King & Spalding today announced Suzanne Murray has joined the firm as a partner on the firm’s Environmental, Health and Safety team within the Government Matters group, and is based in the Austin office. She joins from Haynes and Boone.
Murray has broad experience with matters involving environmental rule challenges, government investigations, permitting, defense of enforcement actions, crisis management and emergency response, compliance audits, transactions, fuels, climate regulation, environmental and social governance (ESG), and carbon trading matters. Previous to private practice, from 2008-2015, Murray was the Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional Counsel for Region 6, an area responsible for more than half the oil and gas activity in the nation. In this role, she led the agency’s legal affairs for Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana and numerous tribal nations, and supervised 70 attorneys in all aspects of environmental litigation and regulatory counseling.
“Suzanne has an excellent reputation on environmental law issues, and her addition gives our national environmental practice a huge boost,” said Grant Nakayama, who heads King & Spalding’s Environmental, Health and Safety team. “Given the Administration’s renewed focus on environmental regulation and climate change, clients across industries are seeking the kind of insights that Suzanne can offer.”
Murray received several commendations for “Outstanding Performance” from the EPA and the Department of Justice. She is also nationally acclaimed by clients and rating services, including rankings by Chambers USA. She was also on the advisory board for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law and Business at the University of Texas.
“Suzanne is a fantastic addition to our office and gives our Texas environmental team great cachet,” said Mike Stenglein, managing partner of King & Spalding’s Austin office. “She has the respect of federal and state regulators and is known to be hardworking, diligent and detail-oriented.”
Murray obtained her undergraduate degree from Trinity University and her JD from University of New Mexico School of Law, where she was editor of the Natural Resource Law Reporter.
“King & Spalding’s global reach, national clients in the environmental sphere and focus on strategic growth are all reasons I’m excited to be joining this firm,” Murray said. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues here to assist clients with their most challenging environmental issues.”
