“I have worked with environmental attorneys around the world and have yet to find any individual attorney whose skill set and knowledge match up to our business as well as Jill’s do.”  
 - Randy Reyer, Director Corporate Environmental Health & Safety for Global Manufacturer

Jill has a wide variety of experience in environmental and safety counseling and litigation. She has handled many Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") compliance and enforcement matters for clients across the country including matters involving fatalities and serious injuries, challenging Citations, advising on OSHA programs and procedures, and submitting comments on and challenging new OSHA standards. Jill’s environmental practice is equally varied and includes designing, overseeing and performing environmental health and safety audits; advising clients on environmental aspects of real estate development and management and ways to limit their potential liability; and assisting clients to comply with complex regulatory schemes such as hazardous and non-hazardous waste regulations, stormwater requirements, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act requirements, and Superfund and cleanup laws. Other areas where Jill has in-depth experience include asbestos, mold and indoor air quality and environmental insurance. Jill’s diverse practice stems from the broad range of clients she has represented, including a global manufacturer of lead-acid batteries, a leading telecommunications company, a national drug store chain, railroads, hospitals, port facilities, and prominent brownfields redevelopers.

Jill is a past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Environmental and Energy Law Section. She also served as a course planner for many years for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Annual Environmental Law Forum.

Outside of work, Jill spends her time with her husband, son and daughter. She enjoys hiking, baking, and old movies.

Her representative matters include the following:

• representing clients in OSHA proceedings involving fatalities and alleged violations of lockout/tagout and electric power generation, transmission and distribution regulations, and negotiating favorable settlement terms and penalties;
• defending railroad in OSHA proceeding which resulted in a majority of the items being withdrawn and an over 90 percent penalty reduction;
• representing the Association of American Railroads and six Class I railroads in challenging OSHA’s Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard which resulted in revised regulations applicable to railroads;
• representing clients at informal conferences with OSHA and negotiating favorable settlement terms;
• assisting clients in designing and drafting OSHA programs ranging from asbestos to electrical safety to emergency response;
• acting as environmental counsel to a global manufacturer of lead-acid batteries, including defending notices of citations relating to hazardous waste and stormwater issues, negotiating settlements with state environmental agencies, defending cost recovery litigation, auditing facilities, drafting environmental language for sales agreements and leases, and negotiating global insurance policies;
• designing, overseeing, and implementing environmental audits of telecommunications companies, hospitals, and manufacturers with multi-state facilities;
• negotiating a Consent Agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") under its Audit Policy involving alleged violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, Clean Water Act, and Clean Air Act, which resulted in a 100 percent reduction ($1.2 million) of the gravity component of the civil penalty;
• performing internal investigations at companies that have received employee complaints or have discovered employee misconduct;
• assisting national drug store chain in performing due diligence for numerous real estate transactions, overseeing necessary cleanups, and obtaining liability protection or "no further action" letters;
• successfully defending drug store in a mediation proceeding involving past contamination;
• assisting port facility in the environmental aspects of a $104 million bond issue, including drafting environmental aspects of agreements, leases, and disclosure statements;
• assisting port facilities with stormwater and air permitting issues;
• representing property owners and contractors in connection with alleged asbestos NESHAP violations, including negotiating favorable settlement terms and acceptable work practices with EPA;
• representing clients at federal and state Superfund sites including bringing and defending all types of cost recovery litigation, negotiating consent orders and decrees with EPA and state agencies, representing parties in equitable allocation proceedings, and negotiating and obtaining comfort letters and prospective purchaser agreements from EPA and state agencies concerning contamination on and emanating from Superfund sites;
• assisting brownfield redevelopers in performing due diligence and structuring matters to obtain liability protection and expedite regulatory and financial approvals, including satisfying the requirements of EPA’s Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser defense and negotiating many Buyer-Seller Agreements with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; and
• successfully representing clients in appeals before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.

Jill has spoken and written on the topics of obtaining financing for brownfields projects, lender liability, legal and insurance issues presented by mold contamination, and OSHA issues. In addition, Jill has spoken to a number of groups regarding environmental audits, including providing assistance on designing audit policies and programs.

• Best Lawyers® in America listing (environmental law), since 2008. The Best Lawyers list is issued by Woodward/White Inc. Click here to view the selection methodology.
• Pennsylvania's Super Lawyers listing (environmental law), since 2011. Top 50: Women Pennsylvania Super Lawyers 2023. The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters.  Click here to view the selection methodology.
• No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey or any other jurisdiction.

"EPA and OSHA Enforcement Trends" presented at the Battery Council International (BCI) Environmental Health & Safety Conference, Nashville, TN, September 21, 2023

“Updates on New Jersey Environmental Justice Law & Rulemaking Process” presented at the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey Environment Committee Meeting, Cherry Hill, NJ, October 28, 2022

"Briefings on the Environmental Initiatives of the Biden Administration” a webinar presented by MGKF, March 24, 2021

“Being Prepared to Respond to the Next Emergency” presented at the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel's Health, Biotech and Pharma Institute, a webinar, June 9, 2020

“OSHA vs. The FRA – Where to Draw the Line” presented at the American Short Line & Regional Rail Association’s (“ASLRRA”) Finance & Administration and General Counsel Symposium, Kansas City, MO, November 16, 2017

"Protecting the Company and Client: Agency Inspections and Criminal Prosecution," a webinar sponsored by DRI, April 21, 2016.

"Pitfalls and Practice Pointers: Negotiating Contracts with Consultants and Contractors," presented at the 2016 In-House Counsel Conference of the Association of Corporate Counsel Greater Philadelphia, April 19, 2016.

"Preparing for and Responding to an Emergency of Casualty Incident," sponsored by MGKF in Bala Cynwyd, PA, June 24, 2014.

"Managing Risk During EHS Auditing - The Attorney-Client Privilege," presented at the National Meeting of the Auditing Roundtable, September 7, 2011

"Managing Risk During EHS Auditing," sponsored by the Auditing Roundtable in Bala Cynwyd, PA, April 28, 2010

"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About OSHA But Were Afraid to Ask," presented by MGKF in Bala Cynwyd, PA, June 12, 2008