Wiley Rein & Fielding Continues Expansion: Leading Chemicals, Safety & Environment Group Joins Firm

February 1, 2005

Washington, DC—Wiley Rein & Fielding is pleased to announce the addition of an outstanding team of leading environmental, chemical regulation and transportation safety professionals. David B. Weinberg, Tracy Heinzman and Eric Andreas join WRF from the Washington, DC office of Howrey Simon Arnold & White, together with regulatory analysts Saskia Mooney and George Kerchner from Howrey’s affiliated CapAnalysis Group. Mr. Weinberg chaired Howrey’s Environmental Practice Group. At WRF the group will continue to serve as the core of a new, comprehensive Chemicals, Safety & Environment Practice that will be fully integrated with the firm’s extensive litigation, product safety and regulatory practices.

Managing Partner Richard E. Wiley commented on the arrival of the group, "This group has a well-deserved reputation for excellence and we are delighted to welcome them to the firm. Their talents and abilities are a wonderful fit with our existing capabilities and will provide our clients with a wealth of complementary services."

David B. Weinberg, frequently named a top environmental lawyer, will lead WRF’s Chemicals, Safety & Environment Practice Group. He brings to the firm an unmatched depth of experience in his field. In the course of his thirty-year professional career, Mr. Weinberg has litigated cases in federal and state courts throughout the United States and represented clients in administrative enforcement proceedings, mediations and arbitrations. He serves as counsel to two battery industry trade associations, and has extensive expertise in pesticide regulation and competition issues. In 1981, he negotiated the first settlement of a governmental Superfund suit and since has handled similar matters in two-dozen states. At WRF, he will continue to represent corporate clients in arbitration, litigation and enforcement actions and will counsel firms on regulatory, environmental compliance, transactional and international trade matters, as well as represent trade associations on administrative and legislative policy issues. Mr. Weinberg received his J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an LL.M. from Georgetown University.

Tracy Heinzman, a former Partner in Howrey’s Environmental Practice, brings more than a dozen years of experience to WRF’sChemicals, Safety & Environment Group, which she will also serve as a Partner. With an established reputation for expertise in the regulatory, litigation and competitive aspects of pesticide, biocide and food safety regulation, Ms. Heinzman will continue to represent clients-including businesses that manufacture and market chemicals, pesticides, biocides and other highly regulated products-on a broad range of environmental, health and safety matters. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School.

Eric Andreas, a former geologist with the United States Geological Survey, will serve as an Associate with the firm, handling a variety of matters under a wide range of Federal environmental regulatory statutes. Mr. Andreas is experienced in all phases of litigation, and has defended environmental and hazardous materials transportation enforcement cases around the nation, and represents companies in connection with complex pesticide regulatory and data sharing disputes. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Pace University School of Law.

Regulatory Analyst Saskia Mooney has more than 15 years of experience in the environmental regulatory field, working with counsel to provide environmental compliance consulting services to industry association and corporate clients. She monitors, analyzes and represents clients in connection with proposed state, federal and international legislative and regulatory policy initiatives covering a wide array of topics, including product collection and recycling, environmental labeling, and air and water emission controls. Ms. Mooney also regularly assists clients in assessing compliance and other obligations arising under the nation’s pesticide laws.

Regulatory Analyst George Kerchner holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Science and is an expert on domestic and international hazardous materials transportation regulation. He counsels companies, provides training services and represents clients in national and international forums. Mr. Kerchner has extensive experience with regulatory issues pertaining to the battery, telecommunications and computer industries. Mr. Kerchner serves as Administrator for the IEC Technical Advisory Group that deals with rechargeable batteries. He interacts frequently with staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on policy matters, regulatory exemptions and approvals and proposed rules.