J. Michael Showalter

Partner

J. Michael Showalter’s practice focuses on high-stakes matters at the intersection of regulatory enforcement, infrastructure development, and civil litigation, where legal, technical, and reputational risks converge.

J. Michael Showalter Portrait

Mike is a nationally recognized litigator who has led or played a central role in more than 90 federal and state matters nationwide, spanning trial courts, appellate courts, and administrative proceedings, including bet-the-company disputes and complex, multi-party environmental litigation. He maintains a substantial appellate practice, with experience before the US Supreme Court and numerous federal courts of appeals, including the D.C., Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits.

As a partner in both the Complex Litigation and Environmental practices, Mike serves as a strategic advisor to clients across the energy, manufacturing, government, real estate, and financial sectors. His approach focuses on protecting enterprise value by integrating litigation strategy with regulatory, technical, and business considerations.  Mike regularly advises and represents clients in litigation and enforcement actions arising under federal and state environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, and the Toxic Substances Control Act. His work frequently involves parallel civil litigation, regulatory proceedings, and stakeholder-driven challenges, requiring integrated strategies that align legal outcomes with business objectives.

Mike is known for distilling complex factual and technical issues into clear, persuasive arguments for courts, regulators, and stakeholders. His approach emphasizes early case assessment, strategic use of dispositive motions, and integration of expert analysis to position matters for efficient resolution or success at trial and on appeal.

Experience

Mike focuses on identifying and deploying effective solutions to clients’ legal and business challenges and regulatory risk. Mike regularly counsels corporate boards, executives, and non-governmental organizations on legal and reputational risk. He brings a practical, business-focused perspective to complex issues, advising on risk allocation, disclosure considerations, and long-term strategy. His ability to distill complex legal and technical issues into clear, actionable guidance allows him to effectively support decision-makers operating in high-risk, highly regulated environments.  Key focuses: 

  • Corporate Risk Management & Regulatory Litigation: Represents clients in litigation and enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and other federal and state statutes. His work includes citizen suits, agency enforcement actions, and regulatory challenges in federal courts nationwide. Mike also handles appellate litigation involving administrative, statutory, and constitutional issues.
  • Superfund & Remediation Strategy: Leads complex Superfund and remediation matters, including multi-party cost recovery and allocation disputes involving legacy industrial contamination and manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites. These matters often require coordination of litigation strategy with regulatory oversight, consent decrees, and negotiations with federal and state agencies.
  • Sustainability, ESG, & Emerging Contaminants: Counsels companies and boards on emerging litigation and regulatory risks related to PFAS, chemical regulation, carbon capture, ESG frameworks, and climate-related exposure, including the intersection of enforcement actions, private litigation, and evolving policy priorities.
  • Business & Commercial Litigation: Represents clients in complex commercial disputes, including contract litigation, insurance coverage and indemnification matters, and intellectual property disputes. His experience spans multiple industries and jurisdictions, allowing him to manage litigation risk across varied business contexts.
  • Infrastructure Development & Permitting: Advises clients on permitting and approvals for major infrastructure projects, including manufacturing, energy, and transmission assets, and defends those approvals in litigation involving environmental, administrative, and public policy challenges. His work frequently involves disputes where permitting processes become focal points for broader stakeholder or political conflicts.
  • Public Law & Constitutional Litigation: Mike maintains an active public law practice, representing clients in constitutional, civil rights, and immigration matters. His experience includes voting rights litigation, First Amendment disputes, federal appellate advocacy, and multi-jurisdictional habeas proceedings challenging detention practices.

Representative Matters

  • Represented parties in U.S. Supreme Court litigation involving constitutional and regulatory challenges, including First Amendment issues.
  • Handled federal appellate challenges to EPA actions in the D.C. Circuit and other courts of appeals involving complex administrative law questions.
  • Represented energy and utility clients in Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act litigation, including citizen suits and enforcement actions nationwide.
  • Managed multi-party CERCLA cost recovery and allocation disputes involving legacy industrial and MGP sites across multiple jurisdictions.
  • Litigated constitutional and civil rights matters in federal courts, including voting rights and public policy challenges.
  • Represented clients in complex insurance coverage and indemnification disputes arising from environmental and commercial liabilities

Commitment to Pro Bono Service

Mike is deeply committed to pro bono work, particularly matters of significant public interest and civil rights. Mike’s pro bono work uses the same creative toolkit he uses for corporate clients in the public sphere.

