LOS ANGELES, March 10, 2025―A group of environmental litigators have joined Duane Morris LLP in the firm’s Trial Practice Group. Partner Gregory J. Newmark and special counsel Viviana L. Heger will be part of the firm’s Los Angeles office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Newmark was a principal and Heger was of counsel at Meyers Nave.
“Our Los Angeles office is powerful in capability, and I am pleased to expand our bench of talent with this accomplished team,” said Duane Morris Chairman and CEO Matthew A. Taylor “With nearly 150 lawyers in California, Duane Morris offers a full-service platform from which to serve our clients. I’m confident that our ongoing focus on recruiting in California will continue to yield fantastic results.”
“Our practice supports all areas of environmental law. In the past two years, we have added new partners with experience in both water rights and emergency response, enabling us to address major and catastrophic situations for clients in real time,” said Sharon L. Caffrey, co-chair of Duane Morris’ Trial Practice Group. “Our litigation capability in California is gaining strong momentum in 2025, and Greg and Vivi’s experience expand what we can do for clients, particularly enhancing environmental regulatory work in the state,” said Stephen H. Sutro, co-chair of Duane Morris’ Trial Practice Group.
“We’re excited to welcome this talented team to our existing complex, commercial litigation group, especially with all the issues surrounding environmental, products, toxic torts, and natural disasters in California and the nation,” said Cyndie M. Chang, managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office.
“As our clients confront dynamic changes and uncertainty in environmental regulation at the federal and state level, we are excited to offer expanded capabilities inherent in Duane Morris’ impressive nationwide platform to guide our clients through these challenges,” said Newmark.
Gregory J. Newmark represents public and private entity clients in litigation and compliance matters regarding water quality, water rights, water rates, environmental contamination, inverse condemnation and brownfields. Newmark has extensive litigation experience, including complex multiparty disputes. He represents clients in a broad array of environmental and land use matters, often serving as counsel in administrative permitting and enforcement proceedings before the California State Water Resources Control Board and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. Newmark litigates administrative appeals and civil actions on behalf of waste discharge and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permittees. He has handled numerous cases involving groundwater contamination issues. Previously, Newmark served as a deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice. In that role, he represented natural resources agencies (e.g., the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Fish and Wildlife) in trial court and appellate litigation regarding air and water pollution, inverse condemnation, CEQA, exotic species and endangered species and fire suppression cost recovery.
Newmark is a graduate of the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (JD, 1997) and the University of New Mexico (B.A., cum laude, 1994).
Viviana Heger has deep experience in a wide variety of complex environmental compliance matters, including more than two decades of involvement in environmental permitting for industrial and infrastructure projects, emissions trading programs, and counseling energy, manufacturing, recreation, food and beverage and municipal clients. This equips her to strategically and comprehensively tackle the numerous challenges clients face complying in California with federal, state and local laws regulating air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, hazardous waste and materials management and disposal, chemicals regulations, and remediation and right-to-know requirements, including California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65). Heger’s experience also includes compliance counseling and complex litigation, administrative petitions and appeals, defense in enforcement, procurement of permits and abandonment and closure of hazardous material structures. She advises and defends clients in crisis or emergency situations involving accidents, spills, releases or other scenarios such as safely closing or abandoning pipelines and underground storage tanks. Heger counsels clients on health, safety and emergency management plans, as well as litigating claims of property damage, toxic torts and environmental citizen suits. She also assists in conducting compliance audits and due diligence associated with mergers, acquisitions and financing.
Heger is a graduate of Loyola Law School (J.D., 1999) and Ohio State University (B.A., 1989).
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.
