King & Spalding today announced that Peter Hsiao has joined the Government Matters practice group as a partner in the Los Angeles office. As a member of the firm’s Environmental, Health and Safety team, he will head the team’s efforts on the west coast. Most recently Hsiao served as head of Morrison & Foerster’s Environment and Energy Group in Los Angeles and of its Green Products and Chemicals team.
“Peter is a highly respected environmental attorney with a stellar reputation,” said partner Wick Sollers, leader of King & Spalding’s Government Matters practice group. “He adds significant firepower to the Environmental, Health and Safety team and will broaden our capabilities in California.”
Hsiao advises Fortune 500 clients on a wide variety of complex environmental and land use matters. Among his cases are the cleanup of the San Francisco International Airport and air pollution control measures for the Owens Dry Lake bed, which is considered the largest source of particulate air emissions in the United States. He represents clients on Clean Air Act matters, hazardous waste management and disposal issues, and in multi-party groundwater and soil contamination cases. Hsiao also litigates cases under the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, and was involved in an seminal matter involving Prop 65, the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. He also advises clients on alternative energy issues.
“California is one of the primary centers of environmental law in the world, with new regulatory initiatives frequently emerging there first,” said partner Granta Nakayama, who leads King & Spalding’s Environmental, Health & Safety team. “With Peter on board, clients in California and elsewhere will know they have one of the country’s leading environmental attorneys in their corner. He also brings to the table experience as a former prosecutor and an engineering degree.”
Hsiao served as a senior trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. In this role, he represented the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies in major environmental and chemical litigation, obtaining several multi-million dollar judgments. In private practice, he has worked on a number of high-profile government investigations.
Hsiao received the U.S. Department of Justice’s Special Commendation Award, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Achievement Award, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Golden Eagle Award. He is one of 16 lawyers named as a Distinguished Environmental Advocate by the American Bar Association. He was named a Trailblazer in Energy and Environmental Law by the National Law Journal and is a Fellow and elected as a Regent of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. Hsiao is named by Chambers and Partners as well as Legal 500 as one of the nation’s best environmental lawyers, and is a recipient of the Wiley W. Manuel Award for pro bono legal services from the State Bar.
“I’m excited about the strategy and growth of King & Spalding’s Environmental, Health and Safety team,” said Hsiao. “And I look forward to working with this great group of practitioners.”
Hsiao graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Utah and obtained his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
Source: www.kslaw.com
