James Arnold

The Arnold Law Practice
San Francisco Office
One Sansome Street, Suite 3500
San Francisco, CA 94104

East Bay Office
3685 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite 331
Lafayette, CA 94549
Phone: 925-284-8887
Fax: 925-284-1387
www.arnoldlp.com
jarnold@arnoldlp.com
LinkedIn: LinkedIn Profile

Our focus is environmental and real property litigation, counseling, and regulatory compliance.

James R. Arnold established The Arnold Law Practice after service with the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. Mr. Arnold entered private practice in San Francisco in 1987, and established The Arnold Law Practice in 1998.

We represent companies, private individuals, and nonprofit organizations. Our attorneys try cases, appear before state and federal regulatory agencies, and counsel clients on contracts, leases, compliance and government orders, easements, and other transactions that involve environmental and related laws.

With decades of experience in the federal and California laws, we represent clients with claims involving the California Land Recycling and Reuse Act, the clean air and clean water laws, Proposition 65, CEQA and NEPA, and the complex network of hazardous waste laws, such as CERCLA (“Superfund”), RCRA, TSCA, and similar California laws. We focus on redevelopment and re-use of contaminated properties, called "brownfields." We advise clients on real property transactions, such as conducting environmental due diligence and apportioning environmental liability in real estate contracts. We also represent clients in disputes as to title, eminent domain, inverse condemnation, property damages due to contamination, , and roads and other real estate legal issues. We advise clients on such matters as complying with new requirements for California’s “climate change” laws and regulations, post-consumer and post-industrial recycled content rules, and energy efficiency retro-fitting.

Because of our continuing commitment to litigation, claims, transactions, and regulatory compliance, we also help clients with such matters as vapor intrusion into homes and businesses,veterinary treatments and their registration/use in California, wetlands determinations and conservation banks, food regulations, bankruptcy issues, metal finishing, trap and skeet ranges, environmental insurance, air pollution control districts, REITS, grocery stores, shipyards, sewer plant redevelopment, acid mine drainage, asbestos and asbestos containing materials (ACM), pesticides, dry-cleaners, food processing, commercial fishing, sonar and marine mammals, adhesives, fashion accessories, and other manufacturing, products, goods and services.

The attorneys at The Arnold Law Practice also contribute to educating the legal community and the general public about environmental law issues. Our attorneys teach and write articles about due diligence, historical road access law in California, recent developments in brownfields and Superfund law, the elements of contracts with environmental consultants, and the ethical issues with representation by attorneys and by others. Our attorneys support programs of the Environmental Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Contra Costa Bar Association, the Sonoma County Bar Association, and the Environmental and Real Estate Sections of the California Bar. We have also been active with the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy & Resources, and support the ABA’s Sections of Litigation and Real Property.

The Arnold Law Practice engages attorneys when specialized legal issues such as bankruptcy, estates and probate law, corporate law, personal injury, etc., arise in the context of environmental law and real estate law issues.

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Areas of Practice:
Environmental Law
• Brownfields Redevelopment
• Underground Storage Tanks
• Air Quality
• Inverse Condemnation
• Climate Change
• Land Use Litigation
• Environmental Cleanup
• Sustainability
• Air Pollution
• Clean Air Act
• Water Quality
• Water Pollution
• Clean Water Act
• Groundwater Contamination
• Environmental Insurance
• Real Estate Litigation
• Quiet Title
• Real Estate Sales
• Eminent Domain
• Real Estate
• Brownfields Insurance Coverage
• Environmental Cost Recovery
• Zoning Law
• Federal Civil Litigation
• Coatings Technology
• Wetlands Protection
• UST Fund
• Metal Finishing
• Wastewater Permits
• Environmental Mediation
• Industrial Permits
• Dry Cleaner Clean Ups
• Gun range land use and Clean Ups
• Real Estate Fraud Litigation
• Public Land Law

Bar Admissions:
California
U.S. District Courts in California
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Resume

Education:
Hastings College of Law, University of California J.D.

Claremont McKenna College, B.A.

