Michele R. Blythe
Associate
Michele’s experience includes representing chemical and energy clients in complex environmental matters including defending clients in state cost-recovery and enforcement actions and prosecuting and defending contractual indemnity litigation involving historical environmental contamination. Michele’s experience also includes PRP allocation matters for CERCLA, RCRA and state analogous claims for Superfund and environmental sites across the country both seeking to recover costs incurred from potentially responsible parties and defending her clients to minimize their share of the total liability. Michele is knowledgeable in the field of e-discovery and using technology to manage discovery in “mega” party litigation. She presently serves on The Sedona Conference Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production.
Michele also has experience in the prosecution of patent applications primarily in the chemical and mechanical fields. She has prosecuted trademark applications and defended client’s trademark rights for a wide range of goods and services.
Representative Experience
- Defending clients against claims brought by state agencies to recover alleged damages for contamination in the Newark Bay Watershed including cleanup costs, property damage and economic loss
- Prosecuting cost recovery and contribution action against multiple PRPs and state municipalities for “mega” environmental Superfund site
- Consultation with client on e-discovery and electronic documentation retention requirements in connection with investigation by the Department of Justice
- Defending chemical client in contractual indemnification litigation seeking to recover costs incurred in connection with an Ohio Superfund site including contribution for CERCLA cleanup costs, natural resource damages and cost share under WRDA cleanup projects
- Defending chemical clients in six week PRP allocation of cleanup costs for soil, groundwater and sediment contamination in connection with a settlement of litigation brought by the Port of Houston Authority
- Prosecuting on behalf of an energy client a contractual indemnity claim against the former owner of the pipeline in west Texas and New Mexico
Publications
- "Intellectual Property Audits Can Find Property Worth Protecting" The Iowa Lawyer (February 2003)
Events
- "Demystifying E-Discovery: A Practical Approach" (December 18, 2008)
