WASHINGTON, D.C. - (April 11, 2006) – Margaret Strand, a partner with Venable LLP’s Transportation and Infrastructure practice, has been named chairperson of the Committee on Environmental Law for the National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board (TRB), effective in April. Ms. Strand, who is also a member of Venable LLP’s Environmental Group, will serve a three-year term.
Ms. Strand has served on the Environmental Law Committee since 2002 and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology from 1993 through 2001.
The Committee on Environmental Law serves as a coordinating arm for ongoing NAS research on transportation and environmental issues. The Committee also produces programs twice a year at Transportation Research Board meetings, and publishes The Natural Lawyer, a biannual newsletter that reports on issues of environmental and legal concern to the transportation industry.
Among Ms. Strand’s priorities for her term as chair will be broadening the reach of the Committee and soliciting more participation from non-government and nonprofit groups.
“The Committee on Environmental Law has served a fundamental purpose by addressing issues of importance to the transportation industry and is well regarded among state and federal participants, as well as among those in the contracting universe,” explains Ms. Strand. “I would like to expand our reach and encourage more involvement from the private sector, as well as from nonprofits specifically interested in environmental issues.”
Ms. Strand contributed to the National Academy of Sciences’ recently issued report entitled “Assessing and Managing the Ecological Impacts of Paved Roads.” The report is the broadest study to date examining how road development in the United States affects the natural environment, in particular wildlife habitats. The 250-page report serves as a virtual road map for state and local highway authorities, as well as engineering and construction companies, to work in concert with environmental groups on highway development.
In March Ms. Strand was appointed by ALI-ABA to its Environmental Law Advisory Panel. The panel lends its expertise to developing new and enhanced ALI-ABA projects, courses, publications and other products. Drawn from around the country, panel members are known for their experience and in-depth knowledge of the law.
Ms. Strand recently served as Special Assistant Attorney General to the State of Utah and negotiated a settlement with the Sierra Club and other conservation groups that allowed for the construction of the newLegacy Parkway along the shores of the Great Salt Lake. From 1984 to 1991, she was Chief of the Environmental Defense Section in the U.S. Justice Department, Environmental and Natural Resources Division. She has also authored numerous works on environmental law issues including the Wetlands Deskbook (Environmental Law Institute, 1993, 1997).
Venable’s Transportation and Infrastructure practice includes attorneys with extensive experience in federal legislative, regulatory and appropriations issues, environmental matters, as well as state and local government counseling. Venable partners have represented clients before the Department of Transportation, its modal administrations, and all of the transportation-related committees of Congress. Jim Burnley, who chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure practice, served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation from 1987 to 1989. John Milliken, another senior member of the practice, served as Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1990 to 1993.
Venable’s Environmental Group provides a full range of legal services on the federal, state and local levels in all areas of environmental law. Its experience ranges from the representation of clients accused of environmental crimes or civil and administrative violations to the counseling of businesses on permitting, planning, and compliance requirements for transportation projects as well as other developments. The environmental group includes three former U.S. Justice Department Section Chiefs, Jud Starr and Jerry Block, along with Ms. Strand.
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.