Alice M. Shanahan is a shareholder in the Environmental Law group at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A., where she brings extensive experience in complex environmental law and various aspects of real estate and redevelopment. Her practice encompasses a broad spectrum of environmental issues, including regulatory compliance, regulatory and third-party settlements, cost/liability allocation, investigation and remediation, large property and equipment transfers and transactions, divestments, liability transfers, redevelopment, Superfund and RCRA matters, and environmental risk assessments.
Prior to joining Wilentz, Alice worked in the Northern New Jersey office of a large International law firm, based in Philadelphia, where she specialized in high-profile environmental sites, managing complex matters involving contamination and regulatory compliance for major industrial clients. Alice has functioned as both outside and secondment counsel to a Fortune 10 company. Alice also has extensive experience negotiating with all levels of Municipal, State and Federal regulatory bodies, including, but not limited to, NYCDEP, NYSDEC, NJDEP, and USEPA.
With over two decades of environmental experience at some of the nation’s most challenging environmental and Superfund sites in New York, New Jersey, and the Midwest, Alice has a distinguished track record in addressing environmental contamination, with particular emphasis on downstream petroleum operations, soil and groundwater contamination, and sediment sites. She served as lead counsel for the petrochemical and gasoline industries in major environmental remediation matters and in cost-recovery claims involving environmental agencies and third parties. Her role often involves leading multidisciplinary teams—comprised of hydrogeologists, chemists, consultants, and engineers—to develop and execute effective case strategies. Alice also consults on large environmental litigation, including formulation of case strategy, coordination of the expert case, and preparation of witnesses for deposition.
In addition to her litigation and remediation work, Alice negotiates and drafts various environmental agreements and settlements. This includes negotiating and managing consent decrees, orders, stipulations, cost allocation agreements, release, indemnification, and reimbursement agreements, restrictive covenants/use restrictions, and transactions, divestments, and liability transfers related to contaminated properties, such as former refineries, terminals, retail service stations, and industrial sites. Additionally, Alice regularly advises in-house counsel and trains corporate clients and personnel on emerging environmental laws, regulatory compliance, and best practices, which includes the development of training materials and presentations, template agreements, and handbooks.
Alice graduated cum laude with her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, where she was a member of The Environmental Lawyer Law Journal. She also holds a Masters of Public Health (M.P.H.) from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, and a B.A., cum laude, from The College of the Holy Cross, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Alice is actively involved in various civic and charitable activities. Among other things, Alice contributes to her local community as a Troop Leader for the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey.
