HeplerBroom Attorney Melissa Brown

Overview

Melissa S. Brown focuses her practice on environmental law, assisting clients on a wide variety of environmental issues. Her clients regularly benefit from her ability to:

  • counsel them on environmental compliance issues involving both federal and state statutes and regulations that span all aspects of air, water, and land regulation
  • offer advice on developments in environmental statutes and regulations
  • represent them in rulemaking proceedings, challenges to regulations, and proceedings for regulatory relief
  • assist in all phases of environmental permitting, including preparing permit applications and negotiating permit terms and conditions with the permitting agency
  • represent them in permit appeals
  • defend them in environmental litigation and enforcement matters before state and federal courts and administrative agencies
  • negotiate settlements in courts and in Illinois Pollution Control Board and USEPA enforcement proceedings

Ms. Brown was previously an associate with the environmental law firm Hodge, Dwyer, & Driver. In 2016, Hodge, Dwyer, & Driver merged into HeplerBroom.

Education

  • DePaul University College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2014
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, B.A. in Political Science, 2010

LAW SCHOOL HONORS/INVOLVEMENT

  • DePaul Journal of Art, Technology, and Intellectual Property
  • Environmental Law Society
  • Dean’s Certificate of Pro Bono Service
  • Dean’s List

Admissions & Affiliations

  • Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois

Practices

Results

Honors

Honors & Awards

  • Best Lawyers' list of “Ones to Watch” (2021-2023)

Insights

Events & Speaking Engagements

  • “Illinois Environmental Regulatory Updates,” Illinois Chamber of Commerce Environmental Affairs Committee (2022).
  • “Environmental Violations and Enforcement,” and “Illinois EPA Bureau of Land Update,” Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education webinar (2021). (Co-presenter)
  • “Environmental Enforcement: Avoid if Possible, Navigate if Necessary,” Environmental Basics Conference sponsored by the Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Springfield IL, 2019). (Co-presenter)
  • “Coal Ash Update: What It Is, Where It Is, and What To Do About It,” Illinois State Bar Association’s 18th Annual Environmental Law Conference (Chicago, 2019). (Co-presenter)

Publications

  • "U.S. Supreme Court Limits USEPA Authority in West Virginia v. EPA," Environmental Law Newsletter, Illinois State Bar Association (2022). (Co-author)
  • “PFAS Investigations at Manufacturing Facilities and Industrial Sites in Illinois,” The Illinois Manufacturer (Fourth Quarter 2021). (Co-author) (This article can be read here.)
  • “Update on the Respirable Crystalline Silica General Industry and Maritime Standard,” Energy and Environment Blog, Illinois Manufacturers’’ Association (July 2018).
  • “U.S. EPA Amends the Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule,” The Illinois Manufacturer (Winter 2018). (Co-author) (This article can be read here.)
  • “How Will OSHA’s Crystalline Silica Rule Affect Construction and General Industry Employers?” The Illinois Manufacturer (Spring 2017). (Co-author) (This article can be read here.)
  • “How Will OSHA’s Crystalline Silica Rule Affect Construction and General Industry Employers?” The Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, FDCC Blog (January 2017). (Co-author)
  • Case Summary, In Re Beineke, 690 F.3d 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2012), 23 DePaul J. Art, Tech. & Intell. Prop. L. 511 (2013)
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