Brad Jones is an Of Counsel attorney at GTH with nearly 40 years of litigation and negotiating experience in environmental and natural resource disputes, and complex business and class action litigation. Brad has been listed as a Super Lawyer in environmental law for over 15 consecutive years. Brad has represented a number of Fortune 500 companies in regulatory negotiations, administrative proceedings, and litigation involving CERCLA, RCRA, and MTCA claims. Brad also has extensive experience in negotiations and drafting of real estate contracts involving contaminated properties. He also represents plaintiffs in environmental class action suits and defends corporations against commercial contract and tort claims.

Brad earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Puget Sound School of Law in 1987 after completing his undergraduate degree at Whitman College in 1980. His early career included working for Washington public utility districts during the WPPSS bond default crisis. Brad is known for his creativity and advocacy in complex negotiations and his skillful and successful advocacy at trial and in state and federal appeals courts.

He is actively involved in the arts community, having served as the President of the Tacoma Art Museum Board of Directors, a board member of ArtsFund, and a founding board member of the Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts which supports Native American artists and communities. a Brad also served as President of the Board of Directors of Shaw Islanders, Inc., a nonprofit that serves the residents of Shaw Island. In leisure time, Brad enjoys gardening, hiking, and boating.

Environmental Class Actions. Brad has been lead counsel for plaintiffs in five successful class action lawsuits involving personal and property damages caused by negligently operated landfills and sewer treatment plants.

Bellingham Bay. Brad successfully facilitated negotiations between a city, a port district, a fortune 500 corporation and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources regarding an allocation of liability for a variety of contaminated sediment sites. He has mediated other cleanup cost allocations and testified as an expert witness on cleanup cost allocations and the reasonableness of MTCA attorneys’ fees.

Metropolitan Securities Litigation. Co-lead counsel in six year federal securities fraud action that recovered over $40 million on behalf of investors in Metropolitan Mortgage and Summit Securities.

City of Seattle. Lead outside counsel in matters relating to the allocation of tens of millions of dollars in contaminated sediment cleanup around Gas Works Park.

Port Angeles HarborWorks Development Authority. Lead counsel to HarborWorks in the investigation and analysis of environmental cleanup and permitting issues associated with the potential purchase of an abandoned 80-acre industrial facility.

Bellingham Bay. Retained by a PLP group, including the Georgia Pacific Corporation, the City of Bellingham, the Port of Bellingham, and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, and successfully achieved an allocation of contaminated-sediment liability and facilitated a collaborative voluntary cleanup of contaminated sediments in Bellingham Bay.

Dow Chemical Company. Successfully defended Dow Chemical Company in a multi-million dollar MTCA cost-recovery action. Obtained a dismissal and recovery of most of Dow’s attorneys’ fees and expenses.

Cedar Hills Landfill/Cedar Grove Composting. Lead plaintiffs’ counsel in a class action lawsuit that recovered $25 million for area residents negatively affected by two large solid waste facilities.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Lead environmental attorney in project to redraft all of the DNR Aquatic Resources Division’s aquatic lands lease agreements. DNR owns and manages approximately two million acres of aquatic lands, which include contaminated sediments in a dozen Superfund sites and over 40 MTCA sites.

Thea Foss Environmental Master Plan. Lead environmental attorney representing the City of Tacoma in connection with all environmental issues involving the purchase, remediation, and development of Tacoma’s downtown waterfront. Negotiated the first ever multi-site Consent Decree with the Department of Ecology.

Asarco Litigation. Represented three separate property owners in three successful suits against Asarco for soil and groundwater contamination from Asarco slag. Successfully argued for recovery of litigation costs before the Washington State Supreme Court. Also represented two property owners in successful suits against Asarco for sediment contamination in the Hylebos Waterway.

SSA Marine, Inc. Represented SSA in negotiations with Reichhold, Inc. for the purchase of a 52-acre heavily contaminated former chemical plant. Negotiated two Agreed Orders with Ecology for SSA’s assumption of the RCPA permit and cleanup obligations.

City of Tacoma. Assisted the City of Tacoma in negotiations with Ecology and PLP’s on an Agreed Order for a remedial investigation of a former coal-gasification facility. Led the formation of the PLP group. Also represented the City of Tacoma in connection with environmental issues associated with the redevelopment of Union Station.

In addition to the above projects, Mr. Jones was a member of the Department of Ecology’s External Work Group responsible for reviewing and recommending changes to the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). Mr. Jones participated in drafting the private right of action amendment to MTCA (RCW 70.105D.080) and testified before the legislature. He also led the drafting effort for the MTCA permit-exemption provisions that were adopted by the legislature in 1994 (RCW 70.105D.090).

SSA Marine. Brad has succesfully defended various SSA Marine subsidiaries against Clean Water Act citizen suits. Most recently, Brad obtained a dismissal of a Clean Water Act suit alleging violations of the Act at a marine terminal.