Scott Fulton, the former General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will join Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. as a Principal in the Firm’s Washington, DC office, effective March 25, 2013.
Mr. Fulton was designated by the President in January 2009 to serve as Acting Deputy EPA Administrator and Chief Operating Officer, and was subsequently nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as EPA General Counsel in August 2009. He left EPA in January 2013, after 22 years of distinguished service to the Agency.
Mr. Fulton will join the Firm’s comprehensive environmental and natural resource practice, with an emphasis on providing counseling and strategic advice on domestic regulatory matters, international environmental regulation, and sustainability.
“Scott embodies our Firm’s unique approach to assisting clients with complex global environmental and natural resource regulatory challenges and high-stakes disputes,” said Benjamin F. Wilson, Beveridge & Diamond’s Managing Principal. “Many of us have known and worked with Scott for years. His reputation and intellect are impressive. We are delighted to have him at our firm where we and our clients will benefit from his wisdom and good judgment.”
“Scott is highly respected within EPA, throughout the government, and in the legal community as a whole,” said Steve Herman, a Principal with Beveridge & Diamond and former head of EPA enforcement as the Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance from 1993-2001. “He brings tremendous legal talent and insight into the current activities and priorities of EPA on a wide range of environmental issues.”
Mr. Fulton remarked, “I’m looking forward to using the rich experience I have had in government to help solve environmental problems for clients, and I can think of no better place to do that than with the nation’s premier environmental law firm.”
As EPA’s chief legal counselor and the United States’ lead environmental lawyer, Mr. Fulton counseled EPA on the Agency’s most pressing domestic and international legal issues, played a major role in its advocacy efforts, and led one of the world’s largest environmental law offices.
Highlights of Mr. Fulton’s EPA career include:
- Engaging in and supervising numerous regulatory and policy initiatives related to the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, TSCA reform, chemicals of concern, Superfund, FIFRA/pesticides, and RCRA/hazardous waste.
- Spearheading EPA’s Export Promotion Initiative to stimulate economic development and job growth by promoting for export the $4 billion U.S. environmental goods and services sector.
- Playing a leading role in multilateral international negotiations on regulatory coherence, pollution control, and other critical topics impacting numerous industry sectors.
- Managing U.S. engagement on environmental governance issues with the United Nations and other international stakeholders at the 2012 Rio+20 proceedings.
- Leading the creation of the legal framework for, and the successful defense of, the United States’ program for regulating greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).
- Developing “Environmental Justice Legal Tools” in 2012, setting EPA on a course to enhance environmental quality for hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans.
A dedicated public servant, Mr. Fulton has devoted his career to various roles within EPA, including as the head of the Office of International Affairs and as a Judge on the Environmental Appeals Board. He also served as Assistant Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Mr. Fulton will be the second former EPA General Counsel to actively practice at Beveridge & Diamond. Jonathan Cannon, EPA General Counsel from 1995 to 1998, is a Senior Counsel with the Firm.
