Reflecting a strategic decision to strengthen its defense of corporate clients facing an anticipated increase of new environmental regulation and litigation, Hicks Thomas LLP is pleased to welcome former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Grant. Mr. Grant is rejoining Hicks Thomas after spending nearly four years at the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

"Eric already has so much to offer our clients beginning with his talent, expertise, and dedication," said Hicks Thomas Partner John Thomas. "His DOJ experience will allow us to respond to fast-moving developments in energy and the environment. The Biden Administration is already on record with plans to beef up environmental prosecutions. Eric will be enormous asset to our clients."

During nearly four years at DOJ, Mr. Grant supervised the Environment Division's Appellate Section, which prosecutes and defends direct appeals and requests for extraordinary relief in the federal courts of appeals and in state appellate courts, as well as assisting the Solicitor General in litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also supervised the Indian Resources Section, which litigates water rights, reservation boundaries, land-into-trust decisions, and other matters in federal and state courts. Most recently, he supervised the Environmental Defense Section, which defends rules issued by the EPA and other federal agencies under the pollution control statutes; defends those agencies against claims for contribution, response costs, and natural resource damages; and brings enforcement actions under the Clean Water Act.

"It has been an incredible opportunity to see firsthand the inner workings of DOJ's environmental enforcement and defense activities," said Mr. Grant. "I am very much looking forward to bringing back what I learned at DOJ to help guide our clients as the regulatory terrain quickly shifts with a new administration."

Prior to his appointment as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Grant handled a wide range of important legal matters in federal and state appellate courts around the country. During his previous tenure at Hicks Thomas, he successfully defended clients in litigation involving the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and other environmental contamination claims. He won a unanimous decision in the California Supreme Court that established the right of ratepayers to lower utility rates charged by public agencies, and he filed a successful petition for certiorari and argued in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Early in his legal career of three decades, Mr. Grant served in DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel and as a law clerk for retired Chief Justice Warren Burger and for Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. He is a board-certified specialist in appellate law.

Founded in 1997, Texas-based Hicks Thomas LLP is a premier litigation firm representing plaintiffs and defendants across the nation. With offices in Houston, Austin, Beaumont, Amarillo, and Sacramento, California, the firm provides in-depth experience in cases involving oil and gas, environmental, complex commercial, toxic tort, construction, products liability, corporate governance, securities, banking, insurance coverage, transportation, trade secrets and business litigation. Visit the firm at http://www.hicks-thomas.com.