William Sloan is of counsel with the global law firm Morrison & Foerster in its San Francisco office, serves on the firm’s Cleantech Steering Committee, and chairs the environmental group’s carbon team. Mr. Sloan represents domestic and international clients on matters involving natural resource and emission management, regulation, and litigation, with a particular focus on climate change, energy and water resources. He has advised clients on carbon offset generation projects and emission reduction purchase agreements, both under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol and in the voluntary offset marketplace. With respect to water, he has counseled clients on water rights and water supply assessments, and has handled contested cases involving groundwater basin adjudications and water quality compliance. His work has spanned North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Before entering private practice, Mr. Sloan served in externships with the United States Department of Justice, the United States EPA, and the California Attorney General’s Office. During his career, he has developed extensive compliance, permitting, and litigation experience involving the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Coastal Act, the Endangered Species Act, the California Forest Practice Act, and other environmental statutes.

For nearly a decade, Mr. Sloan has worked on matters before regulatory agencies, as well as in state, federal, and international courts, successfully litigating cases for both the public and private sector that have been resolved in the California and United States Supreme Courts. His matters have also included representation of sovereign entities such as the Government of Guam and the Republic of Ethiopia. A list of clients is available upon request.

Mr. Sloan received his B.A. from Princeton University in 1994 and his J.D. degree from Hastings College of the Law, University of California in 1999. In 2006, he was awarded a diploma as a Rhodes Ocean Scholar from the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy in Greece. He is a frequent speaker and author on climate change and carbon markets.

Currently, Mr. Sloan sits on the Climate Change Advisory Committee for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association, and participates in the Association’s environmental and government affairs committees. Mr. Sloan is also a member of the Energy Bar Association’s emission trading committee, the Environmental Law Institute and the Environment, Energy and Resources Section of the American Bar Association.

Lectures and Presentations

• “Monetizing Carbon in the Current Capital Markets,” Harvard Club of San Francisco (San Francisco CA, June 26, 2008)
• “Cleantech Investment Briefing,” Morrison & Foerster LLP and MIT Enterprise Forum (McLean VA, June 11, 2008)
• “Public Policy – A Driver for Green,” Transatlantic Green Platform 2008 (La Baule, France, June 5, 2008)
• “Surviving Climate Change: Private Market Responses” UC Hastings College of the Law and Monterey Institute of International Studies (San Francisco CA, April 4, 2008)
• “Current Status of the 404 Regulatory Program: A Review of Recent Developments,” ALI-ABA Course of Study, Wetlands Law & Regulation (Washington DC, 2001)

Publications

• “Protecting Your Ownership in Future Carbon Markets” (with Christopher J. Carr), Energy Law 360 (Portfolio Media, May 12, 2008)
• “Cleantech Update” (with Christopher J. Carr), Quarterly Cleantech Update (Morrison & Foerster LLP, May 1, 2008)
• “Governor Schwarzenegger Takes the EPA to Court” (with Travis R.A Neal ), Legal Updates & News (Morrison & Foerster LLP, January 7, 2008)
• “On the Road to New Fuel Efficiency Standards” (with Michèle Corash and Travis R.A. Neal), Legal Updates & News (Morrison & Foerster LLP, December 20, 2007)
• “Cleantech: Update” (with Christopher J. Carr), Quarterly Cleantech Update (Morrison & Foerster LLP, June 21, 2007)
• “New Climate Change Law – Kyoto in California?,” The Dirt, (Morrison & Foerster, December 14, 2006)
• “Seawater Desalination: Urban Myth or Urban Supply?,” Legal Updates & News (Morrison & Foerster LLP, July 17, 2006)
• “Court Decides ‘Consistency Determinations’ Under the California Endangered Species Act Are Not Subject to CEQA Review” (with Edgar B. Washburn, Christopher J. Carr and Shaye Diveley), Legal Updates & News (Morrison & Foerster LLP, November 1, 2005)