Washington, D.C. and Houston, Nov. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jason A. Hill, a former Chief Administrative Judge of the Interior Board of Land Appeals and Deputy Solicitor for Energy and Mineral Resources at the U.S. Department of the Interior, has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP’s nationally recognized environmental and natural resource team as a counsel and will lead the firm’s public lands practice.
Splitting time between the firm’s Houston and Washington, DC offices, Hill will focus his practice on energy, natural resource, and mineral development issues affecting federal public lands, including litigation brought under the Administrative Procedure Act and National Environmental Policy Act. He advises clients on the numerous federal laws governing the use of public land, including the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Mineral Leasing Act, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, and Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act.
“Jason’s experience in federal land management adds a capability to our team that aligns with our strategic focus on energy transition and reinforces our ability to assist clients develop and integrate low-carbon alternatives, a great deal of which will involve infrastructure located on federal land,” said Deidre Duncan, Hunton Andrews Kurth’s environmental practice group leader. “He is an outstanding complement to our environmental team and we are excited to welcome him to the firm.”
In April 2020, the Secretary of the Interior appointed Hill to serve as Chief Administrative Judge for the Interior Board of Land Appeals where he led a modernization effort and doubled case production. Prior to his appointment, Hill served as the DOI’s Deputy Solicitor for Energy and Mineral Resources where he led a team of lawyers providing legal advice to the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. He also served for a year as Senior Counselor to the Director for the Bureau of Land Management. From 2008 to 2018, Hill was a trial attorney for the Natural Resources Section in the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Before entering government service, Hill spent seven years as a litigator in private practice in Houston. Hill earned his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and his LL.M. in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. He also holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Studies from Baylor University.
Hunton Andrews Kurth’s global environmental practice of over 50 attorneys has helped clients in energy, oil and natural gas, automobile, chemical, manufacturing, commercial real estate, mining and mineral extractive industries navigate regulatory, permitting, compliance and enforcement matters across air, water, waste and natural resource law for more than 45 years. The practice and many of its lawyers are ranked Band 1 nationally by Chambers USA and Chambers Global, as well as by many other well-respected ranking publications.
With lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. For more information, please contact Jeremy Heallen at +1 713 220 3713.
