Biography
Joseph "Tré" August Fischer, III has broad experience representing companies in the energy and manufacturing industries in complex litigation, in a wide range of transactional matters, before administrative and regulatory bodies, and concerning compliance and liability issues; with litigation of all kinds for corporate, individual, and insurance clients on both sides of the docket; and with the management, litigation, and resolution of environmental issues and natural resource damages claims.
Mr. Fischer's nearly twenty years of litigation experience includes both complex business and commercial disputes, including contract disputes, coverage issues, indemnification and cost recovery, and significant personal injury matters, including industrial accidents, toxic tort, and products liability. He also has handled the investigation and litigation resulting from catastrophic explosions, releases, and other industrial incidents and has developed, implemented, and managed environmental, health, and safety audit and compliance programs. Mr. Fischer has represented both plaintiffs and defendants and has trial and appellate experience in both state and federal courts. He regularly practices before both, as well as before regulatory agencies.
Often being called upon to serve his clients outside of litigation, Mr. Fischer also has considerable experience in transaction structuring, negotiation, and documentation in the energy and manufacturing industries across broad range of asset, stock, and real estate transactions in several states and internationally. He has particular experience with transactions involving contaminated properties, environmental risk transfer, Brownfield redevelopment, distressed assets, and other complex legal and risk management issues. His background also brings in-depth experience with the application and negotiation of environmental insurance policies and other risk management and mitigation tools to these transactions.
Further with respect to environmental matters, Mr. Fischer's experience is extensive, having been a consistent but not limiting facet of his practice throughout his career. He has represented sellers, buyers, owners, developers, responsible parties, and regulatory agencies at more than 100 Superfund sites in all 10 US EPA regions and at numerous state-lead sites and concerning dozens of transactions involving sites throughout the United States and frequently requiring customized combinations of legal, regulatory and financial tools to ensure the appropriate allocation of liability and risk. His experience includes prosecution and defense of governmental enforcement actions and claims involving natural resource damage, personal injury and property damage, and cost-recovery and indemnification. He also has unique experience with the resolution of environmental obligations and claims in the context of bankruptcy proceedings. Through years of experience working with clients, technical consultants, and engineers to effect the cost-effective remediation of environmental sites and ensure compliance with legal obligations, he is adept at understanding and balancing competing commercial and legal issues without sacrificing either.
In addition to many years in private practice, he served as Vice President & Deputy General Counsel for TRC Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRR) and Assistant General Counsel for Kaiser Aluminum (Nasdaq: KALU). His in-house experience provided Mr. Fischer an uncommon breadth of experience managing and resolving a myriad of complex and significant matters and issues and provides him exceptional insight in serving the needs of and proactively representing the interests of his corporate and individual clients. Mr. Fischer also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center, teaching civil procedure, legal analysis, and legal research and writing to law students. While attending law school, he worked as a tax accountant at Price Waterhouse.
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Organization Membership
Mr. Fischer is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Litigation and Environmental Sections; the American Bar Association, Litigation Section; and the Houston Bar Association, Litigation Environmental Sections.
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Peer Recognition
Mr. Fischer has been honored as a "Rising Star" by Texas Monthly magazine.
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Speeches / Publications
- Effective Risk Management Techniques, Presented at the EPA and ICMA Brownfields 2009 Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 17, 2009
- Risk Management Plays Lead in Environmentally Impacted Sites, Houston Business Journal, April 20-26, 2007
- Environmental Land Regulation. Presented at Legal Issues for Texas Civil Engineers, Houston, Texas, July 19, 2007
- Environmental Law Update. Presented at Advising Small to Mid-Size Businesses, Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Texas, May 2007
- Risk Management in Business Transactions. Presented at the Texas Environmental Superconference, Austin, Texas, August 3, 2007
- Financial Tool Box: Buying, Insuring, Financing and Allocating the Risk; Key Insurance and Risk Allocation Tools. Presented at Market Opportunities for Brownfields Redevelopment, Seattle, Washington, May 20, 2005
- All CERCLA Plaintiffs Are Not Created Equal: Private Parties, Settlements, and the UCATA, 30 Hou. L. Rev. 1979 (1994)
Links to Publications
More about Joseph A. Fischer: Biography | Involvement | Recognition | News