Mike’s significant pro bono engagements include

  • Protecting Constitutional Rights: Serving as trial and appellate counsel in a civil rights case that challenged restrictive voting laws. Mike also secured the First Amendment rights of non-religious individuals to perform marriages in Illinois and Michigan through federal litigation.
  • Influencing High-Stakes Litigation: Filing an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a U.S. Senator regarding state laws that limit content moderation on internet platforms. Mike also filed an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit on behalf of national health and disability rights organizations, leading to the overturning of a lower court decision that had barred institutional reform litigation related to West Virginia’s foster care system.
  • Driving Legislative Change: Challenging Michigan’s assessment of state sales and use taxes on feminine hygiene products. This litigation ultimately led to the Michigan legislature repealing the tax.
  • Advocating for the Vulnerable: Representing classes of foster children in litigation against the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and the State of Illinois on issues ranging from child welfare tosecuring the ability of same-sex couples to become foster parents. Mike has also challenged religious discrimination and unconstitutional conditions of confinement on behalf of incarcerated persons, as well as assisted immigrants seeking asylum and similar relief in the immigration system.
  • Blending Litigation with Public Advocacy: After securing a judgment against a con artist who defrauded flea market vendors in multiple states, Mike coordinated with law enforcement and the media to ensure public awareness. This approach led to the con artist’s eventual incarceration for unrelated crimes, effectively ending his multi-state spree of preying on immigrant communities.

Boards, Memberships & Certifications

  • American Bar Association
  • International Bar Association, Environment, Health and Safety Law Committee, Membership Officer (2025-present); Programme Officer (2023-2025)
  • The Sedona Conference
    • Working Group 1, Member
    • Brainstorming Group on Proportionality in Discovery and Drafting Team regarding the Use of Technology Assisted Review in Litigation, Member
  • Law360 Editorial Advisory Board, Energy (2026)

Publications, Presentations & Recognitions

Publications

  • “Perspective 2025: Disruption and Consistency in Environmental Law,” (author) Air & Waste Management Association EM Plus Fourth Quarter 2025 Report (2025)
  • “The End of the Beginning of the Environmental Justice Era?” (co-author) The Magazine for Environmental Managers (2025)
  • “Warehouse and Logistics Operations Targeted by Regulatory Push for ‘Indirect Source Rules’ Targeting Vehicle Emissions,” (co-author) Pratt’s Energy Law Report, Vol. 24-6 (2024)
  • Primer on Crafting eDiscovery Requests with “Reasonable Particularity, (co-author) The Sedona Conference (2022)
  • “Going Beyond: When Can Courts Look Past the Record in an APA Review?” Georgetown Environmental Law Review, Aug. 15, 2019
  • “Discovery in the Modern Age,” From the Trenches III: Pretrial Strategies for Success, American Bar Association (2018)
  • “Punitive Damages,” in Business Torts and Unfair Competition Handbook, American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law (2014)
  • Scientific Evidence in the Fourth Circuit, in Cynthia H. Cwik et al. (eds.), Scientific Evidence Review: Admissibility of Expert Evidence, Monograph No. 9, American Bar Association Section of Technology & Law (2013)
  • Scientific Evidence in the Fourth Circuit, in Cynthia H. Cwik et al. (eds.), Scientific Evidence Review: Admissibility of Expert Evidence, Monograph No. 8, American Bar Association Section of Technology & Law (2008)

