FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (June 22, 2009) – Two attorneys in Gunster’s Environmental and Land Use Practice, Luna Phillips and Robert Malinoski, have been accredited as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professionals (LEED AP) by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Based in the firm’s Ft. Lauderdale office, they are among less than 50 attorneys in Florida and 200 throughout the country accredited by the organization.
“As a firm we’re fully invested and committed to environmentally sustainable practices. This prestigious designation is beneficial to clients at so many levels,” said Brian Seymour, who chairs Gunster’s Environmental and Land Use Practice.
Phillips, who is Board Certified by the Florida Bar in State and Federal Government and Administrative Law, concentrates her practice on water resources law, sustainable development and climate change matters. Prior to joining Gunster, Phillips was a senior attorney for the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, working on the development and implementation of significant environmental legislation and regulatory programs. Today, Phillips represents her clients on complex environmental permitting matters before state, federal and local agencies. A regular speaker on water law topics, Phillips is a member of the South Florida Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Water Resources Association. She has led many of the Firm’s green initiatives, resulting in Gunster’s receipt of the “Green Law Firm Award” and participation in the ABA’s Law Firm Climate Change Challenge. Phillips is admitted to practice in Florida and Georgia.
Malinoski concentrates his practice in environmental, administrative and contamination and remediation issues, as well as environmental counseling. He is a member of the American Bar Association; the Florida Bar Association; the Broward County Bar Association; and the Florida Brownfields Association. Malinoski earned his juris doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law, and his Master’s of Science and bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University.
Attorneys, staff and in-house planners in Gunster’s fast-growing environmental and land use practice counsel clients who own, lease, develop, finance and manage agricultural, commercial, energy, industrial, residential, and mixed-use properties throughout Florida and the United States. Its expansive array of services include land use and development permitting; environmental resource and water use permitting; environmental and land use due diligence and contamination counseling; sustainable developments; and environmental and land use litigation.
The practice has represented clients in extremely complex matters, including environmental, due diligence and real estate counsel to the seller of approximately 73,000 acres of agricultural lands to the State of Florida. It also provided land use, environmental and real estate counsel for the buyer of one of the largest rural lands and preservation transactions in the history of the State of Florida, including master planning and DRI and environmental permitting for the creation of a new town on a portion of the purchased property, as well as defending the approvals in administrative and circuit court litigation.
For more information about Gunster and the environmental and land use practice, please visit www.gunster.com.
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About Gunster
Established in 1925, Gunster is a full-service Florida law firm with eight offices around the state, providing counsel to leading businesses and individuals. Our statewide presence and culture reflect the firm’s status as Florida’s lawyers for business. Gunster services clients from its offices in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Palm Beach, Stuart, Tallahassee, Vero Beach and its headquarters in West Palm Beach, with 140 attorneys and 200 committed support staff.
