Alex Garel-Frantzen

Client Work

• Obtained dismissal of third-party challenge to Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification issued to electric and natural gas company, as part of its transmission line construction project.
• Obtained dismissal of third-party appeal challenging state variance issued to electric and natural gas company related to the management of coal combustion residuals surface impoundments.
• Represents electric and natural gas utility at major Superfund sites in New York City.
• Represents various electric and natural gas utilities in government-initiated and complex, private party litigation arising under CERCLA and RCRA.
• Represents electric power utility in third-party appeal of state-issued water permit.
• Represents clients in federal and state investigations under the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, RCRA, and state analogs.
• Advises clients on RCRA compliance.
• Advises clients on Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) compliance.
• Counsels clients on California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) and product stewardship regulatory compliance.
• Counsels clients on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting.

Boards, Memberships & Certifications

• Chicago Bar Association, YLS Environmental Law Committee, Co-Chair
• University of Illinois College of Law, Alumni Board, Member

Professional Activities

Alex is committed to public service, with a recent focus on immigration and criminal law matters.

• Represents citizen of Burma (Myanmar) in application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for asylum and withholding of removal from the United States.
• Obtained grant of asylum from the USCIS on behalf of a citizen of Togo, Africa.
• Represented a young man in Cook County Juvenile Court on robbery-related charges.
• Obtained renewal of client’s deferred action for childhood arrivals and authorization to work in the United States.
• Secured mother’s co-guardianship over her adult son whose physical and mental disabilities prevented him from making needed medical decisions on his own.

Recognitions 

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers (2022-2023)
• Illinois Rising Star, Illinois Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters (2021)

Publications & Presentations

• “CERCLA § 309 and Beyond: Statute of Limitations, Rules of Repose, and the Broad Implications of CTS Corp. v. Waldburger Outside the Context of Environmental Law,” University of Illinois Law Review Vol. 865 (2015)
• “Methane Emissions Regulations on the Horizon for the Oil and Gas Industry,” (co-author) Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report (Aug. 2014)
• “Gangsters and Organized Crime in Jewish Chicago,” The History Press (2013)
• “Clean Air Act Legal Updates,” AAPCA 2021 Virtual Spring Meeting, Webinar (Jun. 24, 2021)
• “Environmental and Energy Law Policy: A Trump vs. Biden Administration,” (moderator) The Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, Environmental Law Committee (Oct. 6, 2020)
• “Views on Trump Administration Environmental Policy Updates,” Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Sectionm, Chicago, Ill. (Feb. 21, 2018)
• “Careers in Environmental Law for Young Lawyers,” Chicago Bar Association, Chicago, Ill. (Sep. 28, 2017)