Bret Stone is a founding partner of Paladin Law Group. Mr. Stone has been working on environmental issues for over 20 years.
The depth of his experience includes responding to environmental problems (e.g., pollution or other forms of environmental contamination), risk management and regulatory compliance, cleantech and green businesses, green building, climate change, and sustainability.
Mr. Stone’s client base is equally diverse: from emerging startups to multinational Fortune 500 companies, to municipalities and special districts. Mr. Stone’s work includes Brownfields redevelopment, real estate transfers, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and litigation.
For a developer, he successfully negotiated immunity for environmental liability under the first agreement of its kind under the California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act (“CLRRA”) with the Regional Water Quality Control Board – Central Coast Region.
Mr. Stone has worked on sites involving manufacturing, metal plating and anodizing, dry cleaning, printing, ship building, and oil exploration and production.
He is also recognized for his success in representing insurance policyholders and, through insurance archaeology, bringing historical insurance assets to the table to cover environmental, asbestos, and products liability claims.
Further, for his clients working in global markets, Mr. Stone has experience working through international laws and regulatory directives in Europe and Asia.
His focus on sustainable development includes carbon, greenhouse gas emissions, cap-and-trade, water, renewable energy, social and human impacts, and the business acumen to make the project financially viable.
Practice Areas
Environmental, Litigation, Brownfields Redevelopment, Sustainability, Insurance Archaeology and Insurance Coverage, Land Use and Real Estate
Education
Chicago-Kent College of Law – J.D., with Honors, 1997
Certificate, Environmental and Energy Law, 1997
Pace National Environmental Moot Court Competition, 1995-1996, 1996-1997
University of California, Santa Barbara – B.A. Environmental Studies, with Honors, 1993
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
Professional and Community Involvement
State Bar of California Environmental Law Section, Executive Committee
Santa Barbara County Bar Association, Chair Real Estate and Land Use Section
U.S. Green Building Council, California Central Coast Chapter, Board Member
Leadership Santa Barbara County, Board Member
William L. Gordon Inn of Court, Barrister
Los Angeles County Bar Association, Member
Bici Centro, Volunteer
AYSO, Soccer Coach
Tea Fire Local Assistance Center, Volunteer Attorney
Jesusita Fire Local Assistance Center, Volunteer Attorney
Honors and Awards
Named in the “Who’s Who in Energy & Environment,” Pacific Coast Business Times, 2016-2017
Named in the “Who’s Who in Clean Tech & Sustainability,” Pacific Coast Business Times, 2010-2015
Named in the “Who’s Who in Professional Services,” Pacific Coast Business Times, 2006-2017
Listed as one of the top “40 Under 40” business leaders, Pacific Coast Business Times, 2006
Bar Admissions and Licenses
State Bar of California, 1997
United States District Court, Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California
California Department of Real Estate, Real Estate Broker 2001
Languages
Spanish
Publications and Lectures
International Network of Environmental Forensics Conference
“PFAS: Scientific, Regulatory and Legal Challenges”
Speaker, June 2019
Santa Barbara County Bench and Bar Conference
“Green Building Law: A Modular Example”
Speaker, January 2018
Groundwater Law Conference
“Strategies to Address Major Groundwater Contaminant Plumes”
Speaker, April 2016
State of California Bar, Environmental Law Section
“AB 440 – A New Tool for Brownfields Redevelopment”
Speaker, March 2015
Groundwater Law Conference
“A Case Study of Legal Strategies in Regional Groundwater Plumes”
Speaker, May 2014
California League of Cities
“AB 440 – The Gatto Act: A New Tool for Brownfields Redevelopment”
Speaker, March 2014
California Association for Local Economic Development (“CALED”)
“A Survivor’s Guide to AB1484 Post-Compliance – Are Property Management Plans a Backdoor to Economic Development?”
Speaker, April 2013
AB32: A Deep Dive
A Status Report on Cap-and-Trade
Speaker, March 2012
Santa Barbara County Bar Association
“The New Energy Usage Disclosure Mandate of AB 1103 – What Should Owners/Brokers/Managers (and their Lawyers) Do, and When?”
