A Balanced Approach

As in nature, the ideal environment for business enterprises entails the balancing of objectives. Businesses must balance their operations and transactions with the laws and rules that govern them. Nowhere is this principle more relevant than in the field of environmental protection.

Guida, Slavich & Flores, P.C. was established in 1991 with the mission of providing businesses and individuals with high quality legal services centered on environmental law. From the start, we have been dedicated to assisting clients balance their business and environmental goals.

We provide services to clients in the planning, strategy-setting, and execution of their business objectives within the complex maze of environmental laws, including regulatory compliance counseling, deal structuring, transactional negotiations, and litigation.

The firm has extensive experience with environmental law that ranges from current issues such as brownfield redevelopment, indoor air quality, and dry cleaning solvent contamination to more traditional fields such as air and water (including storm water) pollution control, waste management, and permitting.

In all cases, it remains our goal to help our clients attain a healthy balance between the laws of nature, the laws of the marketplace, and the laws of government.

Areas of Practice

• Voluntary cleanup
• Brownfields programs
• Contaminated property redevelopment
• Environmental aspects of financing, mergers and acquisitions
• Environmental litigation/enforcement
• Air and water quality control
• Solid and hazardous waste/toxic substances
• Permitting
• Environmental risk allocation/insurance
• Mold and indoor air quality
• Regulatory compliance counseling
• Emergency planning and response

• Aerospace
• Alternative energy
• Ceramic tile manufacturing
• Chemical
• Chemical distribution
• Compressed gases
• Commercial/residential property owners
• Concrete products
• Dry cleaning
• Electric power
• Environmental consulting
• Explosives manufacturing
• Fertilizer production
• Foundries
• Insurance
• Investment and commercial banking
• Materials and used oil recycling
• Metal fabrication and plating
• Oil and gas
• Paint manufacturing
• Pesticide formulation
• Petroleum refining
• Pharmaceutical manufacturing
• Pipelines
• Plastic sealant manufacturing
• Printing and graphic arts
• Property managers
• Pulp and paper
• Real estate investment and development
• Remedial contracting
• Wood product manufacturing

Our capabilities include special experience in:

• Environmental litigation
• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
• The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund)
• The Toxic Substances Control Act
• The Clean Air Act
• The Clean Water Act
• The Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act
• Other federal, state and local environmental, health and safety programs.
• State common law relevant to environmental damage and remediation.

• Joseph F. Guida, Founding Principal & Shareholder
  Mr. Guida has practiced environmental law since 1979. His diversified national practice includes experience in air and water quality control, solid and hazardous waste management, toxic substances, and state and federal Superfund for a broad array of industrial and commercial clients. His experience also encompasses compliance counseling, transactional work, and litigation.
  
  
• John Slavich, Shareholder
  Mr. Slavich has a diversified practice focusing on environmental law issues in real estate, corporate, and lending sectors as well as environmental compliance matters. A leading authority on brownfield redevelopment issues, his practice focuses on structuring deals that return environmentally-impacted properties to productive use.
  
  
• Jean M. Flores, Shareholder
  Ms. Flores has practiced environmental law since 1987. Her broad range of experience in the field includes waste management issues, Superfund defense and liability issues, air and water quality control regulation, and issues associated with real estate and commercial transactions, including lender liability, underground storage tanks, and asbestos. She regularly participates in compliance, transactional, and litigation matters.
  
  
• Howard L. Gilberg, Shareholder
  Mr. Gilberg has been practicing environmental law since 1981, concentrating in air quality and hazardous waste-related issues affecting manufacturing industries and economic development interests. A significant part of his practice also includes the sale of business interests and real estate. He is the current Chairman of the Texas Clean Air Coalition, former Chair of the State Bar of Texas Environmental and Natural Resources Section, and a Board Member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Ozone Non-Attainment Area Emissions Reduction Credit Organization.
  
