Alison Torbitt is in the Energy and Environmental practice group and is also active in Maritime matters and the co-leader of the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness team. She focuses on environmental transactional due diligence and compliance and renewable energy, counseling a large range of manufacturers, developers and financing parties to find solutions, mitigate and allocate risk associated with all aspects of environmental laws.
I counsel business and industry clients on compliance with federal, state and local environmental and energy laws, as well as defending against regulatory enforcement and third-party disputes. I am also co-leader of the firm’s Legally Green initiative and Co-leader of the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness team, thinking strategically about sustainability and the risks that our clients face due to climate change, aging infrastructure, and the need for innovation and to stay ahead of these challenges.
With a technical background as an aquatic ecotoxicologist, I have first-hand knowledge of the science and business repercussions of environmental laws, including those regarding water, air, vapor intrusion, hazardous materials and spill response. I counsel dozens of clients with compliance concerns and defend them against enforcement and have provided guidance to numerous wine, beer and food production facilities. I provide strategy and advice on how to cost-effectively monitor compliance, communicate with regulators, self-report and settle. I have successfully brought multiple contaminated sites to closure in an efficient manner. I also assist with California Alcoholic Beverage Control and Contractors State License Board inquiries.
I assist with environmental and energy due diligence for the acquisition, leasing and financing of real property and with assuring adequate protections are in place for tax credit investors. I am very familiar with evaluating Phase Is and IIs for sufficiency, evaluating permitting and compliance history, advising on the risk of environmental liability and enforcement. In each I help to assure that my clients are adequately informed and protected of the risks associated with the transaction; helping them to look to the future and make decisions now, which will avoid problems then. I have also developed significant experience in renewable energy off-take agreements, including consumer protection requirements for the residential solar sector, helping to negotiate a middle ground that is both financially beneficial and consumer-friendly.
I help clients communicate with the U.S. Coast Guard National Vessel Documentation Center, assisting in complicated flag-in/flag-out processes with compliant and business-friendly results. Additionally, I draft and negotiate, and assure approval for, the related documentation including trust agreements, time charters, bareboat charters, ship management agreements, logbook entries, certificates of ownership and continuous synopsis records.
The unprecedented Shelter in Place Orders associated with COVID-19 continue to result in necessary assurances that environmental remediation and mitigation, groundwater, drinking water and wastewater treatment, and environmental investigation and risk allocation, along with the contractors, subcontractors, and labs that make such environmental actions feasible, are essential to protecting human health and the environment. While that foundational message is consistent, how to implement Social Distancing Protocols and mitigate potential personnel and supply shortages is far from clear. This crisis is requiring everyone to be nimble to find solutions immediately and to adjust daily to the new normal.
Modern Restaurant Management | November 02, 2020
This roundup of current industry issues to watch highlights several thought leadership pieces from NP’s recently published fourth-quarter Food & Beverage Crystal Ball. The publication summarizes trends provided by San Francisco partner Alison Torbitt and counsel Ian O’Banion, both of the Affordable Housing & Real Estate Group; Rochester Corporate associate Isaac Figueras; and San Francisco Labor & Employment associates Rachel Conn and Maritza Martin.
Marijuana Venture | August 10, 2020
San Francisco partner Alison Torbitt, who co-leads NP’s Food, Beverage & Agribusiness team, and San Francisco Labor & Employment associate Hilary Baca co-wrote this contributed article on how cannabis retailers can revamp their stores and policies to stay in compliance with state and local laws, while helping to prevent the spread of communicable illnesses to customers and employees.
Cannabis Business Executive | June 17, 2020
This article, on the reopening of Colorado’s marijuana hospitality industry, cites a recent NP alert that details guidelines for cannabis retailers to consider for revamping operations without spreading communicable illnesses. Cannabis Business Executive also re-published the complete NP alert, written by San Francisco Affordable Housing & Real Estate partner Alison Torbitt; Los Angeles Intellectual Property partner, Litigation Department vice-chair, and Fashion practice leader Staci Riordan; and San Francisco Labor & Employment associates Hillary Baca and Rachel Conn.
Best Lawyers | October 21, 2019
San Francisco Affordable Housing & Real Estate partner Alison Torbitt wrote this contributed article analyzing the increasing appetite among employees and investors for corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance standards. Alison also writes about how companies’ general counsels can participate in these initiatives.
Law360 | November 26, 2018
San Francisco Energy and Environmental partner Alison Torbitt is quoted in this article analyzing the Supreme Court’s decision to return to the Fifth Circuit a key case concerning federal agency authority and landowners’ rights in determinations about land protection.
Rochester Business Journal | November 22, 2018
Rochester Corporate partner Jeremy Wolk wrote this contributed column on recent cases involving the Clean Water Act and discharges to groundwater, drawing from an alert by San Francisco partner Alison Torbitt, Albany associate Dana Stanton and senior environmental health engineer Libby Ford, all of the Affordable Housing & Real Estate group.
Rochester Business Journal | November 22, 2018
Rochester Corporate partner Jeremy Wolk wrote this contributed column on recent cases involving the Clean Water Act and discharges to groundwater, drawing from an alert by San Francisco partner Alison Torbitt, Albany associate Dana Stanton and senior environmental health engineer Libby Ford, all of the Affordable Housing & Real Estate group.
Law360 | May 06, 2018
In this roundup of promotions to partner and firm management positions, 14 attorneys from Nixon Peabody are highlighted. The 11 attorneys promoted to partner are Ellie Altshuler, Mark Beaudoin, Erik Birkeneder, Hannah Bornstein, Chris Browning, Barry Carrigan, Keri McWilliams, Matt Mullen, Steven Richard, Charles Tamuleviz and Alison Torbitt. In addition, Kenneth C. Lind was promoted to leader of the firms’ public finance practice group, Justin Thompson was promoted to office managing partner in LA, and Aaron Yowell was promoted to chief innovation officer.
Law360 | April 28, 2018
San Francisco energy and environmental partner Alison Torbitt, New York City project finance partner Scott Singer and Rochester senior environmental health engineer Libby Ford co-wrote this article outlining an EPA loan program for new water infrastructure projects.
University of Oregon School of Law, J.D., Order of the Coif (1st in class) , (Editor-in-Chief, Western Environmental Law Update; Associate Editor, Oregon Law Review; Environmental Fellow, Oceans, Coasts, and Watersheds Project; First Place Champion, Oregon Environmental Law Moot Court Competition; Quarterfinalist, National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition)
University of California, Santa Barbara, B.S., B.A., with High Honors
University of Queensland, Australia, Marine biology research program
California
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Central District of California