Tisha Pagalilauan

 
 

Tisha serves as lead counsel for clients that include Fortune 200 companies, municipalities, and regional businesses. Her environmental and natural resources practice includes advising on hazardous waste compliance and regulatory processes under CERCLA and MTCA, water quality under the Clean Water Act in enforcement actions and citizens suits, complex liability negotiations, and strategic advice across all environmental media.

Tisha is an elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a Leading Practitioner in Chambers USA, named to Best Lawyers in America, and named as a Super Lawyer and has been included in the “Top 100 Lawyers” and “Top 50 Women” lists.

Professional Experience

  • Represent potentially responsible parties at multi-party federal and state hazardous waste sites. Clients have included owners and operators of sites, generators of waste, and transporters of waste from a broad range of industries. Representation includes negotiation of cleanups, cost allocation, natural resource damages, and contribution actions.

  • Advise clients on Clean Water Act regulatory compliance and litigation.

  • Represent clients in state administrative actions challenging penalties issued under the Clean Air Act.

  • Represent clients in insurance recovery actions in negotiations, mediations, arbitrations, and state and federal court litigation.

  • Advise clients on environmental risk mitigation including procurement of environmental insurance policies, and manuscript insurance policies.

  • Advise clients on claims based on the debtor’s environmental liabilities in bankruptcy actions.

  • Advise industrial clients about compliance with pollution control, including negotiation of enforcement and corrective action with governmental agencies.

  • Advise regarding environmental risk and liabilities associated with corporate transactions including mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances.

  • Advise regarding environmental liabilities in real estate transactions, including brownfield redevelopment, and disputes between predecessor and successor owners.

  • Negotiate “risk” transfer to contractor to cap client’s CERCLA liability.

  • Advise regarding release reporting obligations and emergency response.

Honors

  • Leading Practitioner in Chambers USA (2015 – present)

  • Named to Best Lawyers in America (2013 – present)

  • Named Super Lawyer ® (2012 – present), “Top 100 Lawyers,” and "Top 50 Women" (2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020)

  • Recipient of 2005 Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyer's Division Professionalism Award

  • Named one of Lawdragon's 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyers in America (2021– 2022)

  • Lawdragon Green 500: Leaders in Environmental Law - Lawdragon (2023)

BAR and Civic Activities

Select Publications and Presentations

  • Author, Real Property Deskbook Volume 7: Environmental Regulation, Chapter on “Washington Model Toxics Control Act,” Washington State Bar Association (2018)

  • ABA Women Trailblazers in the Law Interviewer, "Ada Shen-Jaffe" (2013)   

  • Co-Author (with A. Peck & M. Quasius), “Federal Environmental Law Update,” Environmental & Land Use Law Newsletter, ELUL Section, Washington State Bar Association, Vol. 37 n.1 (May 2010)

  • Author (with H. Harris), "Federal Court Imposes CERCLA Liability for Passive Migration of Hazardous Substances," Outlook: Environmental and Natural Resources Section, Oregon State Bar, v. 6 n. 1 (2004)


 
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Joseph A. Rehberger