Jeff Civins is a senior counsel at Haynes and Boone, LLP in Austin. Jeff has practiced all aspects of environmental law since 1975, assisting clients in compliance matters, transactions, and litigation. As an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law, Jeff taught a seminar on Environmental Law Concerns in Business in the spring of 1987 and has been teaching a seminar on Environmental Litigation each spring since 1992. Jeff is a frequent speaker and writer on a wide range of environmental law topics. Jeff is a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and a member of the Advisory Board of UTs Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law, and Business. He is the organizer and co-editor of the Thomson Reuters Texas Practice two-volume treatise on Texas Environmental Law and co-author of the chapter on Environmental Aspects of Business Transactions. Jeff is a former chair of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and is standing chair of the section's Annual Texas Environmental Superconference, now in its 36th year. Jeff also chairs the EarthxLaw Advisory Council, which, among other things, puts on the Earthx Law and Policy Symposium and hosts the EarthxTV Law & Nature series. Jeff received an AB in chemistry from Brandeis University, an MS in organic chemistry from Penn State, and a JD from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to law school, Jeff taught science in public and private schools in New York City.
Work Phone:
5128678477
Email:
jeff.civins@haynesboone.com
Website:
https://www.haynesboone.com/people/c/civins-jeff
EPA Region:
Region 6 – (AR, LA, NM, OK, and TX)
Year of induction:
2011
Degrees:
AB Chemistry, Brandeis University 1967
MS Chemistry, Penn State 1970
JD University of Texas School of Law 1975
Admissions:
Texas 1975
Court Admissions:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Professional Societies and Organizations:
Fellow, American College of Environmental Lawyers (2011-present)
Fellow, American, Texas, and Austin Bar Foundations
Member and Former Chair, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section, State Bar of Texas
Standing Chair, Annual Texas Environmental Superconference (1990-present)
Member, Advisory Council of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law & Business
Member, Administrative Law and Litigation Sections, State Bar of Texas
Member and Former Chair, Air and Waste Management Association, Central Texas Chapter
Former Member, University of Texas Law School Alumni Association Executive Board
Member, American Bar Association, Sections of Environment, Energy, and Resources, and of Litigation and Administrative Law)
Chair, EarthxLaw Advisory Council
Other Environmental Career Experience:
Chemist, Federal Water Pollution Control Administration Summer 1967
Partner and Associate , Vinson & Elkins 1975-1984
Partner, Kelly, Hart & Hallman 1984-1990
Partner and Senior Counsel, Haynes and Boone 1990-present
Adjunct Professor, University of Texas School of Law 1987 and 1992-present
Representative Publications:
Founder and Co-Editor, Volumes 45-46, Environmental Law, Thomson Reuters Texas Practice
Environmental Aspects of Business Transactions, with M. Mendoza, Chapter 33, Volumes 45-46, Environmental Law, Thomson Reuters Texas Practice
Risks To The Energy Sector Posed By Climate Change Litigation, article published in The Advocate, Winter 2018
EPAs Clean Power PlanA Prognosis, UTCLEs Renewable Energy Law Seminar, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2017
Identifying and Indemnifying Against Environmental Risks, Jeff Civins and Mary Mendoza, The University of Texas School of Law, 2015 Mortgage Lending Institute, November 6, 2015, Dallas, Texas
Corporate Sustainability A Legal Perspective, Article for ABA Section of Environmental, Energy, and Resources In-House Counsel Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 3, August 2015
Drafting Real Estate Contracts to Address Environmental Concerns, with M. Mendoza, State Bar of Texas Advanced Real Estate Drafting Course, Irving, Texas (March 1, 2012)
Framework for the Environmental Regulation of the Use of Fossil Fuels for Energy Environmental Federalism Background and Overview Essential Administrative and Environmental Law for Energy Projects Conference, University of Texas School of Law CLE program, November 18, 2010, Austin, TX and December 1, 2010, Houston, TX, article and presentation
Public Participation in the Development of Carbon-Related Projects, from Inception, thought Transport to Injection, University of Texas CLE, Carbon and Climate Change, Austin, Texas (Feb. 17 &18, 2010), Panelist and article
Acquiring, Developing, and Disposing of Brownfields Sites, Environmental Regulation & Enforcement Conference, Washington D.C., January 21-22, 2010 Panelist Presentation and Article on Transactional Environmental Due Diligence.
