Peter Hsiao is a partner in the global technology and finance law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP, and head of the Land Use and Environmental Law Group in Los Angeles. Drawing upon his technical background as a chemical engineer, his practice focuses on complex litigation with a specialty in environmental, natural resources and chemical regulation laws and compliance counseling, both in the United States and internationally. He has more than 20 years of experience as a trial lawyer, having formerly served with the U.S. Department of Justice as the senior trial attorney for environmental and natural resources matters for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Mr. Hsiao was lead counsel in major environmental cases involving federal agencies with a presence in the Central District of California, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the various military bases. Those matters involved hazardous waste, air emissions, and water permit issues under federal statutes, including the RCRA, the Superfund, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and NEPA. He received the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Golden Eagle Award, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Achievement Award, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Special Commendation Award. He has also served as a mediator for environmental cases, and was formerly a judge pro tem for the Los Angeles Municipal Court.

In private practice, Mr. Hsiao advises clients on a wide variety of environmental, land-use, toxic tort, and product liability matters. He currently serves on the Standing Committee on Environmental Law for the American Bar Association. He is the former Chair of the Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of California. Mr. Hsiao is identified as one of California’s best environmental/land-use attorneys by the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, and by Super Lawyers Magazine as a Super Lawyer in environmental and land use law. He has successfully defended civil and criminal prosecutions under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and CERCLA, and under California’s air, water, solid waste and hazardous waste regulations, including Proposition 65. Mr. Hsiao represents clients in air permitting and rulemaking proceedings, in NEPA and CEQA actions, in planning and litigation under the Endangered Species Act, and in transactional issues involving environmental indemnities, warranties, and insurance. He regularly practices before the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the State Water Resources Board, the Regional Water Quality Control Boards, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the California Resources Agency, the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Oil and Gas, the California Coastal Commission, and in interactions with the California Attorney General’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office. He also counsels clients regarding environmental due diligence, auditing, and compliance issues. Mr. Hsiao has represented trade associations, including the Western States Petroleum Association, petroleum, chemical and manufacturing corporations, and high-technology companies.

Mr. Hsiao is listed in Who’s Who in American Law, and is an author of the California Environmental and Natural Resources Law Handbook, a comprehensive treatise in its 12th Edition. He lectures for the American Law Institute on litigation and trial skills, and has served as an instructor at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Advocacy Institute.

Recent Publications

• “State-led initiatives on electronic recycling and waste control,” Trends: ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Newsletter (November/December 2007)

Other Appointments and Memberships

• Appointed to Board of Directors, Los Angeles County Bar Foundation
• Officer, ABA Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources
• Editorial Board, Trends published by the American Bar Association
• Appointed to California Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation
• Appointed as Adjunct Professor, Southwestern University School of Law
• Member, Environmental Law Institute
• Member, Air and Waste Committee of the California Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Environmental Law Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Former Chair, State Bar’s Standing Committee on Legal Services to the Poor
• Former Member, California Integrated Waste Management Board Advisory Committee.
• Former Member, American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Mr. Hsiao is a magna cum laude graduate in chemical engineering from the University of Utah and received his Juris Doctor in 1985 from the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley.