Joseph J McGovern

Joseph J. McGovern concentrates his practice on environmental law.

Mr. McGovern has represented a diverse client base including multinational corporations, regionally prominent businesses and individuals. He has served as special environmental counsel for clients based in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Michigan.

He has handled matters involving:

• Claims for insurance coverage for removal of pollutants from commercial real estate;
• Asbestos abatement;
• PCB discharges and cleanup in office buildings; and
• Claims for insurance coverage for damage to commercial buildings from mold, mildew and fungus.

Mr. McGovern has tried numerous cases to verdict. He has litigated environmental claims arising from high-rise office building fires; electrical equipment failures; pipeline accidents; hazardous materials spills; historic waste disposal practices; and alleged non-compliance with federal and state regulations applicable to manufacturers and recyclers.

Mr. McGovern has successfully represented corporate officers alleged to have violated criminal provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act, and has conducted “in house” investigations on behalf of boards of directors, in connection with claims by EPA against corporate officers and managers. 

Prior to joining Obermayer in 1990, Mr. McGovern was senior counsel in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., where he served as litigation team leader in high priority enforcement cases brought under Superfund, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. While with the Justice Department, Mr. McGovern was one of the government’s principal litigators in numerous cases of national significance.

Before joining the Environmental Enforcement Section, Mr. McGovern served for four years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.