Stites & Harbison's Environmental Law Service Group is uniquely qualified to provide the legal support required by the regulated community as environmental regulation continues to expand. Through significant experience with local, state and federal regulatory agencies and administrative and judicial tribunals, the firm's Environmental Law Service Group has addressed issues in every substantive area of environmental law, seeking always to develop creative solutions before issues escalate into problems.

In all environmental representations, the firm strives to develop practical solutions without unnecessary costs or confrontation. Stites & Harbison's lawyers seek to negotiate settlements which achieve the client's goals and minimize exposure while avoiding litigation. However, the firm's lawyers are prepared to litigate in any forum, from specialized adjudicatory bodies to state and federal trial and appellate courts.

The firm's environmental group includes former regulatory attorneys and managers, including the former Commissioner of Law at what is now the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, a former general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, environmental and engineering consultants, and attorneys with experience in the field since the inception of the environmental movement.

Stites & Harbison attorneys have daily contact with key regulatory officials, trade association executives, legislators and their staffs at the state and federal levels. The firm's attorneys work closely with their clients' management and technical staffs to assure a strategy that is both legally sound and consistent with the clients' goals and strategic business plans.

In addition to regulatory compliance matters, the firm's environmental attorneys have represented clients in toxic tort and chemical exposure litigation which often follows on the heels of environmental enforcement actions. Cases in which the firm has been involved have dealt with asbestos, vinyl chloride, polychlorinated biphenyls and benzidine dyes, among others.