Overview
Elizabeth helps clients navigate complex environmental legal matters where federal policies and regulation, Congressional action, and political strategy converge. She focuses on addressing client challenges and opportunities regarding energy production and use, manufacturing operations, supply chain management, infrastructure development, and onshoring. She brings a rare combination of substantive environmental law experience, legislative strategy, regulatory counseling, and government relations judgment, enabling her to advise on issues where legal risk, federal government action, and business objectives are tightly intertwined.
Grounded in almost 15 years of environmental law experience, Elizabeth has also advised clients on tax policy and trade and tariff matters. She counsels companies and trade associations on environmental, energy, infrastructure, tax, trade, and related policy matters, and represents clients before federal agencies, the White House, and Congress. She has appeared before the US Supreme Court and US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit regarding regulatory challenges, as well as in rulemakings by the EPA.
Elizabeth’s approach to the law is informed by her in-house experience—she served as Director and Assistant Counsel for Government Affairs for a major trade association—and her government service on the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW Committee), first as lead staffer for Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and climate issues, then as the Committee’s Chief Counsel. While working on the EPW Committee, she advised senators on major environmental, energy, and infrastructure legislation, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. She worked directly with senior officials across Presidential administrations and developed high-level legislative strategy and effective working relationships. As Chief Counsel, she served as the Committee’s principal communicator with the Senate Parliamentarian and has deep experience on jurisdictional and procedural matters in Congress, including budget reconciliation and application of the Byrd Rule, bill referrals, amendment procedures, and the Congressional Review Act.
Elizabeth is a frequent speaker at widely attended conferences on key energy and policy issues.
Experience
Elizabeth’s experience includes experience prior to joining Hunton.
- Leveraged regulatory and congressional experience and a bipartisan network to execute client priorities on energy, environmental, tax, trade, transportation, manufacturing, federal funding, healthcare, and enforcement/litigation issues.
- Counseled on legal and policy issues; drafted legislative text, legal memoranda, and advocacy materials; and advised company C-suite and trade association executives in small and large group presentation settings.
- Lobbied for clients before agencies, the White House, and Congress.
- Developed federal compliance strategies, prepared comments on proposed regulations, reported on state environmental and energy initiatives, and met with federal regulators on environmental issues.
- Served as Chief Counsel on the US Senate EPW Committee and acted as a key negotiator during the development and enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- Presented all EPW Committee arguments regarding the Inflation Reduction Act during reconciliation before the Senate Parliamentarian.
- Served as lead counsel on the EPW Committee for Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and climate issues.
- Managed bipartisan, bicameral staff negotiations for three air emissions and climate bills signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2021, including the USE IT Act, carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration legislation; the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act); and the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2020.
Accolades
Honors & Recognitions
- Selected as a Rising Star for Environmental Law, Washington, DC Super Lawyers, 2016
Insights
Events & Speaking Engagements
News
Education
- JD, University of Virginia School of Law, Notes Editor, Virginia Law Review, 2011
- AB, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, with high honors, 2008
Admissions
Virginia
District of Columbia
Courts
US Supreme Court
US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Government Service
Chief Counsel, US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (2021-2024), for Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito
Senior Counsel, US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (2018-2021), for Chairman John Barrasso, MD
Counsel, US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (2017-2018), for Chairman John Barrasso, MD
