Partner’s Help with Franciscan Friars Highlighted by 'Wall Street Journal'

Not long ago, the state of Arizona seemed poised to bring an enforcement action against the Franciscan Friars of California over contamination seeping from a deserted mine the order partially owned as the result of a donation. With scant resources and no knowledge of either mining or toxic-waste cleanup, it was a situation that definitely called for “prayer and a good lawyer,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

That’s where Phoenix Partner Mike Ford came in. Ford practices environmental and occupational safety law. His work focuses on regulatory compliance, transactional issues and enforcement defense under federal, state and local environmental laws. He had represented the friars on a pro bono basis since 2002. Ford urged them to take full responsibility for the deserted Gibson Mine to get some leeway in what could be messy negotiations with the government agencies overseeing the effort. He also asked other Bryan Cave clients to help. Several other Bryan Cave lawyers assisted in the representation, including Luke Narducci, Mitch Klein, Stan Lutz and Margaret LaBianca. Paralegal Susan Malone and Legal Assistants Beth Caldwell and Amanda Reeve also were of key help.

Ford’s spearheading of the large-scale community effort to clean up the deserted Gibson Mine was chronicled in The Wall Street Journal April 20 in a front page article. Click here to read the full article.