Environmental Due Diligence - Counting Carbon, with Mary Mendoza and A. Sencenbaugh, Natural Resources & Environment, ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Fall 2009
Corporate Dealmaking in a Carbon Conscious World, with M. Mendoza, State Bar of Texas 8th Annual Advanced In-House Counsel Course, July 30, 2009, presentation and article
The Carbon Revolution Answering the Call, with M. Mendoza, Texas Bar Journal (April 2009)
Climate Change Disclosures Avoid the Heat, with M. Mendoza, Texas Lawyer, February 2009
The Carbon Revolution, with M. Mendoza, UT CLE 2009 Carbon and Climate Change Conference, Austin, Texas, February 3-4, 2009, presentation and article
When It comes to Eco-Marketing, Its Not Easy Being Green, with M. Mendoza, Austin Business Journal, November 21, 2008
Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility A Legal Perspective, with M. Mendoza, Texas Bar Journal, April 2008
Corporate Marketing as Carbon NeutralLegal Issues, with J. Braddock, 2008 Carbon and Climate Change Conference, UTCLE, Austin, Texas, April 24-25, 2008, presentation and article
Doing Environmental Due Diligence, American College of Real Estate Lawyers Quarterly, (May 2006) and ABA-SEER Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee Newsletter (Nov. 2006)
Proper Environmental Due Diligence should be part of a Stock Acquisition, article, Austin Business Journal, December 3, 2004, reprinted in Birmingham Business Journal, January 17, 2005 and Dallas Business Journal
Whos Liable Now New Federal Brownfields Legislation, with B. Phillippi, article, Texas Bar Journal, December 2002, re-printed in Minnesota Real Estate Law Journal MarchApril 2003 and in Real Estate Issues, Winter 2003-2004.
MTBE Use in Gasoline Opens Pandoras Box, with C. Fernandez, article, Texas Lawyer, November 18, 2002.
Environmental Issues in Real Estate Transactions, State Bar of Texas, Advanced Real Estate Law Course (July 1999).
This Land is Your Land This Land is My Land Environmental Issues in Real Estate Transactions, with M. Menicucci and M. Mendoza, CLE Online (May 1999).
Environmental Implications of Business Transactions, with M. Menicucci, University of Texas School of Law, 6th Annual Hazardous and Solid Waste Management Institute (October 1994).
Structuring to Allocate Environmental Risks, with S.G. Zachos, 11th Annual Advanced Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Course (October 1993).
Emission Reduction Credits Transactional Documentation, with C. Coon and M. Simmons (Mendoza), CLE International (September 1993)
Environmental Implications of Business Transactions, with R. Pressley, University of Texas School of Law Fourth Annual Hazardous and Solid Waste Management Institute (October 1992).
Dealing with Environmental Issues in Real Estate Contracts, with M. Menicucci, State Bar of Texas Advanced Real Estate Drafting Course (January 1992)
Environmental Implications of Business Transactions, University of Texas School of Law Third Annual Hazardous and Solid Waste Management Institute (October 1991).
Lender Concerns Under Environmental Laws, State Bar of Texas Environmental Law Journal (April 1990).
Environmental Law Concerns in Real Estate Transactions, Southwestern Law Journal, Southern Methodist University (February 1990).
Environmental Problems and Broker Liability in Business Transactions, with G. Lipe, Natural Resources & Environment, Journal of the Section of Natural Resources Law of the American Bar Association (Fall 1988).
Environmental Concerns in Real Estate Transactions, Advanced Real Estate Law Course, State Bar of Texas (May 1985)
Illustrative Projects:
Represented 2 of 7 energy companies in contested EPA proceeding involving the first NPDES permits issued in the Gulf of Mexico.
Represented Texas Eastern in resolving liabilites with 17 states and EPA associated with the presence of PCBs in their compressors.
Represented GATX in DC Circuit Court and a proposed deep water port in Texas Court of Appeals on issues of whether emissions from vessels should be attributable to vessels.
Assisted Shell in addressing regulatory issues associated with its proposed development of a multi-billion dollar gas-to-liquids project on the Gulf Coast.
Represented American Airlines in its settlement with United Airlines in a bankruptcy proceeding regarding contamination at JFK Airport.
Represented a consortium of underwriters in counseling on environmental risks associated with the TXU buyout by Kohl Kravis and TPG.
Represented the U.S. Department of Treasury in environmental due diligence of new General Motors.
Represented Penn Central Corporation in its settlement of a Superfund case involving a former battery manufacturing facility--the Marathon Battery Site--on the banks of the Hudson River.
Represented the State of Texas, working with DOJ and EPA, in Clean Water Act enforcement litigation against Koch Industries involving over 300 oil spills in six different states.