Three environmental crisis & white collar litigators join Hogan Lovells, expanding litigation and regulatory capabilities in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco

Three environmental crisis & white collar litigators join Hogan Lovells, expanding litigation and regulatory capabilities in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco

Press releases | 09 April 2024

Washington, D.C., San Francisco, 9 April 2024 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells announced today that environmental crisis and white collar litigators Nadira Clarke, Lily Chinn, and Anne Carpenter have joined the firm as partners. The trio, who joined from Baker Botts, guide clients through the aftermath of major accidents and provide representation in high-stakes criminal environmental and workplace safety investigations, as well as broader tech, energy, and other compliance matters. Clarke and Carpenter join the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, while Chinn joins in San Francisco.

Their arrival follows that of environmental lawyer Katherine (Kathy) Vanderhook-Gomez, who joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office earlier this week from 3M, where she served as Director and Associate General Counsel in the Enterprise Risk Management group, as well as Energy Regulatory partners Christine Le Bihan-Graf and Laure Rosenblieh, who last week joined the Global Regulatory & IPMT practice, based in Paris.

Des Hogan, Global Head of Hogan Lovells’ Disputes practice group said:

“I am extremely happy to welcome Nadira, Lily, and Anne to the firm. As a firm, we are particularly well recognized for our representation of clients in highly regulated sectors. Their practices, which sit at the intersection of regulatory, investigations, and white collar work, align well with our multidisciplinary approach to solving clients’ most challenging and complex problems in the energy, as well as other sectors.”

Janice Hogan, Global Head of the firm’s Global Regulatory & Intellectual Property, and Media and Technology (IPMT) practice group said:

“This team represents clients in many of their most business-critical issues. Their work in environmental and tech investigations, including with respect to critical infrastructure, strengthens our global capabilities in areas of importance to many of our clients. We are very pleased to welcome them to the firm.”

As a first-chair lawyer, Clarke represents clients in technically complex, high-stakes matters, and is recognized for her aggressive defense of corporations and executives facing large-scale, multi-faceted government investigations. She represents a number of clients in the energy industry, including oil and gas and energy services companies. Clarke previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maryland and a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Chinn advises tech, energy, and manufacturing clients on environmental, workplace safety, trust and safety, and corporate governance issues. She represents clients in complex government investigations across a range of industries, and advises clients on strengthening compliance programs to minimize risk. As a skilled advocate, she does not hesitate to litigate civil or criminal matters to verdict. She previously served as a Trial Attorney in both the U.S. Department of Justice's Environmental Defense Section and Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section.

Carpenter represents clients in multi-agency government investigations and enforcement actions, suspension or debarment proceedings, corporate internal investigations, and corporate compliance counseling. She leverages a unique technical education background to support the routine representation of highly regulated industries, including energy and critical infrastructure clients in enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and equivalent state laws. Prior to her legal career, she was in charge of technical environmental science programming and education for city government.

Clarke, Chinn, and Carpenter commented upon their arrival:

“We are extremely happy to be joining Hogan Lovells, a firm that has one of the strongest environmental litigation teams in the country,” Clarke said. “With this expanded platform, we will be able to represent clients in their most complex matters across the country and around the world,” added Chinn. “In addition, our team looks forward to helping existing clients at the firm face the environmental and compliance challenges which can arise in so many crucial areas of business operations,” Carpenter said.

Adam Kushner, Global Co-Lead of Hogan Lovells’ Environment & Natural Resources practice area, said:

“Clients facing high-stakes environmental and infrastructure challenges are looking for strategic and practical solutions to their toughest regulatory, enforcement, and litigation matters. The addition of this dynamic team, in addition to Kathy’s arrival earlier this week, further builds upon our broad bench serving clients in these crucial areas.”

Stephanie Yonekura, Global Leader of the Investigations, White Collar and Fraud (IWCF) practice area added:

“Nadira, Lily, and Anne have a unique area of practice, and clients turn to them when facing their toughest and most complex matters. Their arrival reflects our continued focus on expanding our practice in critical areas including environmental investigations and litigation.”

Ajay Kuntamukkala, Washington, D.C. Office Managing Partner, said:

“The arrival of Nadira and Anne supports our ongoing commitment to strengthen and expand our Washington, D.C. presence. Long one of Washington, D.C.’s largest law firms, clients count on us to represent them in highly complex regulatory matters and related litigation, and this team fits well with our brand here and globally.”

Megan Nishikawa, San Francisco Office Managing Partner added:

“Lily’s arrival also builds on our robust growth in Northern California. Environmental and consumer litigation are areas of continued importance for clients in the state, and we have built a strong team focused on these areas.” With the addition of Chinn, Hogan Lovells has added more than a dozen lawyers focused on environmental litigation across California since 2020, including five nationally recognized partners with first-chair trial experience.

Clarke earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law; Chinn earned her J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law; and Carpenter earned her J.D. from Pace University School of Law.

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 tough 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 operate at the intersection of business and government, 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.

About the Hogan Lovells San Francisco office

The firm has a targeted focus in San Francisco on practice areas to serve the Northern California market: IP, technology litigation, commercial litigation, technology transactions, strategic IP counseling, and portfolio management. Alongside the world’s largest technology clients, our office represents clients in disputes arising under toxic tort, environmental, consumer protection, advertising, and food and drug laws. Together with our market-leading M&A colleagues in Silicon Valley, we collectively serve the entire Northern California region, representing some of the world’s largest and most innovative companies. The firm recently moved into new San Francisco offices at 4 Embarcadero Center.