Environmental Issues in Corporate Transactions

With ever-increasing interest and scrutiny from regulators, investors, and the broader public, environmental issues are a critical and high-stakes aspect of corporate transactions. The underlying laws are complicated, evolving and often misunderstood, the liabilities can sometimes be latent or unquantifiable, the risks can be huge and long-lasting, and the reputational damage can be profound. Engaging counsel to help navigate the due diligence process and negotiate contractual and other protection with respect to environmental risks is crucial.  

This course is designed to help in-house counsel and environmental lawyers and specialists understand the nature of environmental risks and how parties to a transaction can use the diligence process, the transaction documents, and insurance to protect themselves against these risks. Join Davis Polk counsel Betty Moy Huber and David A. Zilberberg as they use a “buy-side” hypothetical case study to provide a practical, hands-on introduction to environmental risks, the purpose and process of environmental due diligence, and the methods to negotiate contractual and other protection from environmental risks. 

Learning Objectives:

I.     Learn the key sources of environmental liabilities and the risk they pose in a transaction

II.    Understand the process and purpose of environmental due diligence and how to tailor it to the nature of the transaction and the client’s objectives

III.    Explore how to best protect against those risks and liabilities via contractual provisions, with drafting and negotiating examples of recent approaches reflecting different deal dynamics, as well as via cutting-edge insurance products