James A. Bruen, a partner in Farella Braun + Martel's Environmental Law Department and Product Law Department, has more than 40 years of criminal and civil litigation and business counseling experience. He is listed as one of the top (Band 1) environmental lawyers in California by the 2010 Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers. He is listed as one of the top 25 environmental experts in the world in Legal Media Group's Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers-Best of the Best. In 2009, he was designated as one of the nation's 16 "Distinguished Environmental Advocates" by the American Bar Association. Mr. Bruen is a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, where he serves as Regent of the College and has served as the Region 9 Membership Chair.
Mr. Bruen's practice includes representation of industry, universities and governmental institutions in complex domestic and international products and environmental counseling and litigation. He is also a highly regarded expert in product stewardship with wide-ranging experience in product design, manufacturing, distribution and stewardship issues, as well as on plant sitings, plant closures, raw material sourcing, EHS management systems, codes of conduct, effluent guidelines and other sustainable development issues. He coordinates and supervises domestic and international products and environmental litigation. He serves and has served as lead trial counsel (to trial teams and "virtual law firms") in mass tort litigation, natural resource damage litigation, environmental enforcement litigation, environmental cost recovery/contribution litigation and white collar environmental crimes defense. He has extensive experience in leading the successful prosecution or defense of litigation while simultaneously managing confounding regulatory or business matters. He is nationally known for his expertise in emergency response and crisis management. He has been trained as a mediator by the Strauss Institute for Conflict Resolution at Pepperdine University.
Prior to joining Farella Braun + Martel, Mr. Bruen was the founding partner of Landels Ripley & Diamond's Environmental Law Department. Before entering private practice, Mr. Bruen served as an Enforcement Attorney for the Federal Communications Commission and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California.
Mr. Bruen is a widely known author and lecturer in environmental and products liability law. His articles and book sections are in current use by law departments and governmental entities throughout the country. In addition to other recognition, he is named in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Environmental Law and Mass Tort Litigation (1989 to present), International Corporate Law's Guide to Environmental Law Experts, Practical Law Company's Which Lawyer? Yearbook, Expert Guides' Best of the Best Environment Lawyers, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, International Who's Who of Environment Lawyers, International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, PLC Cross-Border Environment Handbook, Who's Who Legal USA (Environment), Who's Who Legal California (Environment), and Who's Who in American Law. He is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors for the Roberts Environmental Center at Claremont McKenna College.