Perkins Coie Adds Environmental and Real Estate Litigator Ray Hartman to San Diego Office

SAN DIEGO (March 3, 2020) - Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Ray Hartman has joined the firm's Environment, Energy & Resources (EER) practice as a partner in the San Diego office. Ray is an experienced environmental litigator and has represented clients in complex cases involving such issues as groundwater contamination, toxic exposure, and real estate disputes.

"Ray is a very successful environmental litigator who is held in high esteem by his colleagues, clients and peers in California," said Karen McGaffey, the chair of Perkins Coie's EER practice. "We're pleased to welcome a lawyer of Ray's caliber to our team and know his background and experience as a trial lawyer will benefit our clients greatly."

Ray focuses his practice on environmental litigation, as well as real estate and commercial litigation. His successes include securing a reversal of a $100 million judgment against a major pipeline company and a favorable settlement in environmental litigation alleging $400 million in damages related to a sports stadium.

"We know that Ray will be an immediate asset to our Environment, Energy & Resources practice as well as to the San Diego office," said Mark Wicker, the San Diego office managing partner and firmwide chair of the Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical industry group. "The breadth of Ray's experience beyond environmental law, toxic torts, and real estate litigation, will also help strengthen our growing position in the San Diego legal market."

Ray also currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he teaches a class entitled Experiential Advocacy Practicum: Litigation. He is an active member of the local community, including through pro bono counsel and in serving local charitable organizations.

He joins Perkins Coie from Cooley LLP. Ray earned his B.A., cum laude, in political science from the University of San Diego; an M.A. in political science, law and public policy from the University of Southern California; and his J.D. from University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Perkins Coie's EER practice includes more than 100 EER attorneys in offices across the United States and is widely recognized as having one of the nation's leading environmental litigation practices. Perkins Coie's EER attorneys are also known for their ability to help plan a project's development, secure the necessary permits in a timely manner, reduce the likelihood of litigation, and help facilitate post-development and ongoing compliance and regulatory contacts. Chambers USA ranks the firm's environmental group as one of the nation's top practices. Perkins Coie was named Environmental Litigation Firm of the Year for 2020 and Firm of the Year in Natural Resources law for 2019 by U.S. News – Best Lawyers®.