Rich stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his clients – primarily corporations, municipalities, utilities and individuals – who need guidance regarding environmental permitting and compliance, transactional review and policy issues, and international investigations and audits.
Environmental
Rich’s practice is focused on enforcement matters brought by federal and state agencies and the Department of Justice, including defense of environmental claims involving the major federal environmental statutes and their state counterparts.
He represents companies, municipalities and nonprofits in Clean Water Act point source, pretreatment and wetlands matters – including citizen suits; sewer system and pretreatment matters; drinking water issues; storm water issues; corrective action and spill remediation; hazardous waste disposal, storage and transportation issues; renewable fuels, including the EPA Renewable Fuel Standard; chemical release and inventory reporting; manufacturer and registration issues; state and federal brownfields; state and federal Superfund sites; and other issues related to contaminated property.
In addition, Rich provides regulatory review for corporate transactions and purchases of commercial property and counsels lenders regarding foreclosures of properties with environmental concerns.
White Collar and Investigations
As an experienced criminal and civil defense attorney, Rich handles matters involving environmental crimes, healthcare fraud, mail and wire fraud; state pharmacy and medical board compliance; comprehensive internal investigations for government investigations; and False Claims Act defense.
Rich appears before state and federal government agencies, including the EPA, the DOJ, state environmental agencies and state medical and pharmaceutical boards, and U.S. District Courts.
Professional and Community Involvement
Member, Georgia Association of Water Professionals Industrial Committee
Member, American Bar Association Section on Natural Resources and the Environment
Member, Atlanta Bar Association Litigation Section
Member, Atlanta Bar Association CLE Board
Member, State Bar of Georgia Environmental Law, Litigation, Health Law and Criminal Law sections
Member, North Carolina Bar Association Environment, Energy and Natural Resources sections
Member, Defense Research Institute
Past board chair, Atlanta Bar Association Environmental and Toxic Tort Section
Former judge, Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition
Former chair and board of directors, Atlanta Bar Association Environmental and Toxic Tort Section
Honors
Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating
The Best Lawyers in America, 2016-2024
