Farella Braun + Martel is proud to announce that Partner James Colopy has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL). The ACOEL is a professional association of distinguished lawyers who practice in the field of environmental law. Membership is by invitation only, and ACOEL Fellows are recognized by their peers as preeminent in their field. ACOEL's current membership consists of approximately 320 Active Fellows (and approximately 100 Emeritus and Honorary Fellows) from virtually all states in the country, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

“On behalf of the fellows, I am delighted to welcome the class of 2026 to the College,” said ACOEL President Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, who is president and CEO of agricultural trade association CropLife America. “The addition of these 19 accomplished attorneys will increase the strength and depth of the ACOEL bench. This class represents the best of the best across the United States and includes our third international fellow.”

Jim, a senior partner in Farella’s Environmental Law Group and Business Litigation Group, has over 30 years of experience specializing in complex environmental litigation and environmental counseling matters. Jim's significant complex environmental litigation experience includes representing manufacturers, chemical companies, developers, and governmental institutions in environmental enforcement actions, citizen suit litigation, cost recovery actions, toxic tort cases, and product liability actions and administrative proceedings involving federal, state, and local environmental laws. He currently serves on the Environmental Law Institute’s Board of Directors as the Board Treasurer and has previously been active in the environmental sections of the American Bar Association and San Francisco Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer and has written on various environmental legal issues for a variety of publications. He is named in The Best Lawyers in America in the Environmental Law and Litigation–Environmental practice areas. Jim earned his J.D from Stanford Law School (1994) and his B.A. from Harvard College (1990).

Farella Braun + Martel is a leading Northern California law firm representing corporate and private clients in sophisticated business and real estate transactions and complex commercial, civil, and criminal litigation. Clients seek our imaginative legal solutions and the dynamism and intellectual creativity of our lawyers. We are headquartered in San Francisco and maintain an office in the Napa Valley that is focused on the wine industry.

Contact:
Cheryl Loof
Farella Braun + Martel LLP
415.954.4433 / [email protected]