  
• James D. Payne, Shareholder
  Mr. Payne has practiced civil litigation since 1991, concentrating in the area of insurance and corporate defense. Mr. Payne has vigorously pursued his clients’ interests in many diversified areas including Superfund, chemical transportation, property damage, and other toxic tort and commercial disputes. Mr. Payne is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
  
  
• David E. Whitten, Shareholder
  Mr. Whitten has practiced environmental law since 1979, concentrating on the areas of environmental litigation, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and administrative law. He currently serves as a registered lobbyist before the United States Congress, and previously served as counsel to the Chairman of Water Resources Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. His practice additionally is focused around federal, state and local legislative and governmental issues.
  
  
• Tonya L. Meier, Shareholder
  Ms. Meier has practiced civil litigation since 1996. Her practice is focused on commercial litigation on the behalf of businesses in the areas of contract disputes, environmental issues, fraud, employment, and DTPA violations. She has maintained an active trial practice in both State and Federal Court and is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
  
  
• Carrick Brooke-Davidson, Shareholder
  Mr. Brooke-Davidson has practiced environmental law since 1985. His practice has involved litigation, arbitration, enforcement, permitting, transactions, and counseling relating to a wide variety of industries. Before entering private practice, Mr. Brooke-Davidson had served for twelve years as an attorney with the United States Department of Justice.
  
  
• Paul Seals, Shareholder
  Mr. Seals has over 35 years of experience in environmental regulatory matters. His practice includes environmental public law and policy, licensing and compliance matters. In addition to providing environmental counseling on numerous project development, liability and compliance issues, including environmental due diligence associated with corporate and real estate transactions, he has experience in both administrative and judicial litigation.
  
  
• Greg Rogers, Of Counsel
  In addition to his previous broad-ranging environmental legal practice with a national law firm, Mr. Rogers worked with Electronic Data Systems Corp. and General Motors in the areas of environmental business processes and environmental information management. Mr. Rogers also holds a CPA license and previously worked as an auditor with a Big Five accounting firm. Mr. Rogers’ legal practice currently focuses on environmental risk management in industrial operations and business transactions.
  
  
• Michael C. Lawrence, Of Counsel
  Mr. Lawrence has practiced civil litigation since 1992. His practice focuses on civil litigation on the behalf of businesses and individuals. He has maintained an active trial practice in both State and Federal Court, and he has successfully pursued and defended claims on behalf of clients throughout Texas.
  
  
• Kyle Ballard, Of Counsel
  Mr. Ballard is experienced in environmental litigation under both state and federal law (including Superfund). Mr. Ballard also has experience in a wide array of environmental permitting and compliance issues concerning air, water, and solid and hazardous waste. He is also proficient in Spanish.
  
  
• Sally A. Longroy, Of Counsel
  Ms. Longroy offers legal advice to clients on a wide variety of environmental matters involving an array of federal, state, and municipal regulatory programs, often related to commercial real estate, corporate, or capital transactions. Prior to commencing her law practice, Ms. Longroy was first an analytical chemist then gained extensive regulatory experience with laws governing the registration and manufacturing of pesticides and animal drugs.
  
  
• Erika Erikson, Associate
  Ms. Erikson brings over 15 years of experience in the health, safety, and environmental field to her practice of law. Her experience includes regulatory compliance, consulting, and training. She has worked with a wide range of organizations, including industrial, non-industrial, and governmental entities as well as interacting with local, state, and federal regulatory agencies.
  
  
• Michael R. Goldman, Associate
  Mr. Goldman has practiced civil litigation since 2000, concentrating in the areas of commercial and securities litigation as well as insurance defense. His practice now focuses on the defense and prosecution of cases involving environmentally impacted properties and he has represented individuals and businesses in complex cases throughout the United States.
  
  
• William R. (BJ) Jones, Associate
  Mr. Jones began practicing in 2002 as an assistant district attorney prosecuting criminal matters. In addition to his courtroom experience, including trying more than 35 cases to jury, he has represented individuals, businesses, and governmental entities in the areas of commercial litigation, products liability, personal injury, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and premises liability, among others.