Toxic Torts and Environmental Litigation

FGW has a unique toxic torts and environmental law practice group. FGW has decades of experience handling environmental litigation and toxic tort cases. Whether it is presenting a toxic tort case to a jury, trying a CERCLA/RCRA case in Federal District Court, appearing before regulatory agencies during controversial permitting proceedings, or providing clients with environmental coverage advice, we have handled it.

Our environmental practice group is chaired by Martha Gaythwaite. Martha is a member and former Chairperson of the Maine State Bar Association's Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section. Her interest in environmental law began 30 years ago when she put herself through law school by working for the New England Division of the Army Corps of Engineers in their Regulatory and Enforcement branch. Following graduation from law school, she clerked for the federal court for the Middle District of Florida located in Tampa where she had the privilege of working with Judge George Carr on several water pollution and toxic tort cases. Entering private practice in 1983 in Portland, Maine, Martha continued her interest in the field of toxic torts and environmental law.

Since FGW began, Martha and our environmental law group have worked on a broad spectrum of environmental cases. We have tried personal injury actions arising from toxic exposures, MGP cases seeking clean-up and remediation costs, and groundwater pollution claims involving property damage. We have served as counsel to municipalities reviewing environmentally sensitive development projects and a state agency faced with a multi-million dollar liability resulting from the sale of a parcel containing contaminated wastewater lagoons. The common theme in all of our toxic tort and environmental work is the ability to use our advocacy skills and experience to represent our client's position in the often complicated world of environmental science and regulation. Our work in these cases requires us to understand concepts from many different scientific disciplines and then synthesize that information for use in the legal arena. The breadth of our experience allows us to help you navigate through this complex practice area.