The global law firm Jones Day has announced that Tom Skinner has joined the Firm as a partner in the Chicago Office. He formerly served as acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as U.S. EPA Region 5 Administrator, and as Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. He most recently was head of the environmental law group at Mayer Brown LLP.

 

Mr. Skinner’s practice focuses on environmental litigation, federal and state civil and criminal enforcement matters, regulatory and permitting issues, and counseling, including crisis response.

 

“Besides his national prominence as an environmental lawyer, Tom has unusually broad government experience and deep roots in Illinois,” said Dan Reidy, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s Chicago Office. “We are very happy to welcome him to the Firm.”

 

“Tom’s high-level, soup-to-nuts experience over the full spectrum of environmental disputes and concerns will be highly valued by clients both in the Midwest and beyond,” said Kevin Holewinski, a partner who coordinates Jones Day’s Environmental, Health & Safety Practice.

 

Mr. Skinner served from 2004 to 2005 as acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he headed the national civil and criminal enforcement program, with broad responsibility for ensuring compliance with federal statutes and regulations. In that role, he worked extensively with the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies; federal, state and local governments; business and public interest groups; Native American tribes; and the media. He also served as an EPA Regional Administrator from 2001 to 2003 and again in 2006, where he was chief executive of a six-state (IL, MI, OH, IN, WI, MN) federal region responsible for implementation and enforcement of federal environmental programs, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Superfund. He also was head of EPA’s Great Lakes National Program, with responsibility for federal environmental activities affecting the Great Lakes. Mr. Skinner was also Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, from 1999 to 2001, with responsibility for implementing and enforcing state air, water, and land environmental programs.

 

A graduate of Northwestern University School of Law (JD, 1987; Member, Northwestern University Law Review) and Lawrence University (BA, cum laude, 1983), Mr. Skinner served as a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Charles P. Kocoras of the United States District Court (1987-1988), and as a Law Clerk in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois (1986).