Presentations

  • “EPA’s ‘Compliance First’ and LEAPS-Based Enforcement: Opportunities and Risks”, Washington Legal Foundation Webinar (April 21, 2026)
  • “Responsible Mining” International Bar Association’s “ESG in Evolution” Conference (March 27, 2026) 
  • “The eradication of extreme poverty and hunger: the challenge for the global legal profession and every practicing lawyer”, IBA Annual Conference Toronto 2025 (Nov. 5, 2025)
  • “Cross-sectoral approaches to poverty eradication: law, environmental sustainability and gender”, IBA Conference (May 16, 2025)
  • “Permits and Policies: Waste Storage and Environmental Justice Considerations,” ABA SEER Section, Webinar (Apr. 23, 2025)
  • “Environmental Citizen-Suit Landscape: How Legal and Political Shifts Heighten Risk for Business,” Washington Legal Foundation (Dec. 12, 2024)
  • “Industry Perspectives on Environmental Justice,” Environmental Justice: Policy, Practice, and Progress Conference, Air & Waste Management Association (Dec. 4, 2024)
  • “Defending Against Citizen Suits,” Strafford Webinar (Oct. 3, 2024)
  • Illinois Environmental Resource Group, Title V Seminar – presentation on environmental justice (EJ) issues, Springfield, IL, (Oct. 3, 2024)
  • “How to Navigate Environmental Justice Requirements in Permitting Procedures,” (Webinar) Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group (Jan. 24, 2024)
  • “Climate Pro Bono Bootcamp,” hosted by Green Pro Bono, the planetary lawyer project and Offit Kurman (Jan. 17-18, 2024)
  • “Epa – Full Throttle in 2024. What to Expect in 2024 from The Biden/Regan Epa,” The Regulatory Environmental Group for Missouri (REGFORM) (Dec. 5, 2023)
  • “Opportunities and Challenges in the New Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Frontier: From Theory to Practice,” ISBA Environmental Law Section’s 21st Annual Environmental Law Conference (May 11, 2023)
  • “Fast and Furious EPA: Five Critical Issues Facing Regulated Facilities in 2023,” The Regulatory Environmental Group for Missouri (REGFORM), Conference (Apr. 20, 2023)
  • “ESG: The Role of Lawyers Today and in the Future: What could possibly go wrong? ESG-related disputes: litigation and enforcement,” North American Regional Forum and the Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law Section, Conference (Feb. 28, 2023)
  • “Understanding Environmental Justice: Guidance for Regulated Facilities,” The Regulatory Environmental Group for Missouri (REGFORM) (Dec. 6, 2022)
  • “Defending Against Citizen Suits Under Environmental Laws: Notice, Standing, Jurisdiction, Settlements, and More Under RCRA, CERCLA, CWA, and CAA,” Strafford, Webinar (Oct. 4, 2022)
  • “Environmental and Energy Law Policy: A Trump vs. Biden Administration,” (speaker) The Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, Environmental Law Committee (Oct. 6, 2020)
  • “COVID-19 Legal Issues Spotting for In-House Counsel,” Webinar (Apr. 1, 2020)
  • “Views on Trump Administration Environmental Policy Updates,” Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, Chicago, Ill. (Feb. 21, 2018)
  • “Citizen Suits and Community Complaints (Odors),” 2017 Air Quality Management Conference, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. (Oct. 17, 2017)
  • “Citizen Enforcement of the CCR Rule: How Will Enforcement Actions Be Brought, and What Can You Do to Prepare for Them,” (co-presenter) 2017 World of Coal Ash Conference Short Course, Lexington, Ky. (May 8, 2017)
  • “Ban Asbestos Legislation, Regulation, and Asbestos Litigation,” Defense Research Institute Seminar on Asbestos Medicine, San Diego, California (2010)

Recognitions

  • Emerging Lawyer, Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s Leading Lawyers (2015-2018)
  • Illinois Emerging Lawyer, Law Bulletin’s Illinois Leading Lawyers Network (2015)

Thought Leadership & Client Insights

Mike’s articles and commentary regularly appear in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Law, and Law360. He frequently speaks on environmental and administrative law, ESG and sustainability, and regulatory developments affecting the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Previous Experience

Before entering private practice, Mike clerked for then U.S. Magistrate Judge (later Chief District Judge) Michael F. Urbanski of the Western District of Virginia and Chief District Judge David A. Faber of the Southern District of West Virginia.

Insights

Awards

JD Supra Readers Choice Top Author 2025 JD Supra Readers Choice Top Author 2024 JD Supra Readers Choice Top Author 2023