John C. Spinrad

Partner

Direct: 404.873.8666
Fax: 404.873.8667
Atlanta
171 17th Street NW
Suite 2100
Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Biography

John is a partner in the Real Estate, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, and Environmental practices. In addition to civil litigation experience in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies, he has practiced extensively and lectured in the area of environmental law.

John focuses his practice on advising clients with regard to environmental due diligence issues and structuring corporate and real estate transactions to minimize or apportion environmental liabilities. He also counsels clients regarding environmental permitting and enforcement issues, and complex environmental assessment and remediation projects. John has particular expertise in Brownfield transactions and has assisted numerous clients with applications under Georgia’s Voluntary Remediation Program. John has negotiated more than $200 million of environmental insurance policies for commercial and industrial properties, including Jamestown Properties, Pull-a-Part, Costco Wholesale, and others. John has defended clients in state and federal administrative enforcement actions for alleged violations of hazardous waste, water, air, right-to-know, and other environmental laws.

John is included in Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers in Business, and Georgia’s Top Rated Lawyers (Lexis-Nexis Martindale-Hubbell) in the specialty of environmental law. He has also been recognized by Georgia Super Lawyers for his work in environmental law. John is the author of numerous papers presented to industrial and professional groups. He has lectured on numerous environmental topics, most recently including procuring environmental insurance, structuring Brownfields projects, allocating environmental risk, and addressing the risk of vapor intrusion.

Related Services

Related Industries

Experience

  • Represented Integral Development and Macauley + Schmit in the acquisition of the General Motors Doraville plant, a 165 acre Brownfield redevelopment, including extensive environmental due diligence, regulatory negotiations with multiple branches of Georgia EPD, and the purchase of complex environmental insurance policies.

  • Responsible for legal aspects of environmental due diligence for national food distribution company.

  • Analyzed portfolio of multiple refrigerated warehouses with legacy environmental issues, negotiated with underwriters regarding remediation requirements and reserves, and entered selected properties in various state voluntary cleanup programs.

  • Submitted, on behalf of various clients, seven applications to Georgia’s Voluntary Remediation Program, resulting in approval of risk-based cleanup plans that will, collectively, save millions in assessment, remediation and monitoring costs.

  • Represented Jamestown Properties in negotiating environmental terms in its purchase agreement and orchestrated the environmental due diligence and Brownfield Corrective Action Plan for the largest adaptive reuse project currently underway in Georgia.

  • Negotiated with USEPA on behalf of one of three responsible parties for cleanup of a federal Superfund site, including cost allocation (including with a federal PRP), bidding of the $10-plus million cleanup, and oversight of the project.

Client Successes

Credentials

Education
  • Duke University School of Law, Juris Doctor,
    with Honors
  • University of Virginia, Bachelor of Arts,
    with High Distinction
Admissions
  • District of Columbia – 1986
  • State of Georgia – 1983
Court Admissions
  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit – 1995
  • Supreme Court of Georgia – 1983
  • Georgia Court of Appeals – 1983
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia – 1983
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit – 1983
Associations
    • American Bar Association, Section of Litigation – Natural Resources, Section of Energy and Environmental Law
    • Georgia Brownfields Association Board, Former President
    • Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Executive Committee and Trustee

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers in America®, Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental, 2008-25
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers, Environmental Law, 2011-24
  • Georgia Super Lawyers, 2007, 2011-21
  • “Legal Elite,” Georgia Trend, 2019

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