Our Professional Directory

Jeffrey D. Talbert Of Counsel
Practice Focus:	Environmental Law
Office:	Boston, MA Portland, ME
Phone:	207.791.3000
Fax:	207.791.3111
Email:	jtalbert@preti.com
vCard:	Download Jeffrey's vCard

Jeff Talbert joined Preti Flaherty's Portland Office in 2008 and practices with the Environmental Law Group. Jeff is an accomplished environmental lawyer and trial attorney who has worked as both a federal prosecutor and a defense attorney. Jeff's practice focuses on environmental compliance and litigation.

Before joining Preti Flaherty, Jeff was a trial attorney in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. During his time at the Department of Justice, Jeff worked with federal and state agencies to develop and prosecute cases under the United States' environmental laws including CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. At the Department of Justice, Jeff led a team of attorneys that obtained the largest penalty under the Clean Water Act for permit violations (United States v. Massey Energy Company) and helped obtain the United States' largest natural resource damages recovery to date under the Park Services Resource Protection Act (United States v. Water Supply and Storage Company). Jeff also litigated one of the few cases to go to trial under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration program of the Clean Air Act (United States v. Westvaco Corporation) and handled numerous cases involving CERCLA and RCRA.

Jeff received numerous awards at the Department of Justice, including several Special Achievement Awards and Special Recognition Awards, and was nominated by the Environmental Enforcement Section for an Attorney General Award for his contributions.

Before going to the Department of Justice, Jeff worked as an attorney in the litigation department of White & Case LLP in Washington, D.C. At White & Case, Jeff counseled and defended domestic and foreign corporations in actions by citizen groups, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Department of Justice. In particular, Jeff handled four major trials, undertaking and managing almost every phase of each of those pieces of litigation, including discovery, motions practice, and trial.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS – ENVIRONMENTAL

As lead trial counsel in a hotly-contested remedy dispute proceeding, Jeff managed all of the numerous trial related issues (including managing 15 expert witnesses) as well as advised the client on public relations and community relations issues associated with contesting a remedial decision involving a proposed $250M remedy.

As a trial attorney with the Department of Justice and defense attornery at White and Case, Jeff had numerous roles in many significant matters, such as:

• Counsel prosecuting civil action under Clean Air Act against a major pulp and paper mill corporation.
• Counsel developing case for EPA against large pharmaceutical corporation under the Clean Air Act.
• Lead-counsel in civil prosecution against fourth largest coal company in the U.S. and 26 of its subsidiaries for permit violations. Obtained $20 million penalty and company-wide injunctive relief valued by EPA at approximately $10 million.
• Counsel in case against sanitation district serving over a million customers for sanitary sewer overflows violating the Clean Water Act.
• Counsel in civil prosecution against corporation for damages to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado for natural resource damages. Settlement on the eve of trial for $9 million.
• Counsel in several natural resource damages cases under CERCLA.
• Lead counsel in several actions against corporations of various sizes and a municipality to recover EPA's response costs under CERCLA.
• Counsel in several RCRA cases against corporations of various sizes.

Representative Non-Environmental Litigation Matters:

• Counsel in successful defense of a major antitrust action brought by U.S. Federal Trade Commission against pharmaceutical manufacturers relating to settlement of patent litigation. After 40-day trial, won defense verdict. Defended private class actions in Multi-District Litigation.
• Counsel in successful defense of various Asian rubber-thread manufacturers against civil allegations of price-fixing in violation of U.S. antitrust laws. Succeeded in defeating $100 million civil class action, winning jury verdict.
• Counsel in successful defense of major Saudi bank alleged to have financially supported terrorism. Won pre-trial dismissal of $1 billion claim.
• Counsel defending against major antitrust action brought by Department of Justice. In two-week trial, successfully refuted allegations of territorial allocation among competitors in paper industry.
• Counsel defending litigated merger challenge in SunGard/Comdisco and reaching a negotiated solution to a potential merger challenge in Metso/Svedala.

Admissions

Maine; Massachusetts; District of Columbia; Hawaii