Bloomberg Law on How Mark Templeton's Diverse Background Informs the Work of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic
Legal Spotlight: Ex-Goldman Analyst Involved in Trump Hotel Suit
A lawsuit against Chicago’s Trump Tower for alleged Clean Water Act violations involves a Yale Law School associate dean, Goldman Sachs analyst, and director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Those disparate titles belong to one attorney: Mark Templeton, who now leads the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School.
The clinic is currently involved in a suit over the hotel’s use of a water intake system that allegedly violates the Clean Water Act by drawing millions of gallons of Chicago River water and returning it heated to the river without a permit. The clinic is also in the midst of a Clean Water Act suit against U.S. Steel and recently took on a large silica mine permitting case.
Templeton said his diverse background helps him provide clinic students with a unique perspective on corporate decision making and regulatory goals.
“I think it helps with teaching of the students because I can explain to them, ‘This is how the company is thinking about this, so how can I be more effective in our arguments?’” Templeton said. “Or, ‘This is how I think the opposing counsel in their arguments is being more reasonable or less reasonable.’”
He said he understands business concerns due to his time at Goldman, McKinsey & Company and as a director for the $20 billion Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill trust, which paid billions to claimants impacted by the Gulf Coast tragedy. He also said he understands how regulators seek to solve problems.
“What my students and clients want is a healthier environment, and we want companies making investments in equipment that protects the environment,” he said. “My perspective working with businesses is to make them think about their investments in environmental issues as not just costs, but as opportunities as well.”
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