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Yvonne Hennessey
Partner
Barclay Damon LLP
Yvonne is chair of Barclay Damon’s Environmental and Lobbying & Election Law Compliance Practice Areas as well as co-team leader of the oil and gas, linear infrastructure, and energy markets teams. She primarily concentrates her practice on project siting and high-profile environmental and regulatory litigation in both administrative and judicial forums. Yvonne is well known for her strategic advice on navigating the ever-growing opposition to energy siting and successfully developing energy projects, with a strong focus on positioning clients to succeed in any resulting litigation. The independent research company Chambers & Partners notes that Yvonne “primarily advises electric and oil and gas clients on permitting and other administrative proceedings.”
Yvonne advises clients on a myriad of federal, state, and local laws and regulatory requirements that apply to project permitting and siting, including matters involving the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Coastal Zone Management Act, and related state laws as well as environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the NYS Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). She also assists clients in enforcement matters brought by state and federal regulatory authorities and provides representation before state regulatory commissions in matters involving electric and gas infrastructure and supply, including appropriate cybersecurity protections.
Yvonne regularly represents clients in complex litigations, including commercial, regulatory, and permitting disputes and matters. She has extensive experience handling permit challenges and cost-recovery actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Navigation Law claims, and actions under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Yvonne is the Immediate Past Chair of the New York State Bar Association Environmental and Energy Law Section and is Past-President of the Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association. She is ranked by Chambers USA and has been named to the Best Lawyers in America® in the Litigation – Environmental category, selected by peer review for inclusion in the Super Lawyers Upstate New York directory in the Energy and Environmental Litigation category and was named to City & State’s 2024 Trailblazer in Law list for the Energy category.