Four Decades for Justice
Our environmental lawyers have extensive experience advising and supporting clients on complicated environmental issues across a broad range of contexts, including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity offerings, bank loans and other business transactions. We also advise corporate clients and their boards of directors on evolving, and often novel, challenges and opportunities associated with environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, sustainability concerns and climate change. In addition, we represent clients in complex environmental litigation and investigations, including those relating to remediation matters, climate change and indemnification disputes.
Environmental matters facing businesses are increasingly complex and sophisticated, both legally and scientifically. They often involve difficult technical and regulatory issues that can have significant effects on both day‑to‑day operations and strategic business decisions. As public awareness and investor expectations continue to increase with respect to the management and reporting of such matters, companies must address risks that can impact their financial and reputational core.
We are frequently engaged to assist clients in identifying, assessing and allocating environmental liabilities in corporate transactions, including addressing legal challenges relating to environmental regulatory issues, remediation and other liability matters and SEC environmental disclosure requirements. This also includes the management of significant post‑closing environmental indemnification obligations and legacy liabilities, such as mass toxic tort matters, and resolving environmental‑related contractual disputes. We also regularly advise clients on sustainability reporting and ESG‑related shareholder engagement and proxy matters. Our experience in virtually every industry enables us to understand the long‑term operational and strategic needs of our clients as well as industry‑wide trends and practices, and we use that knowledge to help develop practical solutions to environmental problems and to use environmental opportunities to their best advantage.
Cravath has been ranked as a top‑tier firm for our environmental transactional expertise by Chambers USA since its inception in 2003, and the publication quotes clients as saying:
With respect to environmental‑related litigation, which often can involve high‑stakes disputes across multiple forums and involve novel and varied legal theories, Cravath’s litigators are ideally positioned to secure results that can reshape legal and business landscapes for our clients. In defending against these actions, we draw on our technical knowledge to comprehensively address the substantive claims, while our generalist litigation training equips us with the skills to simultaneously manage, coordinate and direct a successful defense, often of numerous concurrent actions.
Environmental matters facing businesses are increasingly complex and sophisticated, both legally and scientifically. They often involve difficult technical and regulatory issues that can have significant effects on both day‑to‑day operations and strategic business decisions. As public awareness and investor expectations continue to increase with respect to the management and reporting of such matters, companies must address risks that can impact their financial and reputational core.
We are frequently engaged to assist clients in identifying, assessing and allocating environmental liabilities in corporate transactions, including addressing legal challenges relating to environmental regulatory issues, remediation and other liability matters and SEC environmental disclosure requirements. This also includes the management of significant post‑closing environmental indemnification obligations and legacy liabilities, such as mass toxic tort matters, and resolving environmental‑related contractual disputes. We also regularly advise clients on sustainability reporting and ESG‑related shareholder engagement and proxy matters. Our experience in virtually every industry enables us to understand the long‑term operational and strategic needs of our clients as well as industry‑wide trends and practices, and we use that knowledge to help develop practical solutions to environmental problems and to use environmental opportunities to their best advantage.
Cravath has been ranked as a top‑tier firm for our environmental transactional expertise by Chambers USA since its inception in 2003, and the publication quotes clients as saying:
With respect to environmental‑related litigation, which often can involve high‑stakes disputes across multiple forums and involve novel and varied legal theories, Cravath’s litigators are ideally positioned to secure results that can reshape legal and business landscapes for our clients. In defending against these actions, we draw on our technical knowledge to comprehensively address the substantive claims, while our generalist litigation training equips us with the skills to simultaneously manage, coordinate and direct a successful defense, often of numerous concurrent actions.
Deals & Cases
April 11, 2024
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $1.2 billion registered senior notes offering of Marathon Oil Corporation, an independent exploration and production company. The transaction closed on March 28, 2024.
Deals & Cases
April 04, 2024
Cravath represented the initial purchasers in connection with the $750 million 144A/Reg. S high‑yield senior green notes offering of Alcoa Nederland Holding B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcoa Corporation, a global industry leader in the production of bauxite, alumina and aluminum products. The transaction closed on March 21, 2024.
Deals & Cases
April 02, 2024
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $1 billion registered senior notes offering of Dell International L.L.C. and EMC Corporation. Dell International L.L.C. and EMC Corporation are wholly owned subsidiaries of Dell Technologies, a leading integrated technology solutions provider in the IT industry. The transaction closed on March 18, 2024.
Deals & Cases
March 27, 2024
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $2.25 billion registered notes offering of L3Harris Technologies, Inc., a defense technology company that provides mission‑critical solutions for government and commercial customers worldwide. The transaction closed on March 13, 2024.
Deals & Cases
March 25, 2024
Cravath represented the initial purchasers in connection with the $1.1 billion high‑yield senior notes offering of United Rentals (North America), Inc., a subsidiary of United Rentals, Inc., the largest equipment rental company in the world at the time of the offering. The transaction closed on March 11, 2024.
Activities & Publications
April 11, 2024
On April 10, 2024, Cravath partner and former Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Elad Roisman testified before the United States House Financial Services Committee. The hearing focused on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently adopted final rules requiring climate‑related disclosures for public companies and their potential impact on American markets.
