W. Scott Laseter

Prior to becoming a founding partner in KMCL, Scott was a partner in the Environmental Practice of McKenna Long Aldridge and Kilpatrick Stockton. He was top of his class at Mercer School of Law and a member of the Mercer Law Review. Before attending law school, Scott spent a number of years in the insurance business.

Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership (C’ 2013), Board Chair (2019–2020)

Chambers

The Best Lawyers in America® 25th Anniversary Edition, Environmental Law

Best Lawyers® 2013 Lawyer of the Year – Litigation – Environmental – Atlanta

Best Lawyers® 2020 Lawyer of the Year – Litigation – Environmental – Atlanta

America´s Leading Lawyers for Business (2005–Present)

Scott has published numerous law review articles and contributed chapters to treatises. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, especially those focused on brownfields and environmental issues in secured lending and foreclosure.

On behalf of a global pharmaceutical company, successfully developed and implemented a strategy to preserve multi-site indemnification agreements despite efforts by a Fortune 100 company to discharge them in bankruptcy.

Represented the policyholder in an environmental coverage case that resulted in Alabama Supreme Court decision of first impression holding that EPA PRP Letters trigger the insurers’ duty to defend.

Represented a real estate investment company buying one of the first sites ever removed from Georgia’s hazardous site inventory in securing environmental insurance to protect against the risk that the state agency might change its mind. When the state did, in fact, change its mind and re-listed the property, we successfully secured coverage under the environmental insurance policy for the costs of defending against both the state claim and a toxic tort claim brought by an adjoining landowner. Several years later, we helped the client sell the property at full fair market value.

In an especially unusual Brownfield transaction, represented a rapidly growing suburban church land-locked by an abutting city hall property. Directly across the street from the church, however, sat a partially vacant contaminated property mired in receivership both because of the environmental problem and the loss of its anchor tenant. Scott helped the church buy the mortgage on the property across the street from a CMBS pool using a limited liability company. After taking a deed in lieu of foreclosure through the LLC to get the contaminated site out of receivership, Scott worked with the local government to re-route a road across the contaminated area and arrange a swap transaction to move the city hall across the street onto the uncontaminated portion of the property. As a result, the church doubled the size of its campus, and the municipal government gained a greatly expanded city hall complex.

Represented municipality in case seeking contribution for costs associated with manufactured gas plant against successors to companies dating back to 1850. A two week trial resulted in a finding of liability, after which the matter was settled with the creation of multimillion dollar escrow fund for cleanup of impacts to river sediments.

Representing individuals and trusts benefiting the children and grandchildren of the deceased founder of a major pesticide plant which facing claims for tens of millions in cleanup costs, filed suit against the insurance companies covering the plant in the 1960s and 1970s. Won partial summary judgment, secured multimillion dollar settlement and obtained a release of liability from USEPA.