Speaker, November 2011
American Planning Association Conference
The California Silo Effect: Sustainable Community Strategy; Climate Action Plans; Regions, Subregions and Cities
Speaker, September 2011
Professional Environmental Marketing Association
“Why Sustainability Makes Business Sense”
Speaker, November 2010
Bren School of Environmental Science & Management
“Environmental Compliance, Corporate Governance, and Sustainability”
Speaker, November 2010
London School of Economics
“Corporate Responsibility When Catastrophe Strikes – An Expert Legal Panel Looks at Who Pays and Why”
Speaker, October 2010
California State Bar Annual Meeting
“Sustainable Development: Moving Beyond Green Building Toward Sustainable Building and Master Planning”
Speaker, September 2010
California State Bar Annual Meeting
“Greening Your Practice: An Introduction to the State Bar’s EcoPledge”
Speaker, September 2010
Sustainable Development Webinar
Speaker, May 2010
Environmental Law and Cyber Institute Webinar
Speaker, March 2010
Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite
Speaker, October 2009
Annual Environmental Summit
Speaker, October 2009
California State Bar Annual Meeting
Speaker, September 2009
What to Do When the Economy Calls Your Hand
Environmental Law News, Vol. 18, No. 1, Summer 2009
“Sustainability” — Buzzword or Legal Duty?
Santa Barbara Lawyer, June 2009
California’s framework for growth rests in rules set by AB 32
Pacific Coast Business Times, April 2009
Policyholders Win Critical Environmental Insurance Case in California Supreme Court
Santa Barbara Lawyer, April 2009
Federal Green Stimulus? Think Transit
Point Carbon News, January 2009
Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite
Speaker, October 2008
California Redevelopment Association
Speaker, August 2008
The “Innocent Landowner” Defense Proves to be Out of Reach . . . Again
Santa Barbara Lawyer, July 2008
Santa Barbara County Bench and Bar Conference
Speaker, January 2008
San Diego County Bar Association
Speaker, October 2007
National Forum for Environmental and Toxic Tort Issues
Speaker, October 2007
Recovery of Environmental Cleanup Costs under CERCLA – Answers from the High Court
Santa Barbara Lawyer, October 2007
Back from the Dead Suing Dissolved Corporations and Deceased Individuals
Santa Barbara Lawyer, July 2007
Santa Barbara County Bench and Bar Conference
Speaker, January 2007
Cost Recovery Under Superfund Law: The Cooper v. Aviall Confusion Continues
Santa Barbara Lawyer, April 2007
Affirmative Defense for Setoff Could Constitute “Suit” Triggering Insurer’s Duty to Defend
Santa Barbara Lawyer, July 2006
Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc.
Speaker, February 2006
Contaminated Collateral
The RMA Journal, December 2005 – January 2006
Another Victory for Policyholders
Santa Barbara Lawyer, December 2005
Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite
Speaker, October 2005
Insurance Archaeology
Environmental Law Conference in Yosemite, October 2005
republished in Santa Barbara Lawyer, February 2006
Aluminum Anodizing Conference
Speaker, October 2005
When Best Management Practices Aren’t Enough
Anodizing Newsline, August 2005
republished in Metal Finishing Magazine, November 2005
Looking for Buried Treasure
Uniform Textile Services Association, October 2005
California Redevelopment Association
Speaker, August 2005
The Document Retention Policy Fallacy
National Association of Accountants, August 2005
Southwestern Association of Metal Finishers
Speaker, July 2005
Buried Treasure in City Hall
Public Agency Risk Mangers Association, June 2005
University of California, Santa Barbara
Speaker, November 2004
Santa Barbara Community Awareness and Emergency Response
Speaker, May 2004
Carson Harbor Village v. Unocal – An Update on the Passive Migration Debate,
Cal. Envtl Law Rptr., Vol. 2001, Issue 3, March 2001
University of California, Santa Barbara
Speaker, February 2001
Strict Criminal Liability For Environmental Regulatory Violations: Is There Anything A Defendant Can Do?, Envtl Strategies for Real Estate, Dec. 1996
Recovery of Costs Under RCRA: What the Supreme Court Didn’t Tell You in KFC Western, Inc. v. Meghrig, Cal. Envtl Law Rptr., Vol. 1996, Issue 5, May 1996
