For 40 years, Bill Weissman has focused his practice on representing clients before government agencies, with an emphasis in the past quarter century on environmental regulations, legislation and litigation. Mr. Weissman has been counsel to the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group (USWAG), a consortium of electric utilities and trade associations, for 30 years. In 1986, he was joined by Venable partner Douglas H. Green in representing USWAG; together they bring nearly a quarter century of experience in addressing compliance and enforcement issues arising under the:

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA);
• The Clean Water Act (CWA)
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA);
• Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA);
• Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); and
• Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA).

Mr. Weissman also frequently represents trade associations and individual companies before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), and the U.S. Congress on a range of solid and hazardous waste regulatory policy, compliance and enforcement issues. He has served as the Washington legislative representative for a Midwestern electric utility company. He also has litigated more than 50 cases concerning these matters before various state and federal courts.

Mr. Weissman's clients benefit from his long experience litigating complex environmental compliance and administrative law issues. Because many client issues lack established regulatory guidelines, he works closely with federal and state regulators to develop regulatory frameworks that protect the interest of our clients as well as the public.

In addition, he has broad experience with telecommunications and antitrust counseling and litigation.

Representative Clients

Throughout his career, Mr. Weissman has represented numerous utilities, industrial companies, and trade associations.

Significant Matters

Mr. Weissman, who has filed many amicus curiae briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court on a range of issues, has represented:

• Pesticide producers before trial and appellate courts, and the Supreme Court, in cases involving the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
• A target of federal suspension/debarment proceedings brought by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
• Seventy members of the U.S. House of Representatives in an amicus curiae brief concerning a leading school integration case before the Supreme Court in 2007.
• Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Weissman spent three years as a trial attorney with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C.

Activities

Mr. Weissman has taught "Effective Brief Writing and Oral Advocacy" at the Georgetown University Law Center/D.C. Bar continuing legal education program and participates frequently in seminars, bar association programs and training programs for corporate personnel on compliance with environmental laws and regulations.