Katherine Vanderhook-Gomez adds to Hogan Lovells environmental capabilities in Washington, D.C., building on recent momentum

Vanderhook-Gomez joins from 3M Company, where she served as Director and Assistant General Counsel in the Enterprise Risk Management group, advising on environmental compliance and enforcement matters, including those arising from the continuing and intense focus on PFAS.

“Kathy is one of the most in-demand environmental lawyers in the industry,” said Janice Hogan, Global Practice Group Leader for the Global Regulatory & IPMT group. “With deep private and public sector experience on some of the nation’s toughest environmental challenges, including clean-ups under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and matters related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), we know that clients will benefit greatly from her strategic counsel. We are thrilled to welcome her to the firm.”

Over nearly two decades, Vanderhook-Gomez has built her practice advising on compliance and civil litigation matters arising under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, RCRA, and other federal environmental statutes. At 3M, she principally advised on the company’s environmental compliance and risk management, including leading the company’s response to PFAS litigation and enforcement matters arising from chemical manufacturing. Prior to her tenure at 3M, Kathy served as the Director of Legal Affairs for the Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust, providing compliance and strategic advice related to CERCLA and RCRA implementation, as well as representing the Trust before the Department of Justice (DOJ), Environmental Protection Agency, and state agencies on liability matters including property transfers, remediation, and construction.

Prior to this, Vanderhook-Gomez worked at the U.S. Department of Justice for fifteen years as a trial attorney and then as senior counsel. In these capacities, she led civil enforcement matters on behalf of EPA under the Clean Air Act, RCRA, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, and other environmental statutes. She achieved the highly favorable settlement of a Remedial Design and Remedial Action CERCLA enforcement matter involving forty-two signatories, including large private corporations, the City of Baltimore, state agencies, and federal and state natural resource trustees. She served as a core member of a team of attorneys on several high-impact Clean Air Act matters, and earned DOJ’s John Marshall Award, the highest award given by DOJ to attorneys.

“With capabilities across many of the strategic priorities for our practice area, including on PFAS, Clean Air Act, and environmental compliance and civil litigation matters, she is a natural addition here, and we are eager to have her aboard,” said Adam Kushner, Co-Practice Area Lead of Hogan Lovells’ Environment and Natural Resources practice area. “Our environmental practice is experiencing tremendous growth, particularly across the Americas region, and we look forward to the continued expansion of our U.S. offering.”

Since 2020, Hogan Lovells’ Environment and Natural Resources practice has welcomed nearly two dozen lawyers, including at least six partners and counsel with first-chair trial experience, to its offices in Houston, Northern California, Washington, D.C., Denver, Mexico City, and Paris. The firm also announced last week that Energy Regulatory partners Christine Le Bihan-Graf and Laure Rosenblieh joined the Global Regulatory & IPMT practice, based in Paris.

“We welcome Kathy at a key time for our global Energy Transition platform, which has experienced rapid growth in the past 18 months in offices across the U.S., as well as in Paris, London, Germany, and Singapore,” said Brian Chappell, Co-Leader for the Energy & Natural Resources sector. “Building on Kathy’s experience in environmental litigation and compliance, a key priority for clients across a number of sectors, we are extremely well positioned to continue strengthening our energy capabilities globally.”

Washington, D.C. Office Managing Partner Ajay Kuntamukkala added: “Kathy is a pillar in the D.C. legal community, with extensive experience both in-house and in government. She has also been an effective mentor of junior lawyers, including diverse lawyers, throughout the community, and has led on several ESG-related and Continuing Legal Education initiatives. Her arrival comes at a time of continued growth and success in our firm’s largest U.S. office.”

Vanderhook-Gomez said, commenting on her arrival: “I have long admired and respected Hogan Lovells’ environmental practice, which is one of the strongest in the nation. Following on the heels of several high-profile additions, I look forward to building upon this momentum and further expanding both my practice and the firm’s environmental capabilities in the U.S. and globally.”

Vanderhook-Gomez previously served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Bruce W. Kauffman, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, as well as a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and her B.A. from Swarthmore College.

About the Hogan Lovells’ Washington, D.C. office

Since 1904, our lawyers in the nation's capital have been instrumental in assisting clients in conquering their most toughest commercial, regulatory, and legal obstacles. Hogan Lovells’ Washington, D.C. office is the firm’s largest office in the United States, with more than 500 lawyers representing all of our legal practice groups. We are proud to be a global leader that delivers exceptional legal services in highly regulated sectors, with a deep understanding of how geopolitics, political risks, and regulatory issues affect industry. The Washington, D.C. office is also home to the firm’s largest practice groups—Corporate & Finance, Global Regulatory, and Litigation—as well as to our pro bono practice, which in 2020 celebrated 50 years of bringing legal representation to the people and communities that need it most.