Co-leads the firm’s climate change group.
Advises clients on greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, carbon pricing, environmental markets, regulatory compliance and international negotiations.
Counsels clients across the globe on designing environmental social and governance systems and setting sustainability targets.

Ken has more than three decades’ experience in advising companies, governments and environmental groups on environmental law, climate change and sustainability issues, including on:

Carbon markets and offsets
Carbon pricing
Renewable fuels
Transportation and GHG emissions
Air and water pollution
Energy efficiency
Climate disclosures
Environmental claims
Environmental, social and governance (ESG).

Ken has demonstrated success working through complex regulatory programs implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He also has a deep understanding of the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standards program, GHG emissions and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations.

Ken has worked extensively with DOE and USDA on clean energy and bio-economy programs. Ken works on energy efficiency issues in:

Buildings
Consumer and commercial products and appliances
Transportation systems
Other processes and controls, including with voluntary programs such as Energy Star.

Ken has participated in numerous United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations on issues including mitigation, financing, market mechanisms, transparency, compliance and technology transfer. He has assisted clients in navigating:

The United Nations Environment Programme
The European Commission
The World Bank
The International Finance Corporation
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development systems.

Ken also counsels clients on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Equator Principles.

Ken formerly served as the managing director of the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE), a global transgovernmental network of regulators, business and international organizations. In that role, he assisted governments around the world in strengthening the rule of law and building stronger environmental governance systems through performance measurement, adaptive management and public-private partnerships. He has led global capacity-building projects for prosecutors and judges, compliance and enforcement indicators, hazardous waste and port security, fresh water governance and on strengthening compliance and investor confidence in GHG and other environmental markets around the world.

Ken served as a senior attorney at the EPA, where he received national recognition for his work on emergency response and oil spill prosecution. He also worked in private practice as an environmental lawyer, counseling corporate and municipal clients throughout the United States on air, water, petroleum, waste and toxics.

Representative Work

Representing a major auto industry company in negotiation of agreement with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to sustain year-over-year GHG emission reductions despite less stringent federal standards.
Providing counsel to clients from multiple sectors on greenhouse gas mitigation strategies, including on carbon pricing strategies, target setting and participation in initiatives such as the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.
Providing extensive analysis and stakeholder mapping on the California Cap-and-Trade Program, the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and other climate compliance markets.
Advising clients on carbon “neutral transactions” and other climate-related claims, including the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides.
Advising clients on the Renewable Fuels Standards, including processes to register cellulosic and advanced renewable fuel pathways, and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Preparing regulatory comments and advocating before the EPA and CARB.
Negotiating a comprehensive settlement with CARB, including an innovative mitigation plan to settle enforcement of alleged violations of the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard.
Negotiating the DOE dismissal of all claims against an appliance manufacturer in multiple enforcement actions alleging violations of energy-efficiency regulations for consumer and commercial products.
Advising clients from a variety of sectors on voluntary carbon offset strategies.
Advising on a major enhanced forest management carbon offset project.
Providing counsel to clients on the development, contracting and registration of forest carbon and other carbon offset projects.
Advising financial institutions on a broad range of issues regarding participation in voluntary and compliance carbon markets in California, Asia, Canada and Europe.
Assisting a client in obtaining BioPreferred status from the USDA for wood building materials.
Providing regular counseling on EPA GHG tailpipe regulations and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fuel economy regulations for heavy-duty and light-duty vehicles (trucks, buses and cars).
Assisting a biotechnology company with a successful application for a DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) grant for carbon capture and sequestration.
Negotiating a favorable resolution for an industry association on treatment of security and surveillance systems in DOE’s consumer electronics energy efficiency programs.

Education
J.D., American University, Washington College of Law, 1989
B.B.A., Emory University, 1985

Bar Admissions
District of Columbia

Recognitions

The Legal 500 US, Environment: Transactional, 2024.
JD Supra, Reader’s Choice Award, Environment, 2022.

Affiliations and Public Service

Co-chair of the Governance Committee, Board of Directors, Verra.
Former managing director, International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, 2002 - 2015.
Former president, Board of Governors, River Falls Community Center Association.
Chair Emeritus, specialist group on compliance and enforcement, World Commission on the Environment, International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Adjunct faculty, American University, Washington College of Law.

Speeches and Publications

Speaker, “Climate Litigation and Impacts to the Steel Industry,” ECO Meeting 2023 hosted by the World Steel Association, May 31, 2023.
Moderator, “Climate Action at the U.S. Federal Level,” Climate Action Reserve's North American Carbon World (NACW) Conference, March 22, 2023.
Speaker, “USMCA: An overview of its implementation. Challenges, potential disputes and win-win opportunities,” hosted by Dorantes Advisors, October 20, 2022.
Presenter, “Eye on the Energy Transition: Hydrogen and Green Ammonia,” Akin Energy Briefing: “The Global Energy Industry 2022: A Look to the Year Ahead,” Webinar, January 20, 2022.
Presenter, “Global ESG Summit,” hosted by Akin, September 29, 2021.
Presenter, Joint Climate & Trade Briefing, National Association of Manufacturers, June 12, 2020.
“Environmental, Social and Governance in the Retail Sector,” Webinar hosted by Akin, Washington, D.C., December 18, 2019.
“Just Good Business: Protecting Against Environmental Liability, Government Response and Enforcement Actions, and Congressional Investigations,” CLE Master Class, Dallas, Texas, May 15, 2019.
Panelist, “Environmental Law 101: Managing Environmental Compliance and Liabilities at Universities,” Webinar hosted by Akin, Washington, D.C., December 5, 2017.
Panelist, “A Healthy Environment: Avoiding Environmental Liability at Health Care Facilities,” Webinar hosted by Akin, Washington, D.C., September 28, 2017.
Panelist, IUCN World Congress on Environmental Law, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 2016.
Co-Organizer, Compliance with Air Pollution Laws, Chinese Ministry of the Environment, Subcommittee on Environmental Enforcement and INECE, September 2015.