Nicholas C. Yost

Partner

Nicholas Yost is the recipient of the American Bar Association's 2010 Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy.

In his legal practice, he has served for the past 25 years as a private practitioner, having previously served as a lawyer and official with federal and state (California) governments and as a public interest lawyer.

Nicholas practices under all environmental laws, including counseling clients on compliance with such laws, obtaining permits and authorizations under federal and state environmental laws, representation of clients before federal and state agencies on environmental matters, Washington advocacy, handling environmental due diligence, and litigation.

The focus of his practice involves counseling, document review, administrative proceedings and litigation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its state analogues, including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

As general counsel of the President's Council on Environmental Quality, Nicholas was lead draftsperson of the federal government's NEPA regulations and has played a comparably significant role in the development of CEQA.

Examples of his practice include successful representation of clients in taking major projects through NEPA and related environmental permit processes, such as airport expansions (Philadelphia, San Jose); land developments; international and interstate natural gas pipelines; electrical power plants; highway, bridge and light rail projects; and Indian gaming and other facilities.

In this last capacity he has acted as lead counsel for the firm's representation of the Cortina Band of Wintun Indians (CA), the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (CA), the Jamul Indian Village (CA), the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Band, MI), the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians (MI), the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians (CA), and the United Auburn Indian Community (CA), as well as other such representations.

Nicholas is ranked by Chambers USA as one of the leading American lawyers for business in the field of Native American Law on a US national basis.

He currently acts as outside NEPA counsel to a congressionally created federal agency, the Presidio Trust, reviewing the agency's documents for compliance with NEPA.

Nicholas regularly assists environmental consulting firms in ensuring NEPA compliance in documents they are preparing.

In connection with his principal work involving assistance to proponents of projects going through the NEPA and analogous state law processes, he reviews NEPA documents to ensure their legal adequacy in a full range of contexts, from public lands to specific projects, and participates in litigation to defend those approvals and otherwise to assert clients' interests under NEPA.

Nicholas has also represented the pharmaceutical industry and the veterinary pharmaceutical industry in environmental regulatory reform issues in Washington, DC; led negotiations among responsible parties at hazardous waste sites; and worked with federal and state trustees under the Oil Pollution Act concerning Natural Resources Damages (NRD) arising from an oil spill from an OCS drilling platform.

Nicholas also has represented plaintiffs in litigation to enforce NEPA and other environmental laws, including successful litigation on behalf of the State of Louisiana against the Corps of Engineers concerning offshore dredging.

He has also aided clients in asserting environmental leadership, such as by assisting in developing and drafting corporate environmental policies and assistance in strategic planning.

Awards

• Selected for inclusion in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Law.

Representative Experience

• US-wide private practice of environmental and natural resources law in Washington, DC (1985-1994) and in San Francisco with SNR Denton (1994-present).
• Senior attorney, Center for Law in the Public Interest (1982-1985).
• Varied litigation practice directing the Washington office of a California public interest law firm.
• Visiting scholar, Environmental Law Institute (1981-1982), Washington, DC.
• General counsel, Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President of the United States (1977-1981). Responsibilities in that office included: Lead responsibility for the development and drafting of the regulations that implement the National Environmental Policy Act and its environmental impact statement requirement throughout the federal government (40 C.F.R. Parts 1500-1508).
• Also assisted in negotiating and drafting a Presidential Executive Order dealing with international environmental impacts of US actions.
• United States director of the Law and Administration Project under the United States-Soviet environmental agreement.
• Head of US delegation to USSR.
• Member of the US delegation hosting Chinese environmental specialists.
• Director, President's Task Force on Global Resources and Environment (1980-1981).
• Took a leave of absence from duties as general counsel to act as director of a cabinet-level task force on global environmental and resource issues co-chaired by the Secretary of State and chair of the President's Council on Environmental Quality.
• Deputy attorney general in charge, Environmental Unit, State of California Department of Justice (1971-1977)
• Practicing in Los Angeles and then in San Francisco, Nicholas administered the division responsible for environmental litigation and administrative proceedings initiated by the attorney general and for drafting and advocating legislation in the California Legislature.
• Counsel to the California State Environmental Quality Study Council (1969-1971), created to study all California's environmental laws, problems, and institutions and report to the governor and the Legislature.
• This followed a period (1965-1969) when he was an administrative lawyer and litigator in the California Justice Department, representing various state agencies.
• Military Service (1963-1965): United States Army, Captain, Artillery, 1st Infantry Division.

Organizations

Nicholas is a member of the bars of California and the District of Columbia and of the Supreme Court of the United States and of other federal courts. He has litigated at the Supreme Court, intermediate appellate and trial court levels in both the federal and state systems and has testified at numerous legislative hearings at both federal and state levels.

His professional service has included:

• Chair, Standing Committee on Environmental Law, American Bar Association
• Member, US Delegation to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the "Earth Summit"), Rio de Janeiro (1992)
• Delegate to or speaker at numerous international environmental law conferences, including those in Brussels, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Toronto, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Czech Republic, Poland and Uganda
• ABA Member, National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists
• Member and subcommittee chair, California EPA Blue Ribbon Commission on a Unified Environmental Statute
• Chairperson, Committee on the Environment, State Bar of California
• C-chair, Section on Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, District of Columbia Bar.
• Member, Board of Directors, Environmental Law Institute
• Awarded the Environmental Quality Award by the Natural Resources Council of America (1996)

Publications

• NEPA Deskbook (Environmental Law Institute, 3rd Ed. 2003)
• The Environmental Impact Statement Process (Bureau of National Affairs, Corporate Practice Series, 3rd Ed. 2002)
• "The Background and History of NEPA," in Sheldon and Squillace, eds., The NEPA Litigation Guide, (American Bar Association, 1998)
• "Administrative Implementation of and Judicial Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act," in Novick, ed., Law of Environmental Protection (ELI, Clark-Boardman-Callaghan, 1987), and in Stever, ed., Environmental Law and Practice (ELI, Clark-Boardman-Callaghan, 1992)
• The Governance of Environmental Affairs--Toward Consensus (Aspen Institute, 1982)
• Rio and the Road Beyond (SCEL, American Bar Association, 1992)
• Yost and Widman, The "Action-Forcing" Requirements of NEPA and Ongoing Action of the Federal Government, 34 ELR 10435 (Environmental Law Institute, 2004)
• Articles published in numerous publications including Los Angeles Times and New York Times. 

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