Stites & Harbison Attorneys Earn 2015 Client Choice Awards for Superior Client Service

(image) LEXINGTON, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys Bill Gorton and Blaine Early have each earned Client Choice Awards for 2015 for outstanding client service. Gorton earned the sole Kentucky award for the practice of Energy & Natural Resources and Early earned the sole Kentucky award for the practice of Environment & Climate Change.

The Client Choice Awards recognize attorneys and law firms worldwide who stand out for their excellence in client service based on the results of an extensive survey of senior corporate counsel. The criteria for this recognition focuses on an ability to add real value to clients' business above and beyond the other players in the market. Client Choice also recognizes winners at the state and province level in the U.S. and Canada.

Gorton is Chair of the Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Service Group and a Member (Partner) of the firm based in the Lexington, Ky., office. He is national counsel to numerous clients on natural resource, environmental regulatory and land and water resources matters. He has been counsel in the development of more than 10 power plants. He has been Lead Counsel to numerous surety companies regarding over $2 billion in financial guarantees on defaulting mining operations, hazardous waste facilities and solid waste disposal facilities throughout the United States. He has been primary environmental counsel in the development of an interstate pipeline associated with major natural gas resource development and has advised regarding the development of wetland mitigation banks. He also counsels on large natural resource and energy, business or corporate transactions, and project development addressing environmental regulatory issues. He is adjunct professor of Environmental Law at the University of Kentucky.

Early is a Member (Partner) of the firm, also based in the Lexington, Ky., office in the Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Service Group. His Ph.D. in Biology and experience as a college professor help set him apart as an environmental lawyer, where evaluating and communicating technical information are important complements to the practice of law. He has a broad approach to environmental law that includes a focus on water and land issues, agriculture, natural resources and energy, and the intersection of surety law and environmental regulatory matters. He counsels clients on environmental compliance and environmental considerations in real estate and business transactions and is active in civil and administrative litigation. He is co-chair of the Water Quality and Wetlands Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources.