Practice Areas
Business Litigation
Environmental
Real Estate
Sustainability and Climate Change
Professional Experience
George W. "Skip" McKallip, Jr. has 25 years of extensive experience in a wide variety of environmental and toxic tort litigation, including asbestos, chemical exposure, mold and product liability cases. He is chair of the firm's Environmental Group, focusing on hazardous waste cost recovery and contribution litigation, representation of businesses in regulatory clean ups and consent decrees, transactional due diligence, brownfields redevelopment, and permitting.
Skip is licensed in Oregon and Washington, and has an AV-rating by Martindale-Hubbell. He has also served as Chair of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel's Product Liability and Environmental Group, and as a chapter editor of the Oregon State Bar's Environmental Law practice book.
Honors/Awards
2010 - present: Best Lawyers in America® in the Specialty of Environmental Law and Environmental Litigation
2009 - present: Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America
2007 - present: Oregon Super Lawyers - Environmental and Environmental Litigation
2005 Portland Business Journal "Best of the Bar" - Environmental Law
Martindale-Hubbell AV rating
Professional Organizations
Oregon State Bar
Environmental and Natural Resources Section
Chapter Editor, Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Toxic Tort Section
Litigation Section
Business Litigation Section
Real Estate Section
Washington State Bar
Environmental and Land Use Section
Litigation Section
Oregon Association of Defense Counsel
Publication Liaison for Product Liability
Environmental and Toxic Tort practice group publications (1995-2001)
Vice Chairman (2001-2002)
Chairman (2003-2005)
Defense Research Institute
Environmental Toxic Tort Group
Product Liability Group
Multnomah County Bar Association
Mentor
Federal Bar Association
Clark County Bar Association
Inns of Court
Education
B.A., cum laude, Economics, Allegheny College
J.D., cum laude, Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College
Admitted to Practice
Oregon State Bar
U.S. District Court, Oregon
Washington State Bar
U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Articles
Past Speaking Engagements
Oregon Brownfields Conference: Northwest Environmental Business Council (April 2010)
That's Privileged! Or is It? MBA CLE Seminar (March 2009)
Representative Work- Apartment Mold Claim
We obtained a favorable resolution for the general contractor in a complex dispute between tenants, apartment owner and construction contractors arising from mold exposure claims.
- Asbestos – Hazardous Waste
We recently completed representation of a developer in a complex, multi-party, $12+ million settlement of claims by 36 homeowners, related litigation in federal court, bankruptcy court and state court, together with related EPA and DEQ enforcement actions, arising from development of a residential subdivision on a former military site contaminated with asbestos. The settlement resulted in the dismissal of all potentially viable claims, a release of all liabilities to EPA and DEQ, contribution protection, and the transfer of affected properties to a receiver.
- Asbestos Defense
We have successfully defended many clients, including manufacturers and distributors of electronic equipment, furnaces, building supplies, apparel and other asbestos containing products.
- Brownfield Purchase
We represented a major shipping company in one of the largest Brownfield acquisitions in Oregon history. The client acquired property within a Superfund site, for redevelopment. We advised the client with respect to due diligence, obtaining innocent purchaser status, retaining non-liable status during redevelopment activities. We also represented the client in related contract negotiations and drafting, and in related wetlands, tax abatement and other regulatory issues.
- Chemical Spill
We succeeded in obtaining a dismissal of a claim against an agricultural chemical manufacturer for chemical exposure to its herbicide, arising from a spill of the product from a truck.
- Citizens Suit Defense
We are currently representing a landfill operator in the defense of citizens suits actions based on the Clean Water Act and RCRA.
- Environmental Contractor Liability Defense
We defended a claim against an environmental remediation contractor for more than $1 million for damages allegedly caused by inadequate characterization and clean up of property purchased by the plaintiff. The matter involved multiple parties in interrelated cases in state court and in contractually mandatory arbitration. We settled the claim for a fraction of the demand.
- Expert Witness
We served as an expert witness for a manufacturer in a $25+ million groundwater contamination claim in Vancouver, Washington. Our work first included assessing claims as "remedial action costs" under the MTCA. We were then retained to provide testimony to the bankruptcy court on the reasonableness of the settlement of the case and to respond to objections. The bankruptcy court of the Western District of Washington approved the settlement much along the lines of our presentation.
- Financing Recreational Facility Clean Up
We represented a lender in financing the environmental remediation at a large recreational facility on the Oregon coast. The project resulted in a "No Further Action" letter from the Department of Environmental Quality.
- Health Care Facility Construction and Cost Recovery
We first advised a community hospital on a fast track design/build remedial system in conjunction with construction of a new facility. The property was heavily contaminated by fuel releases from an adjacent gas station. We sued the Responsible Party and obtained full recovery of past costs and a mechanism to recover future costs. We continue to advise the hospital on ongoing remediation and cost recovery issues.
- Industrial Groundwater Contamination
We represented Cascade in Boeing v. Cascade at trial and on appeal in the 9th Circuit. We then represented Cascade Corp. in City of Portland v. Boeing and Cascade, a $20 million claim for damages to the Portland well field. After several weeks of trial we negotiated a very favorable settlement. We continue to represent Cascade in a $30+ million, multi-decade clean up and ongoing remedial cost allocation issues with Boeing.
- Landfill Regulation
We have represented several clients in a number of landfill permitting, regulatory and compliance matters.
- NPDES Permit Renewal
We represented a circuit board manufacturer in obtaining its NPDES (waste water) discharge permit renewal. Our scope of work included working with the client and experts to modify production processes, pretreatment, outfall design and performance of the necessary stream flow/dilution study in order to meet new stricter DEQ discharge requirements.
- Portland Harbor Superfund Site
We are representing a major oil company in litigation, non-judicial allocation proceedings, and negotiations in the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. We are also representing this client in its site-specific remediation.
- Property Purchase Due Diligence
We recently completed wetlands, fill flood plain and related due diligence for an international shipping company in connection with its lease and construction of a warehouse facility adjacent to the Columbia Slough, in Portland.
- Remedial Action
We are representing a former bulk fuel facility operator in negotiations with the property owner and Washington Department of Ecology to propose and perform a remedial action plan to clean up petroleum releases. The site is complicated by the fact that it sits on the Tacoma Coal Gasification Superfund Site and that the coal tars form part of the confining unit between the upper and lower aquifers.
- Water Rights
We are representing an eastern Oregon property owner in an Oregon Department of Water Resources administrative adjudication bought by a neighbor seeking to terminate the client's water rights based on the alleged non-use by a prior owner.
