Mark E. Freeze

Special Counsel

• mfreeze@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Phoenix Office

Mark E. Freeze is special counsel in the Phoenix office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.  His practice encompasses environmental, toxic tort and complex civil litigation, environmental enforcement defense, and environmental counseling.

Mr. Freeze has represented both public and private clients in complex environmental and toxic tort litigation.  He has negotiated favorable settlements for his clients with the United States EPA and with various state environmental agencies.  He has obtained dismissals for his clients in Superfund and toxic tort litigation.  Mr. Freeze has also successfully recovered millions of dollars in response costs for Superfund plaintiffs.  Additionally, he has defended numerous federal and state agency enforcement actions, and citizen suit enforcement actions, brought pursuant to the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Mr. Freeze has also represented insurance companies in environmental coverage litigation and on reinsurance claims.  He has advised clients on compliance with environmental laws, including spill reporting requirements. He has also advised clients on real estate transactions involving contaminated property, and he has drafted environmental regulations for governmental entities.

Noteworthy

• Instructor, seminars on U.S. Environmental Laws, Advanced U.S. Environmental Laws, Arizona Environmental Laws, South Carolina Environmental Laws, Government Institutes, sponsor, 1995-2004
• Visiting Instructor, ASU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 1995-1996 

Select News & Events

• Steptoe Congratulates Burton Award Winners
• Steptoe Increases Phoenix Litigation Presence
• Climate Change Changes Everything, February 8, 2008, What You Need to Know Regarding Emerging Regulatory & Litigation Issues Concerning Global Warming (A Steptoe-Sponsored Event)
• Current & Emerging Environmental Law Issues, December 7, 2006, (A Steptoe-Sponsored Event)

Publications

• Environmental Newsflash, Issue 15
  EPA Announces Web-Based System For Companies to Self-Disclose Environmental Violations
  August 11, 2008
• Environmental Newsflash, Issue 14
  Recent Ninth Circuit Ruling Likely to Increase NEPA Climate Change Litigation
  June 27, 2008
• Environmental Newsflash, Issue 13
  Fish and Wildlife Service To Reconsider Endangered Species Act Listing of Mexican Garter Snake
  June 10, 2008
• Environmental Newsflash, Issue 12
  New Climate Change Tort Lawsuit Asserts Civil Conspiracy Claim
  March 10, 2008
• Framing the Debate: Global Climate Models
  February 25, 2008
• Climate Change Changes Everything
  PowerPoint Presentation
  February 8, 2008
• A Summary of the Kyoto Protocol and the Marrakesh Accords
  December 3, 2007
• Environmental Newsflash, Issue 11
  What a Federal Greenhouse Gas Cap and Trade Program Might Look Like: A Summary of The Lieberman/Warner Bill - America’s Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191)
  November 5, 2007

More Publications »

Professional Affiliations

• State Bar of Arizona, Member, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section
• Maricopa County bar Association, Member, Environmental Law Section
• State Bar of South Carolina, Member, Environmental Law Section