Overview
Deborah Schmall is widely recognized as one of the leading environmental law practitioners in California. She recently served as the Co-Chair of the Global Environment and Energy Practice at Paul Hastings. She is ranked Band One in Chambers for California Environmental Law.
Starting with her career at the U.S. Justice Department’s Environmental Enforcement Section, where she prosecuted civil and criminal enforcement matters under a range of federal environmental laws, Deborah has practiced environmental law for decades. Her specialty areas include:
- Government enforcement actions and citizen suits.
- Complex, multi-party remediation driven by federal or state agencies or private parties and related dispute resolution proceedings.
- Hazardous materials or waste regulatory compliance and permitting.
- Water quality regulatory compliance and permitting.
- Facility closure regulatory compliance and permitting.
In addition, clients turn to Deborah for her strategic counsel at high-profile Brownfield developments, including the Mission Bay development in San Francisco, the former proposed new MLB stadium at Howard Terminal in Oakland, and a pending mixed-use development over a regulated landfill in Santa Clara. Deborah also has led environmental negotiations in connection with large M&A transactions for petroleum and pharmaceutical companies, mid-market divestitures and acquisitions, and more than 100 real property transactions.
Deborah’s practice spans a range of industries: pharmaceutical, technology, telecommunications, natural resources, and residential and commercial development. Her representative clients include AT&T, BHP Petroleum, Cargill, Genentech Inc., Prologis, the Oakland Athletics, and Western Digital Corporation. In 2024, Chambers noted her clients described her as “best-in-class in all matters environmental and deal-related” and that she is “excellent, responsive, thorough, and successful.”
Over her career, Deborah has been active in environmental policy matters. She was one of the founding members of the California State Bar’s Environmental Law Section (now a part of the California Lawyers Association) and served on its first Executive Committee. She has also served as an invited member of a private-government collaborative group focusing on Brownfield regulatory reform, and is on the board of directors of the Center for Creative Land Recycling, a national non-profit organization promoting progressive governmental policies and funding for Brownfield developments.
Recognitions
- Recommended for Legal 500 Environment: Litigation
- Ranked in Chambers USA for California Environment (2002 – present); current Band 1 ranking
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America, Legal 500, and International Who's Who of Business Lawyers
- Named Best Lawyers’ 2023 San Francisco Environmental Law “Lawyer of the Year”
- Named Best Lawyers’ 2015 San Francisco Environmental Law “Lawyer of the Year”
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1977
- Pomona College, B.A., 1974
Representations
- Counseling and representing a multinational pharmaceutical company in a range of environmental regulatory issues, including those involving the application of RCRA air regulatory requirements to lab sinks and vents, the application of hazardous waste regulatory requirements to reverse distribution schemes of trial drugs, process safety management and failure analysis issues in manufacturing operations, safety issues involving certain large-scale refrigerants, and hazardous material release reporting issues.
- Representing a biotechnology corporation as its lead outside environmental regulatory counsel for the past 20 years, as well as in its acquisition or divestment of manufacturing or R&D facilities in California, Oregon, Colorado, and Singapore.
- Representing a Swiss multinational healthcare company as its lead legal strategist for the extensive ongoing RCRA groundwater corrective action at its pharma manufacturing campus in Nutley, New Jersey, and served at the company’s lead environmental counsel for the sale and repurposing of the facility into a medical/nursing school.
- Representing an international technology company in efforts to renew its RCRA hazardous waste treatment permit, and in investigating employee whistleblower complaints involving environmental issues.
- Defending several large companies (including a multinational conglomerate holding company) in multi-jurisdictional enforcement actions initiated by the California Attorney General's office in partnership with numerous District Attorneys throughout California. These actions have included defending extensive government subpoenas and compelled sworn client testimony prior to litigation under California's general investigative statutes. The subject matter of these large enforcement matters has ranged from hazardous waste to electronic waste, and from UST violations to biomass management.
- Represented a range of companies in multi-party groundwater remediation litigation and pre-litigation matters, under CERCLA or state law, in states ranging from Hawaii, to New Mexico to Maine.
- Representing a telecommunications company before U.S. EPA and state agencies in a broad range of environmental regulatory issues, including obtaining EPA approval of alternative methods to comply with generator air monitoring requirements under NSPS and NESHAPs regulations, defending U.S. EPA and state enforcement allegations involving SPCC requirements, and advising on the sale of surplus energy to third parties in demand-response periods.
Engagement & Publications
- Panelist, Yosemite Environmental Law Institute, October 2020, CERCLA at 40.
- Moderator, Bar Association of San Francisco, April 2020, Impact of COVID on Environmental Business and Transactions.
- Panelist, Environmental Law Institute, March 2019, Federal and State Chemical Regulation.
- Panelist, California Land Recycling Conference, October 2018, Developments on Landfills.
- Panelist, Yosemite Environmental Law Institute, October 2014, Developments in Environmental Enforcement.
- Panelist, Yosemite Environmental Law Institute, October 2012, Talking with the Government.
- Panelist, Bar Association of San Francisco, February 2012, Basics of California Hazardous Waste Law.
Involvement
- Former Member and Secretary, Board of Directors of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
- Member and Secretary, Board of Directors of the Center for Creative Land Recycling
- Appointed Member, DTSC Section 128(a) Land Revitalization & Redevelopment Collaborative
- Founding member and a former Executive Committee member of the California State Bar's Environmental Law Section
- Former member, Advisory Board of Sustainable Conservation
- Former Advisory Council, Environmental Law Institute