Overview
Laura’s practice focuses on advising clients – such as real estate developers, lenders and financial institutions, contractors, and buyers/sellers of contaminated properties – on the environmental aspects of a wide range of real-estate related matters, including:
- Brownfields redevelopment
- Environmental due diligence
- Permitting, enforcement defense, and incident closure
- Participation in hazardous waste, dry-cleaning and petroleum cleanup programs
- Exposure to contamination
- Above and underground storage tank management
- Vapor intrusion remediation
- Stormwater, wastewater, and wetland management
In addition, Laura regularly counsels manufacturers, financial institutions, and retail industry and corporate clients on a broad range of environmental risk and compliance issues such as environmental due diligence in complex business transactions; regulatory compliance; audits, reporting and self-disclosure; and waste and materials handling and disposal. Specifically, Laura regularly advises investors on environmental issues related to the acquisition of large-scale renewable energy project portfolios.
Laura is part of Moore & Van Allen’s interdisciplinary Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) team. The ESG team helps public and private companies, as well as private equity sponsors, investment advisors, and lenders to develop and implement ESG strategies, achieve sustainability and climate-related goals, and comply with associated legal requirements in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.
Representative Experience
- Obtained numerous Brownfields agreements on behalf of clients redeveloping contaminated sites for high-density residential, commercial, retail, industrial, and other uses
- Guided lenders on environmental aspects of loan initiation, foreclosure, and bank-owned portfolios
- Counseled clients on a broad variety of environmental subjects, including endangered species and wetlands issues, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews, Section 401 water quality certifications, wastewater and stormwater discharges, hazardous and solid waste management, , issues involving underground and aboveground storage tanks and pre-regulatory landfills, environmental insurance
- Advised retail industry clients – including chain grocers and pharmacies, as well as cosmetics manufacturers – regarding the management, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste; implementation of reverse distribution systems and hazardous waste management programs; and managing enforcement actions
- Assisted renewable energy developers and investors on environmental issues in connection with large-scale renewable energy project portfolios
- Advocated on behalf of retail industry clients and trade associations by preparing comments on EPA and other federal rulemakings
- Advised apartment developer regarding the acquisition and redevelopment of a pre-regulatory landfill with methane emissions concerns as a multi-family residential apartment community
- Represented non-profit land conservation organization regarding environmental issues related to property and conservation easement transactions
Notable
Notable
- North Carolina Super Lawyers "Rising Star", Environmental, 2023
-
Sustainable Capitalism & ESG Course, University of California Berkeley School of Law, January 2023
News
News
Insights
Affiliations
Affiliations
- North Carolina Bar Association, Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources Section - Section Newsletter Editor, 2016-2019; Section Council, 2021-present
- Catawba Lands Conservancy - Member, Land Acquisition Committee, 2021-present
- Women’s Impact Fund – Education Grants Committee, 2018-present
- University of Richmond Law School - Member, Law School Advisory Board & Alumni Outreach Committee, 2016-present
- Association of Vapor Intrusion Professionals – Policies, Practices and Risk Management Committee Member, 2022-present
- Selwyn Avenue Presbyterian Child Development Center – Board of Directors, 2022-present
Speaking Engagements
Speaking Engagements
- Moderator, Federal Trends in Water Regulation, Tri-State Environmental Law Conference (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia) (Charleston, SC), June 18, 2022
- Speaker, ESG with a Legal and Regulatory Focus, September 12, 2022
- Speaker at a CLE for the legal departments of two U.S.-based global financial institutions on the topic of recent SEC regulations related to ESG disclosure and reporting, October and December 2022
Publications
Publications
Capabilities
Education
J.D., University of Richmond School of Law, 2013, with honors
B.A., University of Virginia, 2008
Admissions
- North Carolina, 2017