Charles M. Denton, a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Mich., office and chair of the firm’s Environmental Department, has been elected to the Michigan Chemistry Counsel’s (MCC) board of directors for a one-year term.
Denton was appointed the position at the MCC Annual Meeting in Lansing, Mich., on May 15. Other members of the MCC board of directors include BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow Chemical, Dow Corning, Praxair, Solutia, and Webb Chemical. Along with this new position, Denton will continue as chair of the MCC Government Affairs Committee.
In addition to this new role, Denton has held a variety of leadership positions in the environmental practice and beyond. He is immediate past chair of the State Bar of Michigan Environmental Law Section, serves on the CPR Environmental Panel of Distinguished Neutrals, and is on the board of the Michigan Association of Environmental Professionals. Denton is also co-chair of the ABA’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, chair of the Legal/Liability Committee of A&WMA International, chair of the advisory council of NSF-International Strategic Registrations, legal counsel to OESA’s Environment, Health & Safety Council, and a former Detroit Bar Association Chairperson of the Year.
Denton primarily focuses his practice on environmental agency enforcement defense, toxic torts and class action litigation, “Brownfields” redevelopment, pollution insurance coverage, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). He represents a broad range of industrial, municipal, institutional, and individual clients in judicial and administrative environmental proceedings at federal, state, and local levels, as well as policyholders for environmental coverage claims and litigation. Denton also assists clients with environmental considerations in commercial transactions, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as ISO 14000 environmental management systems. This includes lender liability issues and environmental audits to assess potential facility contamination and regulatory compliance for the acquisition and financing of real estate.
Denton has been listed in Who’s Who in American Law and The Best Lawyers in America®. He has authored and co-authored several publications highlighting environmental law topics, and gives frequent presentations for the American Bar Association, Michigan Bar Association, and Michigan Chamber of Commerce, among others.
The Michigan Chemistry Council (MCC) was established in 1967 and has had a full time presence in Lansing since 1989. MCC is the proactive voice for the business of chemistry in Michigan and is made up of company members who pay annual dues based on the number of employees they have in the state. The Counsel has 53 member companies that employ almost 40,000 people in Michigan.
With more than 550 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from its offices in Atlanta, Delaware, Chicago, Indiana, Los Angeles, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com.