Adam Baas

Partner

About

Adam Baas concentrates his practice in the area of environmental and toxic tort litigation, product liability, regulatory compliance and enforcement defense, and transactions involving environmentally impacted assets.

Adam has experience counseling clients in a wide range of multifaceted environmental, toxic tort, products, and regulatory enforcement matters and has been lead counsel in representing corporate clients in the chemical, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, food, textile, and agriculture sectors through complex litigation matters, including product liability suits, toxic torts, regulatory enforcement actions, cost recovery actions, natural resource damage claims, alter ego claims, and parent/subsidiary successor liability actions. Adam has advised multi-national clients on issues surrounding emerging contaminants for almost 20 years, including in multi-district litigation and product-related claims, and is a national thought leader on the emerging contaminant class, per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), having led discussions on the state-of-the-law and science surrounding PFAS across the country and acted as lead counsel on over a dozen high-stakes matters involving PFAS.

Adam also has experience in advising clients on regulatory compliance with state and federal environmental laws and regulations; managing Superfund and legacy site investigations and clean up; negotiating consent orders and settlement agreements with state and federal regulators; storm water management; representing clients in the investigation, remediation, and purchase and sale of contaminated properties; negotiating access and investigation agreements with regulatory agencies and private entities; and in reviewing and advising on the environmental aspects of real estate and asset transactions.

Adam has worked directly with officials from the USEPA, NOAA, Fish and Wildlife, the USDOI and multiple state agencies to negotiate agreements on compliance, cost recovery, NRDA and redevelopment matters. He also regularly advises clients on business decisions as they relate to liability exposure, remediation and redevelopment, and public relations matters.

Areas of FocusLitigation, Arbitration and Investigations Regulatory and Government Affairs

Bar admissionsCaliforniaNew JerseyOregonPennsylvania

CourtsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States District Court for the Central District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas

EXPERIENCE

Environmental and Toxic Exposures

Represents global chemical company in a national, multi-district litigation, toxic tort / product liability matter concerning PFAS in firefighting foam
Represents major energy company in federal and state regulated cleanup and cost-recovery matters concerning soil, groundwater and sediment contamination at multiple heritage, industrial sites
Represents global oil company in matters involving soil, groundwater, soil gas contamination and vapor intrusion matters related to historical retail operations
Represents global textile entity in relation to claims associated with alleged PFAS in clothing products sold in the United States
Represents multiple global food products companies in relation to claims associated with alleged PFAS in food packaging
Represents global chemical company in multiple Superfund sites across the U.S. concerning allegations of PFAS in soil, soil gas, sediment, and groundwater
Represented global oil company through high-stake matters surrounding state and federal regulations including, but not limited to, New Jersey's Spill Act, Pennsylvania's Storage Tank Act, ISRA, CERCLA and OPA
Represents global chemical company in response to personal injury claims allegedly caused by exposure to PFAS
Represented multinational pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical company in the investigation and cleanup of a large industrial site, involving multiple PRPs and COPCs, cost-recovery disputes, successor liability negotiations and coordinated regulatory oversight
Represents developer in a plaintiff-side CERCLA action surrounding a significant chlorinated solvent release in California
Represented global oil company through toxic tort and related common law liability actions allegedly attributable to the historical operation of retail and terminal sites in the Northeast and Northwest
Represented global oil company in products liability matters in federal multi-district litigation concerning the historical production and use of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (“MTBE”).
Represented national aviation company in relation to a catastrophic firefighting foam release at an airport facility in response to allegations of the presence of PFAS in the release and related impact to the surrounding environment and communities
Represented major chemical manufacturing company in storm water runoff litigation concerning several large industrial sites and an adjacent California municipality
Represented global oil company defend a toxic tort docket associated with allegations of exposure to benzene, xylene, MTBE, formaldehyde, and other contaminants
Represented global pharmaceutical company in product liability matter concerning the historical production, marketing and sale of perchloroethylene ("PERC")
Represented California municipality in Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) negotiations with the US Navy concerning the existence of radionuclide contamination, the risks associated with same and the remedy necessary to obtain a Finding of Suitability to Transfer under CERCLA
Worked directly with NOAA to reach a cooperative agreement between PRPs and the federal trustees to perform an NRDA at multiple estuaries
Served on a trial team on behalf of a major oil company in the defense of a state's action seeking natural resource damages involving two major refineries in the Northeast
Served as lead counsel on behalf of a major oil company and successfully negotiated the settlement of numerous matters involving alleged leaking underground storage tanks, environmental contamination, diminution in property value and personal injury

Corporate Liability Litigation

Represent major energy company in administrative enforcement litigation related to alleged successor liability attributable to a former subsidiary's operations at several sites across the United States
Represented global oil company in breach of contract litigation related to multi-million dollar remediation system at an active refinery site
Represented major pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical company in breach of contract and alter ego litigation concerning a large, environmentally impacted site in California, including the recovery of significant attorney fees and costs pursuant to California's fee shifting statute(s)
Represented major medical-surgical supply and pharmaceutical company in breach of contract litigation in federal district court related to the obligation to fund and perform investigation and cleanup work at a Superfund Site
Represented major pharmaceutical and medical supply company in Superfund matter related to alleged successor liability associated with the actions of a former subsidiary, which had been sold off decades prior to the EPA's involvement

Education

J.D., Boston University School of Law

B.A., University of Oregon
with honors

Awards

The Legal 500 United States

Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Actions: Toxic Tort - Defense (2022-2024)
Recommended, Environment: Regulatory (2023-2024)

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Bylines

Co-author, "PFAS: all signs point to more regulation and enforcement in 2018," Lexology (December 21, 2017)

Seminars

Committees and Associations

Member, Executive Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco, Environmental Law Section (2012-present)
Chair, Executive Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco, Environmental Law Section (2015-2016)
Vice Chair, Executive Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco, Environmental Law Section (2014-2015)
Member, California Association of Environmental Professionals (2012-2014)