Published Works:
Author, "Hazardous Waste Cleanup and Land Use," Ch. 72, Manaster & Selmi, California Environmental Law and Land Use Practice (Matthew Bender/Lexis)

Various papers and lecture presentations on environmental law for national, state, and local organizations

National:
Contributing Editor, Trends Newsletter of ABA Section of Environment, Energy & Resources http://www.americanbar.org/publications/trends.html

Chair, Sponsorships Committee, ABA Section of Environment, Energy & Resources (2009-2014)

Secretary, ABA Section of Environment, Energy & Resources (2005-07)

Council Member, ABA Section of Environment, Energy & Resources (2004-05)

Chair, Superfund & Hazardous Waste Committee, ABA Section of Environment, Energy & Resources (1996-98)

California:
Treasurer, CORE Environmental, Inc. http://coreenvironmental.org/

Member, Advisory Board, Roberts Environmental Center, Claremont McKenna College
http://roberts-environmental-center.cmc.edu/

Member, UST Cleanup Fund Task Force, State Water Resources Control Board (2009-2012)

Member, Executive Committee, Environmental Law Section, Bar Association of San Francisco
http://www.sfbar.org/cle/sections_environmental.aspx

Chair, Board of Directors, East Bay Services to the Developmentally Disabled, Inc. (2004-2010)

Member (founding), Executive Committee, Environmental Law Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association

Member, Board of Contributing Editors, California Environmental Law Reporter (Lexis)

Member, Board of Contributing Editors, California Real Estate Reporter (Lexis)

Environmental and Real Estate Law

Areas Of Practice:
Environmental Law Representation and Litigation -- Including fraud, "Brownfields" redevelopment, Superfund and air and water quality laws, Prop. 65, insurance recovery for policyholders, endangered species, marine mammals, and fish and wildlife issues.

Real Estate and Land Use Litigation -- Specific performance, quiet title, CEQA/NEPA, eminent domain, zoning variances, trespass, nuisance, ancient roads and boundaries, and public lands and resources.

Toxics – Lead poisoning, underground tanks, mold, Cal-OSHA compliance, and pesticide registrations.

Malpractice Law – Environmental consultants and attorneys.

Representative Client Matters:
Sellers, Buyers, Tenants, Lenders, Borrowers – Vapor intrusion from TCE, PCE, benzene in fuels, etc., Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, “All Appropriate Inquiry,” ASTM standards for investigation, acquisition, and appropriate care after purchase of real estate, and reporting and disclosure obligations and requirements.

Food processing companies - Compliance with California waste discharge requirements, California Clean Air Act requirements, cleanup of "brownfields" site, including representation with administrative oversight agencies, claims on CGL insurance policies, UST Fund cleanup reimbursement program.

Owners and operators of current and former gasoline station sites - Claims for cleanup costs against third parties, trespass, nuisance, “citizen suits” in the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, representation with administrative oversight agencies, and agencies providing financial assistance, such as the California UST Cleanup Fund.

Companies selling medical products, food supplements, food snacks, cosmetics, adhesives, computers, fashion accessories, veterinary supplies, wood products, electrical supplies, plastic bags, etc. – Compliance with California laws including CALRecycle, Prop. 65, pesticide registrations, air quality controls (emissions permits and vapor intrusion), land and sewer disposals and discharges, and CALRycle post-consumer and post-industrial content regulation.

Social services and nonprofits clubs and organizations – Compliance with "brownfields" cleanup requirements, real estate landlord/tenant and purchase and sale issues, and including representation before state and federal administrative oversight agencies and local governments.

Property owners and landlords and tenants – Challenging and defending land use plans, defending and challenging investigation and cleanup plans for contaminated properties, qualifying for the California UST Cleanup Fund and other grant and loan programs, representation and counseling in zoning variances, CEQA, land use, specific performance, loan documentation, UST requirements, sewage district law, claims to public lands, US government land exchanges, easements, access rights, rights of way, dedications and grants, trespassing claims (lead paint dust, MTBE, solvents, petroleum).

Business owners – Representation in multi-party litigation with claims of groundwater pollution by manufacturing, dry cleaning practices, USTs, waste disposal practices, OSHA penalty issues, claims against environmental consultants as to site audits, Fish & Game civil penalty proceedings, condemnation of portions of business for road expansion, alleged failures of sellers and tenants to disclose buried contamination, vapor intrusion, compliance with air pollution control laws, civil penalties from air quality management districts, spill response claims, toxics reporting and disclosure requirements, UST closure laws.

Environmental consultants – Representation against claims as to process audits, preparation of form agreements, counseling on reporting and disclosure requirements.

[Note: Recent matters include legal counseling, representation before governmental agencies, and litigation with government and private parties in state and federal courts in northern California]”