John Morris
- San Francisco
Notice
Before proceeding, please note: If you are not a current client of Perkins Coie, please do not include any information in this e-mail that you or someone else considers to be of a confidential or secret nature. Perkins Coie has no duty to keep confidential any of the information you provide. Neither the transmission nor receipt of your information is considered a request for legal advice, securing or retaining a lawyer. An attorney-client relationship with Perkins Coie or any lawyer at Perkins Coie is not established until and unless Perkins Coie agrees to such a relationship as memorialized in a separate writing.
An environmental lawyer for the industrial sector, John represents businesses developing industrial projects, decommissioning and repurposing legacy facilities, and transacting in environmentally impaired assets.
John Morris advises developers and investors in innovative decarbonization and climate adaptation projects. John serves as outside counsel to a multinational energy company developing its first Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) and Green Hydrogen projects in California. He assists investors and sponsors in managing environmental and natural resources risks in the development and financing of utility-scale solar, wind, and geothermal energy projects. John also counsels electric transmission developers, landowners, and other stakeholders on catastrophic wildfire risk mitigation strategy.
John helps to decommission, and repurposing aging infrastructure, legacy assets, and brownfields. John and Perkins Coie colleagues represented the Klamath River Renewal Corporation in the decommissioning and removal of four hydroelectric dams in the world’s largest dam removal and river restoration project, restoring more than 400 miles of upstream habitat for salmon, steelhead, and other species. John leads projects to redevelop former landfills into compatible commercial uses, such as solar energy and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) projects, recreational facilities, and a rail-to-shipping terminal. He also advises upstream and midstream oil and gas companies in decommissioning onshore oil fields, repurposing crude oil pipelines, financing orphan well plugging and abandonment, and rationalizing real estate and asset portfolios through strategic divestments of excess facilities.
John works with businesses to minimize compliance and enforcement risks from pollution. John helps clients devise cost-effective environmental, health and safety (EHS) compliance audits and operational risk assessments. He assists in prompt investigation and incident response and defends clients in administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement actions. His transactional work includes strategic commercial counseling to de-risk EHS aspects of corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, financings, and real estate investments.
Education & Credentials
Education
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D., with honors, Associate Editor, Texas Law Review, 2014
- Claremont McKenna College, B.A., Philosophy and Psychology, 2010
Bar and Court Admissions
-
California
Related Employment
- Paul Hastings LLP, San Francisco, CA, Associate, 2018-2020
- Latham & Watkins LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Associate, 2014-2018
