Jane C. Luxton is a partner in the Environmental Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton LLP, resident in the Washington office. She is chair of the firm’s Sustainability, CleanTech and Climate Change Team. Ms. Luxton concentrates her practice on environmental matters.
Ms. Luxton has extensive experience in environmental regulatory and litigation matters, with an emphasis on metals production and processing, and products containing metals. Her experience includes federal and state environmental laws as well as international environmental regimes.
Ms. Luxton’s expertise also includes climate change-related issues, Endangered Species Act (including its intersection with climate change concerns), natural resource damage actions, energy (including alternative energy sources), fisheries and coastal zone management issues. As part of Ms. Luxton’s alternative energy practice, she advises clients regarding financial incentives, including participation in senior corporate acquisition and expansion strategy team efforts on renewables and financial incentives.
Prior to joining Pepper, Ms. Luxton was general counsel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As such, she was the chief legal officer for all NOAA activities as well as policy advisor to the undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. In addition, she provided overall management and leadership to more than 100 attorneys.
In 2008, Ms. Luxton received a Presidential appointment as a commissioner of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. For her work at NOAA, Ms. Luxton was recognized twice with the U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award (2008, 2009).
Before that, Ms. Luxton practiced environmental law for more than 20 years, most recently as a partner with King & Spalding. Her practice included establishing and managing coalitions of associations and companies to address a particular set of issues. She also has experience in international trade and antitrust matters.
Ms. Luxton was appointed as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice in 1978. While there, she received the Attorney General’s Award for prosecution of complex litigation. In 1981, she served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Ms. Luxton is immediate past chair of the International Environmental Law Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section on Environment, Energy and Resources, and currently serves as vice chair at large.
While in private practice, Ms. Luxton has regularly been recognized as a leading practitioner of environmental law by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and other attorney ranking publications.
Ms. Luxton’s recent publications and speaking engagements include:
- “Meeting the New Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards: What Companies Need to Know,” 63-76, Inside the Minds: Recent Developments in Greenhouse Gas Regulations, (Eddie Fournier ed., Thompson Reuters/Aspatore 2010)
- “The Nuts and Bolts of Solar Energy and How It Impacts Environmental Lawyers” (speaker), ExecSense Webinars (July 13, 2010)
- “How to Turn Blighted Property into Community Assets through Re-powering” (co-author), Environmental Leader (July 6, 2010)
- “Industry Cries Foul to EPA’s Attempt to Regulate GHG Emissions Using the Clean Air Act” (co-author), Sustainable Development Law & Policy: Climate Law Reporter (Winter 2010)
- “Another Climate Shoe Drops: The SEC Climate Change Disclosure Guidance,” (co-author), Pepper Hamilton LLP Sustainability, CleanTech and Climate Change Alert (February 2010)
- “Second and Fifth Circuits Open the Door to Climate Change Public Nuisance Lawsuits” (co-author), The Essential HazMat News (February 2010) and Pepper Hamilton LLP Sustainability, CleanTech and Climate Change Alert (October 2009)
- “Rx for Trouble: Health Care Facilities Pay Fines for Flushing Drugs Down the Drain” (co-author), Pepper Hamilton LLP Health Care Law Alert (February 2010)
- “Green for Green: Federal and State Tax Breaks for Renewable Energy Projects” (co-author), Practical U.S./Domestic Tax Strategies (January 2010) and Pepper Hamilton LLP Sustainability, CleanTech and Climate Change Alert (January 2010) (under the title “Green for Green: Financial Incentives Available for Renewable Energy Development”)
- “Climate Change and the ESA: Regulatory Decisions Keep Litigation Prospects Strong,” Washington Legal Foundation (July 2009).
Ms. Luxton is a member of the District of Columbia bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court as well as the Fourth, Eleventh, District of Columbia and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal.
