September 04, 2001

Former Environmental Chief From DOJ, Margaret Strand, Joins Venable

2 min

Washington, D.C.  9/04/01 --- Venable announced today that Peggy Strand has joined the firm as partner in the Environmental Group. Ms. Strand, who served from 1984 to 1991 as chief of the Environmental Defense Section in the U.S. Justice Department, is well known nationally for her work in federal wetlands law and multi-media environmental compliance for major development projects.

In joining Venable, Ms. Strand reunites with many of her former colleagues at the Justice Department, including Venable environmental practice group chair Jud Starr and Venable partner Jerry Block. Messrs. Starr and Block are former chiefs of the Environmental Crimes Section at the Justice Department, having both served in that capacity while Ms. Strand was in charge of Environmental Defense.

"We couldn't be more pleased that our former colleague at the Justice Department is with us here under one roof," says Mr. Starr. "She is a nationally known figure on wetlands and land development issues and rounds out our long-established environmental practice here at Venable. With Peggy anchoring our civil environmental counseling and litigation, that practice, combined with our environmental crimes practice, ranks our environmental group's skills and experience second to none," adds Mr. Starr.

During Ms. Strand's government tenure, she supervised attorneys conducting litigation involving the regulatory programs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ms. Strand worked on federal environmental policy issues involving Congress as well as executive branch entities, including the White House, the Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Environmental Quality. She also worked closely with the General Services Administration and the Defense and Energy Departments on the special issues of environmental compliance for federally-owned property.

Ms. Strand earned a JD degree from the College of William and Mary, an MA degree from the University of Rhode Island and a BA from the University of Rochester. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Virginia, United States Supreme Court and multiple federal district and appellate courts. Prior to joining Venable, Ms. Strand was a partner with Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, LLP.

One of the American Lawyer’s top 100 law firms, Venable LLP has attorneys practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia.