Our People

G. Scott Williams

Firm Member

G. Scott Williams is a shareholder of the firm. His practice focuses on environmental, land use and commercial litigation, and assisting private clients with land use and environmental issues during the entitlement process and in real property transactions.


Education Background

Mr. Williams received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard College, in 1983. He received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1988, where he was Articles Editor of the Columbia Law Review.

Employment Background

Mr. Williams has extensive experience litigating environmental and land-use matters in state and federal courts. While at Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek and in his previous position as a senior attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., Mr. Williams has handled complex civil litigation under major federal and state environmental statutes, including CEQA, the Polanco Act, CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act.

In addition to his litigation experience, Mr. Williams provides counsel on environmental issues to developer clients by assisting them in obtaining entitlements and other regulatory approvals from governmental agencies. Mr. Williams also regularly participates in the preparation or review of environmental documentation under CEQA and the Endangered Species Act. Mr. Williams also provides advice on environmental issues to clients engaged in the sale, lease or financing of real property.

Mr. Williams also served at the Justice Department as a trial attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division, where he conducted affirmative and defensive commercial and contract litigation on behalf of numerous federal agencies.

Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Williams clerked for Hon. Dolores K. Sloviter of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Representative Matters

  • Represented private developers in CEQA lawsuits brought by environmental and community organizations seeking to derail proposed projects
  • Defended manufacturer in Polanco Act litigation brought by community development agency seeking to recover cleanup costs for property formerly owned by client
  • Represented private landowner identified by EPA as potentially responsible party at Superfund site
  • Represented the federal government in multimillion-dollar CERCLA cost recovery actions by leading mining and manufacturing companies, a shipyard and a paint recycling facility
  • Defended EPA rulemakings of national significance challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals, including regulations addressing regional ozone pollution and hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act; the long-term disposal of radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada; and hazardous waste disposal in the petrochemical industry
  • Defended permitting and associated regulatory activity by federal agencies under the Clean Water Act, including state water quality standards approved by EPA and dredge-and-fill permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • Handled affirmative claims arising from financing and subsidy contracts between the United States and public and private entities, including misapplied federal grants and large financing contracts with a shipbuilder, an ethanol plant, an airline and a tribally-owned casino
  • Defended contract claims in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, including bid protests, construction delay claims, and challenges to contract termination

Professional Affiliations & Admissions

  • State Bar of California
  • Bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Federal Claims