'Green Building' is Here to Stay and Will Test Legal Professionals For Years to Come,...

'Green Building' is Here to Stay and Will Test Legal Professionals For Years
to Come, Veteran Environmental Attorney Says

- Uncertainties abound amid uncharted legal territory related to eco-friendly
construction projects

NEWARK, N.J., May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- A certain inconvenient truth about the
trend toward green building -- that it will neither fade like a bad dream nor
match the utopian visions of its most ardent advocates -- is good news for
both the state of New Jersey and the United States, according to veteran
environmental attorney James A. Kosch, a shareholder in LeClairRyan's
Newark-based Tort Defense Group.

"Neither Rush Limbaugh nor Al Gore will be happy about it when the ultimate
contours of today's green-building trend have emerged," Kosch commented. "And
that is because the same macroeconomic factors that have been so visible this
year -- as reflected in the extreme volatility in gas prices and the capital
markets -- also tend to have a moderating impact over time."

Not so long ago, many observers still wondered whether the green movement that
emerged in recent years, in part because of rising concern about global
warming, would follow historical precedent and quickly fade. "Memories of the
early 1990s are still strong," noted Kosch, a director of the New Jersey State
Bar Association's Environmental Law Section. "The idea back then was that
everyone would have hand-pushed lawn mowers, recycle everything and drive tiny
cars. By 1993, however, Americans all drove SUVs, rarely recycled and wanted
the biggest power mowers they could buy."

This shift boiled down to simple macroeconomics: As gas prices plummeted, so
did the level of interest in both the green lifestyle and in eco-friendly
construction projects. Echoes of this were evident last year as average U.S.
gas prices, which had soared to a record $4.10 in July, collapsed along with
consumer demand in the wake of the global economic crisis. "The pace of the
green movement moderated," Kosch noted. "Companies that were looking at going
green a year ago -- either because of shareholder pressure, marketing
considerations or demands from the European Union -- backed off a bit."

Interestingly, today's green movement appears to be more deeply rooted than
those of previous eras like the early 1990s or 1970s, said Kosch. Polls show
U.S. shoppers still put a high priority on sustainability despite the
recession, and marketers have responded by stepping up their green-themed
promotional campaigns. Meanwhile, even today's cash-strapped state and local
governments continue to push for alternative energy and eco-friendly
construction, and the Obama administration has committed to spending some $80
billion by 2010 on nearly all things green. "There is a cultural shift
underway," Kosch observed. "Part of it has to do with improvements in
technology. We can now 'do green' much more effectively than in the past."

Still, major uncertainties remain. Legal professionals tracking this trend are
navigating uncharted territory on issues related to water reuse, energy
generation and sales, tax credits, insurance, economic incentives, easements
for light, air and conservation, and much more, Kosch explained. They must pay
particularly close attention to the status of legislation and regulation that
affects, or may affect, future projects, he added.

So far this year, for example, New Jersey lawmakers have introduced 20 or 30
green-building related bills. "Fortunately, much of this legislation shows a
moderating sensitivity to the economic challenges now faced by New Jersey
businesses. We've seen bills pass that provide flexibility," Kosch said. "That
is a positive development. After all, the Soviet Union tried
command-and-control, and it didn't exactly work."

About LeClairRyan

Founded in 1988, LeClairRyan provides business counsel and client
representation in corporate law and high-stakes litigation. With offices in
California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C., the firm has more than 300
attorneys representing a wide variety of clients throughout the nation. For
more information about LeClairRyan, visit www.leclairryan.com.

SOURCE LeClairRyan

Marty Gitlin, +1-914-528-7702, or Bill Parness, +1-732-290-0121, both of
Parness & Associates Public Relations, parnespr@optonline.net