Shawn LaTourette, the former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, is joining Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in its New Jersey office, the firm announced Thursday.
The addition of LaTourette significantly expands the geographic reach of Greenberg Traurig’s highly ranked global Environmental Practice into one of the nation’s most consequential environmental law and policy markets.
The firm’s Environmental Practice will serve clients with state-specific, federal and multijurisdictional needs.
In such high-growth sectors as energy, logistics, information technology (including artificial intelligence) and infrastructure, LaTourette will equip clients with purpose-built permitting and development strategies designed to mitigate risk and deliver major projects. Drawing from private- and public-sector experience resolving complex environmental disputes, LaTourette will represent clients in environmental investigations, civil enforcement actions and litigation at the state and federal levels.
LaTourette also will provide strategic, legal and policy counsel to clients navigating regulatory changes, internal environmental affairs and commercial transactions with significant environmental considerations.
In many ways, LaTourette’s connection to the firm runs deep.
Phil Sellinger, the co-chair of the firm’s global Litigation Practice and founding chair of the firm’s New Jersey office, worked closely with LaTourette on a joint federal and state water-quality investigation while Sellinger was serving as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Sellinger applauded the announcement.
“Shawn’s arrival marks a defining moment for our New Jersey office and reflects our continued commitment to building a practice here that matches the depth and ambition of what our clients require,” he said.
As NJDEP Commissioner, LaTourette directed a complex state environmental and natural-resource management agency, overseeing a staff of 3,400 environmental professionals, enacting regulatory reforms governing emerging environmental, health and safety issues, and leading successful enforcement and litigation strategies that recovered more than $3.5 billion in remediation funding and natural-resource damages.
LaTourette also served as chair of national infrastructure and sustainability initiatives, developing relationships and policy experience extending well beyond New Jersey’s borders.
Before leading NJDEP from 2021-26, LaTourette served as chief legal and regulatory affairs counsel and second-in-command at the agency starting in 2018. Prior to his government service, LaTourette was an environmental law and litigation partner at a Northeast regional law firm, representing private clients in the manufacturing, infrastructure, logistics, energy, real estate and transportation industries before state and federal regulatory agencies and the courts.
LaTourette said he is eager to get started.
“Greenberg Traurig’s national platform and the depth of its existing environmental capabilities make it the right home from which to build a practice with genuine local roots and national reach — one that can service clients facing very complex and consequential environmental challenges across growth industries and legacy liabilities alike,” he said. “I am excited to begin this next chapter of my career alongside the accomplished lawyers of Greenberg Traurig’s New Jersey office and to contribute to the firm’s growing global Environmental Practice.”
New Jersey’s central role in developing bedrock American environmental law, and as a pioneer in shaping the modern regulatory landscape, makes it a particularly significant market for the expansion.
Early New Jersey statutory and regulatory frameworks, including Superfund-style liability structures, were later replicated by federal authorities and other states. More recent New Jersey environmental laws and policies have similarly informed business and government decision-makers across the country — including emerging-contaminant regulations, flood-safety standards, sustainable-materials management paradigms and environmental-justice and enforcement initiatives shaped by LaTourette.
Steven Russo, co-chair of the firm’s global Environmental Practice, said LaTourette is a perfect fit.
“New Jersey has long been where environmental law is made, and Shawn has been at the center of that for years, both in shaping policy and in enforcing it,” he said. “His combination of regulatory leadership, litigation experience and national relationships will strengthen our Environmental Practice in ways that benefit clients far beyond the region.”
His addition positions Greenberg Traurig to serve the distinct in-state needs of clients with New Jersey environmental obligations while leveraging that experience nationally.
Former Gov. Phil Murphy was impressed.
“Shawn was an indispensable member of our cabinet who deftly navigated the toughest environmental, energy and infrastructure issues for the benefit of millions of New Jerseyans,” he said. “His legal acumen was key to our regulatory modernization initiatives and a driving force behind our resolution of major environmental enforcement matters, while his expertise in project delivery enabled us to deploy a historic $6.7 billion investment in environmental infrastructure.
“Shawn will surely serve his clients with the same drive and integrity, and I congratulate former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger and Greenberg Traurig on this outstanding addition to their team.”