Activities & Publications
April 09, 2024
On April 5, 2024, the Harvard Law School (HLS) Forum on Corporate Governance published an article written by Cravath partners John W. White, Matthew Morreale, Elad Roisman, Michael L. Arnold and Kimberley S. Drexler entitled “A Deeper Dive into the SEC’s Landmark Climate Disclosure Rules for Public Companies.” The article examines the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently adopted final rules requiring climate‑related disclosures for public companies, outlining key takeaways of the final rules and the timeline for compliance. The article was originally prepared by Cravath as part of a longer memo for clients in March 2024.
Activities & Publications
April 08, 2024
On April 4, 2024, Cravath partner John W. White participated in “New SEC Developments – Climate Disclosure,” an event hosted by NYU School of Law’s Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance in New York. John spoke on a panel which reviewed the content of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently adopted final rules requiring climate‑related disclosures for public companies, analyzed the SEC’s stay of those rules and explored practical advice for companies and their boards as they prepare to comply with the new rules.
Activities & Publications
March 29, 2024
On March 27, 2024, Cravath partner Michael L. Arnold participated in a webinar entitled “SEC Climate Rule & Materiality: Great in Principle, Harder to Apply in Practice,” which was hosted by Socialsuite. The virtual panel reviewed the key components of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently adopted final rules requiring climate‑related disclosures for public companies, as well as how to apply the principle of materiality to determine if companies are required to disclose under the rules.
Activities & Publications
March 19, 2024
On March 19, 2024, Cravath partner Michael L. Arnold participated in a webinar entitled “Navigating the SEC’s Climate‑Related Disclosure Ruling,” which was hosted by Nasdaq. The virtual panel reviewed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s final rule which requires the disclosure of climate‑related matters, including which types of companies are impacted, assurance requirements, rollout timeline and recommendations for publicly traded companies to get ahead of requirements and mitigate compliance risk.
Deals & Cases
April 11, 2024
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $1.2 billion registered senior notes offering of Marathon Oil Corporation, an independent exploration and production company. The transaction closed on March 28, 2024.
Deals & Cases
April 04, 2024
Cravath represented the initial purchasers in connection with the $750 million 144A/Reg. S high‑yield senior green notes offering of Alcoa Nederland Holding B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcoa Corporation, a global industry leader in the production of bauxite, alumina and aluminum products. The transaction closed on March 21, 2024.
Deals & Cases
April 02, 2024
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $1 billion registered senior notes offering of Dell International L.L.C. and EMC Corporation. Dell International L.L.C. and EMC Corporation are wholly owned subsidiaries of Dell Technologies, a leading integrated technology solutions provider in the IT industry. The transaction closed on March 18, 2024.
Deals & Cases
March 27, 2024
Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $2.25 billion registered notes offering of L3Harris Technologies, Inc., a defense technology company that provides mission‑critical solutions for government and commercial customers worldwide. The transaction closed on March 13, 2024.
Deals & Cases
March 25, 2024
Cravath represented the initial purchasers in connection with the $1.1 billion high‑yield senior notes offering of United Rentals (North America), Inc., a subsidiary of United Rentals, Inc., the largest equipment rental company in the world at the time of the offering. The transaction closed on March 11, 2024.
Activities & Publications
April 11, 2024
On April 10, 2024, Cravath partner and former Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Elad Roisman testified before the United States House Financial Services Committee. The hearing focused on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently adopted final rules requiring climate‑related disclosures for public companies and their potential impact on American markets.
Activities & Publications
April 09, 2024
On April 5, 2024, the Harvard Law School (HLS) Forum on Corporate Governance published an article written by Cravath partners John W. White, Matthew Morreale, Elad Roisman, Michael L. Arnold and Kimberley S. Drexler entitled “A Deeper Dive into the SEC’s Landmark Climate Disclosure Rules for Public Companies.” The article examines the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently adopted final rules requiring climate‑related disclosures for public companies, outlining key takeaways of the final rules and the timeline for compliance. The article was originally prepared by Cravath as part of a longer memo for clients in March 2024.
Activities & Publications
April 08, 2024
On April 4, 2024, Cravath partner John W. White participated in “New SEC Developments – Climate Disclosure,” an event hosted by NYU School of Law’s Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance in New York. John spoke on a panel which reviewed the content of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently adopted final rules requiring climate‑related disclosures for public companies, analyzed the SEC’s stay of those rules and explored practical advice for companies and their boards as they prepare to comply with the new rules.
Activities & Publications
March 29, 2024
On March 27, 2024, Cravath partner Michael L. Arnold participated in a webinar entitled “SEC Climate Rule & Materiality: Great in Principle, Harder to Apply in Practice,” which was hosted by Socialsuite. The virtual panel reviewed the key components of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently adopted final rules requiring climate‑related disclosures for public companies, as well as how to apply the principle of materiality to determine if companies are required to disclose under the rules.
Activities & Publications
March 19, 2024
On March 19, 2024, Cravath partner Michael L. Arnold participated in a webinar entitled “Navigating the SEC’s Climate‑Related Disclosure Ruling,” which was hosted by Nasdaq. The virtual panel reviewed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s final rule which requires the disclosure of climate‑related matters, including which types of companies are impacted, assurance requirements, rollout timeline and recommendations for publicly traded companies to get ahead of requirements and mitigate compliance risk.
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