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Partner
Environmental
Washington
(202) 955-1673 Phone
(202) 778-2201 Fax
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| Practices |
Air
Climate Change Law
and Policy
Environmental
International
Environmental,
Health & Safety Law
- Overview
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Mr. Fichthorn’s practice focuses on environmental and administrative law, with an emphasis on Clean Air Act and other air quality matters and global climate change issues. He provides compliance advice and representation in appellate and district court litigation, agency rulemakings, and administrative adjudications. Mr. Fichthorn’s clients include companies and trade associations in the electric generation industry and manufacturing industries.
Relevant Experience 
- Represented electric utility group respondent in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in case addressing the Environmental Protection Agency's authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases to address global climate change (Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), reversing 415 F.3d 50 (D.C. Cir. 2005)).
- Represents defendant companies in federal appellate and district court litigation in which plaintiffs seek damages and injunctive relief for emissions of greenhouse gases.
- Represented business association plaintiff as lead counsel in a federal constitutional challenge to a state law restricting interstate transactions in air emission allowances, resulting in federal district court and court of appeals decisions holding the state law invalid (Clean Air Markets Group v. Pataki, 338 F.3d 82 (2d Cir. 2003), affirming 194 F. Supp. 2d 147 (N.D.N.Y. 2002)).
- Represented industry clients in appellate litigation and subsequent rulemaking proceedings concerning national air quality standards and federal rules to implement them, and briefed and argued American Trucking Associations case on national air quality standards for particulate matter in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on remand from the Supreme Court (American Trucking Associations v. EPA, 283 F.3d 355 (D.C. Cir. 2002)).
- Presented oral argument in and briefed cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Second Circuit, and Seventh Circuit and in federal district courts.
- Represented client in advisory committee proceedings, federal rulemakings, and extensive appellate litigation on federal Clean Air Act rules to address concerns about interstate pollution and impairment of visibility in national parks.
- Represented clients in successful litigation appeals of compliance deadlines in two states' emission control programs.
- Advised clients on complex compliance obligations under the federal acid rain program (Title IV of the Clean Air Act) and successfully represented a company in obtaining from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency one of the first "nonapplicability" determinations under Title IV.
- Represented companies in appeals of Title IV regulations and negotiated settlement agreements with EPA and environmental organizations to achieve a favorable resolution without full litigation.
- Represented clients in the only successful appeals of EPA's determination of Title IV emission allowance allocations, resulting in a substantial increase in allowances for clients.
- Provided client representation on air quality bills and environmental oversight in Congress.
Background
- Legislative Analyst, House Republican Conference, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., 1980–82
Membership
- Member, District of Columbia Bar and Virginia Bar
- Member, American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
- Admitted to Practice: U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, First Circuit, Second Circuit, Fourth Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Seventh Circuit, Eighth Circuit, Ninth Circuit, and Tenth Circuit; and U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Awards and Professional Recognition
- Named in The Best Lawyers in America®, 2008, 2009, and 2010 editions
Education - J.D., Stanford Law School, 1985
- B.A., Bowling Green State University, summa cum laude, History and Political Science, 1980
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Norman Fichthorn
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