Steven Shimberg, one of the nation’s leading figures in environmental law and policy, is Of Counsel to DLA Piper’s Government Affairs practice group. With over 30 years of experience at the Department of Justice, the US Senate, the National Wildlife Federation and, most recently, the Environmental Protection Agency, he brings a deep understanding of environmental law and how governments develop and implement environmental policies.

Mr. Shimberg’s nearly 17-year tenure as counsel to the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works included several years as chief counsel and staff director for the committee’s late chairman, Senator John H. Chafee (R.-RI). In that post, Mr. Shimberg played an integral role in the enactment of virtually every major environmental law, including the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996; Surface Transportation Act of 1991 (ISTEA); Clean Air Act of 1990; Oil Pollution Act of 1990; Endangered Species Acts of 1982 and 1988; Clean Water Acts of 1981 and 1987; Superfund amendments of 1986; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act amendments of 1984; and Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982. He also played a key role in the international negotiation and Senate approval of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1988 and the 1990 London amendments to the Protocol.

While serving as counsel to the Senate Committee, Mr. Shimberg was responsible for initiating and organizing a series of 1986 Senate hearings on climate change that are widely recognized as a watershed moment for climate change as a political and policy issue. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Shimberg was an active participant in the political and policy process that led to US support for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). In 1992, he served as an advisor to the US Senate Observer Group at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro – the Earth Summit where President George H.W. Bush signed the UNFCC.

From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Shimberg helped lead the EPA’s national and regional enforcement and compliance programs as Associate Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in Washington, DC. Prior to his appointment to that position by then-Administrator Christie Todd Whitman, he served for four years as Vice President for Federal and International Affairs at the National Wildlife Federation, the nation’s largest member-supported conservation education and advocacy organization.

Mr. Shimberg began his career as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s environment and natural resources division, where he handled both civil and criminal cases.

Mr. Shimberg is helping clients avoid and solve environmental problems in the U.S. and overseas by:

• Providing counseling to facilitate compliance and to cope with inspections and investigations;
• Defending against ongoing and threatened enforcement matters;
• Participating in development and modifications of government policies and regulations;
• Challenging in court harmful regulatory developments; and
• Working with the Congress and the Administration to promote and protect clients' interests.