Yvonne is chair of Barclay Damon’s Environmental and Lobbying & Election Law Compliance Practice Areas as well as co-team leader of the oil and gas, linear infrastructure, and energy markets teams. She primarily concentrates her practice on project siting and high-profile environmental and regulatory litigation in both administrative and judicial forums. Yvonne is well known for her strategic advice on navigating the ever-growing opposition to energy siting and successfully developing energy projects, with a strong focus on positioning clients to succeed in any resulting litigation.
Yvonne advises clients on a myriad of federal, state, and local laws and regulatory requirements that apply to project permitting and siting, including matters involving the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Coastal Zone Management Act, and related state laws as well as environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the NYS Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). She also assists clients in enforcement matters brought by state and federal regulatory authorities and provides representation before state regulatory commissions in matters involving electric and gas infrastructure and supply, including appropriate cybersecurity protections.
Yvonne regularly represents clients in complex litigations, including commercial, regulatory, and permitting disputes and matters. She has extensive experience handling permit challenges and cost-recovery actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Navigation Law claims, and actions under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Yvonne also counsels clients on navigating state and federal lobbying and election laws. She regularly advises on complex lobbying registration and reporting obligations, campaign contributions and reporting, and helps troubleshoot issues of compliance and civil or criminal exposure. Yvonne also represent clients during investigations, civil-penalty hearings, and criminal referrals resulting from violations of pertinent lobbying and election laws.