estate purchase, sale, leasing and financing transactions.

Representative Engagements

• Major international energy company-managed environmental aspects of acquisition of Eagle Ford shale properties in excess of $1 billion, including a joint development arrangement and formation of related midstream company
• Major refinery company-refinery and pipeline acquisitions in Texas, Louisiana and California
• Major mining company-representation of a mining company in resolution of environmental claims and liabilities in a chapter 11 bankruptcy involving multiple sites in numerous states, including establishment of custodial environmental trusts for owned, non-operating sites and negotiations with multiple federal and state agencies and custodial trustees
• Major semiconductor company-assistance for several years with environmental, health, safety and facilities issues worldwide; worked in a “house counsel” capacity with client
• Industrial company-development of a strategy and legislative and regulatory proposals to increase operational flexibility, in cooperation with trade associations and the regulatory agency
• Various semiconductor, defense, petrochemical and refinery clients-successful identification, negotiation and resolution of unique environmental, health, safety, facilities and service issues raised by the co-location of industrial facilities resulting from divestitures and multiparty ventures
• Superfund Site PRP groups-representation of PRP groups at state and federal Superfund sites through all phases of Superfund process
• Oil and gas trade association-participation in the development of state legislative and regulatory framework for carbon capture and storage

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• Panelist, “Environmental Bankruptcy Settlements Revisited-A Year of Consensus and Progress,” 40th Annual Conference on Environmental Law, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Salt Lake City, March 2011
• “Climate change finds its way into business contracts,” National Law Journal, October 25, 2010 (co-author with Dane Holbrook)
• “Legal Framework and Financial Incentives for Carbon Capture and Storage Projects: Recent Texas Legislative Developments,” 2010 Carbon and Climate Change Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, February 2010
• “Trade and Environment: U.S. Perspective,” Inter-American Seminar on Environmental Law, Estudio Grau, Lima, Peru, June 2009
• “If carbon legislation passes, what will the future hold for US petroleum industry?” Oil & Gas Financial Journal, October 2009
• “The Evolution of Legal Infrastructure for CCS,” Environmental Law360, September 17, 2009
• “Assessment of Environmental and Safety Risks in Business Transactions,” Inter-American Seminar on Environmental Law, Rattagan Macchiavello Arocena & Peña Robirosa Abogados, Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 2008
• “Alternative Energy Projects: Environmental Considerations,” American Bar Association Business Law Section Spring Meeting, April 2008
• Environmental Diligence: ‘All Appropriate Inquiries’ May Not Always Be ‘All’ or ‘Appropriate,’” Advanced Real Estate Law Course, State Bar of Texas, San Antonio, July 2007
• “Environmental Dispute Resolution in the U.S.,” Inter-American Seminar on Environmental Law, Santamarina y Steta, Mexico City, Mexico, October 2005
• Panelist, “Structuring a National Industry: Best Practices and Regulatory Challenges,” The Role of National Oil Companies Workshop, James A. Baker III Institute on Public Policy and University of Houston Law Center Institute for Energy, Law and Enterprise, Houston, May 2005
• “Assessing and Addressing Environmental Liabilities in Global Transactions,” Inter-American Seminar on Environmental Law, Matthos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados, São Paolo, Brazil, May 2002
• Panelist, “Civil and Criminal Liability and Insurance Coverage for Terrorist or Criminal Acts,” Environment and Trade Under the Threat of Terrorism, Baker Botts Seminar, Washington, D.C., February 2002
• “Tailoring the Environmental Inspection to the Deal,” Doing the Real Estate Deal: The Ultimate Environmental Toolkit, State Bar of Texas Professional Development Seminar, Dallas, April 2000
• “Climbing Mt. Everest: The Environmental Lawyer’s View From the Top of the World,” Dallas Environmental Bar Association, Dallas, September 1999