Gordon E. Hart is a partner in the San Francisco office.  He specializes in real estate transactions involving contaminated property; environmental insurance; environmental permitting and enforcement actions; and administrative and legislative lobbying.

Mr. Hart has particular experience in the legal, business, and political issues associated with the environmental cleanup and redevelopment of complex multi-use developments on large contaminated properties, such as closed military bases, closed mining facilities, aerospace facilities, munitions manufacturing facilities, radiological laboratories, shipyards, asbestos product manufacturing facilities, railroad yards, etc. He has represented developers, investors, financial institutions, local agencies and engineering firms in connection with such complex projects. The nature of his work on such projects includes supervising environmental due diligence efforts; drafting and negotiating environmental provisions in purchase and sale agreements, land use covenants, development agreements, and other property transfer and entitlement documents; drafting and negotiating environmental remediation contracts and environmental insurance policies; negotiating the terms of consent decrees and other agreements with regulatory agencies; supervising the preparation of remedial action plans, risk management plans, environmental impact reports and similar plans and reports; resolving disputes among the different parties involved in implementing cleanup and redevelopment agreements; defending environmental enforcement actions brought by regulatory agencies; and lobbying the California State Legislature and executive agencies on legislative, regulatory and budget proposals affecting redevelopment of contaminated properties. Mr. Hart is the author of "Brownfields Redevelopment at Closed Military Bases," a chapter in the American Bar Association's handbook, Environmental Aspects of Business and Real Estate Transactions (3rd Ed. 2004).

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Hart served in several capacities on the staff of the California State Legislature. Those positions included serving as senior consultant to the Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee, as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as counsel to the speaker of the assembly. In those positions, Mr. Hart drafted many important pieces of legislation, including significant reforms to the state hazardous waste management laws, the state Superfund law, and the laws governing tort liability of tobacco companies. He has served on numerous advisory committees to various local and state agencies over the last twenty years.

Mr. Hart received his B.A. degree in political science in 1984 from Reed College, and was a fellow in public affairs with the Coro Foundation in 1985-1986. He graduated first in his class in 1994 from the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, and was selected for membership in the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Barristers.