Kimberly Bick

Kimberly Bick

Partner

Contact Information

520 Newport Center Drive
Suite 750
Newport Beach, CA 92660

kbick@bicklawllp.com
949-432-3502
949-363-3057
949-432-3494
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Biography

Kimberly Leue Bick is the founding and co-managing partner of Bick Law LLP. She has practiced environmental law since graduating law school in 1990 with a short hiatus to raise her two children. She has extensive experience representing major aerospace, manufacturing, land use, biotech, and real estate companies, in environmental litigation, regulatory compliance, enforcement, and corporate transactional work involving environmental issues. She also has defended companies in white-collar crime environmental matters. She regularly provides environmental counseling to corporations pertaining to regulations and business operations, and serves on the California Lawyers Association Racial Justice Committee and as Vice Chair of the Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee for DRI. Kimberly has unique subject matter training in contaminated sediment cleanup, from Texas A & M, which she has relied upon when representing clients in the Hudson River, N.Y., Portland Harbor, OR., and Harbor Island, WA. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Kimberly was formally educated as an environmental engineer, with bachelors and masters degrees from Stanford University and worked for several years for McDonnell Douglas Corporation (now Boeing Co.) as one of the company’s primary environmental compliance and Superfund remediation engineers.

Education/Admissions

Education

  • Stanford Law School, J.D., with distinction, 1990
    • Stanford Law Review
    • Stanford Environmental Law Journal
  • Stanford University, B.S Applied Earth Sciences, 1985
  • Stanford University, M.S. Civil Engineering, 1985
  • Texas A&M Center for Dredging Studies, 1992 (certificate program)

Bar and Court Admissions

  • State of California – 1990
  • Central District of California
  • District of Arizona

Representative Matters

Appellate Litigation

  • Represented settling PRP in the defense of a Ninth Circuit appeal of a challenge to CERCLA early settlement with state agency in Arizona.

CERCLA and Cost Recovery

  • Represented PRP at Portland Harbor, Harbor Island and San Fernando Valley Superfund Sites;
  • Assisted shipbuilding company in the negotiation of Consent Decrees with EPA for response actions at Harbor Island and Portland Harbor Superfund Sites;
  • Assisted aluminum smelter company with assessment and strategy for CERCLA and RCRA remediation;
  • Successfully mediated private cost recovery action to recover response costs for client under CERCLA for San Fernando Valley Superfund Sites;
  • Successfully negotiated settlement for client involving groundwater contamination in industrial area in Southern California with multiple sources;
  • Represented agricultural pesticides manufacturer in a multiparty, proceeding involving contamination of groundwater;
  • Represented numerous clients vis-à-vis the US EPA and California DTSC in CERCLA cleanup enforcement matters; and
  • Represented aerospace company in connection with multiparty hexavalent chromium groundwater contamination assessment, remedial action plan, and PRP allocation investigations.

Clean Air Act

  • Represented major automobile manufacturer in California with CARB compliance issues; and
  • Represented organization in challenge of SCAQMD rulemaking that was inconsistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act.

Clean Water Act

  • Defended a major utility company in an EPA enforcement action and remediation of contaminated sediments in the upper Hudson River;
  • Assisted in the defense of a major waste management company in a CWA enforcement action and criminal investigation;
  • Defended various manufacturing clients in California in enforcement matters initiated by RWQCB; and
  • Defended a pulp and paper manufacturer in a CWA enforcement matter.

Common Law Litigation

  • Represented private Fortune 50 company in water purveyor common law damages lawsuit for alleged contamination of groundwater in Southern California;
  • Assisted in the defense of an aerospace manufacturing client in a multimillion dollar state claim in California involving groundwater contamination;
  • Managed the defense of a multiparty toxic tort case involving pesticide manufacturing in California; and
  • Managed expert witness testimony for Fortune 50 company in a “contaminated community” toxic tort case in federal district court involving allegations of exposure to hexavalent chromium, PCE and TCE in air and groundwater.

Compliance

  • Assisted aluminum smelting company in Pacific Northwest with RCRA landfill issues;
  • Assisted toy manufacturing client in California with OSHA, Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Act, Safer Consumer Products Act, RCRA, and other state statutes in a variety of states where the company’s products are sold; and
  • Assisted rocket testing company with compliance issues under RCRA, OSHA, CWA, and CAA.

Corporate and Real Estate Transactions

  • Assisted various companies with corporate transactions involving contaminated property;
  • Represented seller of a manufacturing company in the drafting of environmental representations and warranties in deal documents for sale of company;
  • Represented buyer of a manufacturing company in the review and negotiation of environmental language for deal documents including representations and warranties, indemnities, and disclosures; and
  • Counseled various lenders, borrowers, sellers, purchasers, and other entities involved in financial agreements pertaining to companies and/or properties with environmental risks and liabilities.

Enforcement

  • Represented manufacturing interest in connection with penalty assessment for purported housekeeping violations; and
  • Represented manufacturer against DTSC penalty assessments for purported waste disposal violations related to geothermal energy production.

Natural Resource Damages

  • Represented company with NRD assessment at former aluminum smelting sites and former shipbuilding sites in the Pacific Northwest; and
  • Oversaw investigation of natural resource allegations and preparation of expert rebuttals.

Proposition 65

  • Represented acoustic manufacturer in TDCPP warning and labeling case; and
  • Assisted in representation of faucet manufacturer in unlawful exposure case.

RCRA

  • Assisted company with RCRA issues related to remediation of former aluminum smelter site;
  • Represented a waste management company with RCRA compliance and enforcement issues in Hawaii;
  • Assisted rocket manufacturing company with storage, transportation and disposal issues for radioactive waste; and
  • Assisted transportation company with hazardous waste transport issues and damaged packages issues.

Sustainability

  • Conducted global supply chain mapping of all products and packages manufactured by Fortune 500 company;
  • Prepared compliance protocols, policies and procedures for Fortune 500 company to ensure rainforest products were not incidentally included in product packaging for products;
  • Prepared training materials for global manufacturing company to comply with California statute eradicating human trafficking;
  • Assisted Director of Sustainability at Fortune 500 company with reporting issues pertaining to the Global Reporting Initiative; and
  • Assisted in commenting and drafting language for various regulations proposed in California, Washington, Maine, Minnesota and Michigan pertaining to Green Chemistry.

White Collar Environmental Crime Defense

  • Assisted in the defense of a major waste management company in a Clean Water Act enforcement action and criminal investigation; and
  • Defended a geothermal energy company in a California state criminal action alleging unlawful disposal of hazardous waste.

Publications

Insights