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James T. Lang - Virginia Beach, VA
222 Central Park Avenue, Suite 400 Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Pender & Coward, P.C.
Virginia Beach Environmental Law Lawyer
Overview
Jim Lang is a Pender & Coward shareholder and served as COO of the firm. He focuses his practice on protecting Virginians who live, work and play on the water, especially in proceedings before the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). Although he routinely handles all aspects of waterfront (riparian property) law, maritime & admiralty law, and environmental law, clients consistently turn to Jim when they need help at the VMRC...
Jim Lang is a Pender & Coward shareholder and served as COO of the firm. He focuses his practice on protecting Virginians who live, work and play on the water, especially in proceedings before the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). Although he routinely handles all aspects of waterfront (riparian property) law, maritime & admiralty law, and environmental law, clients consistently turn to Jim when they need help at the VMRC...
Jim Lang is a Pender & Coward shareholder and served as COO of the firm. He focuses his practice on protecting Virginians who live, work and play on the water, especially in proceedings before the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). Although he routinely handles all aspects of waterfront (riparian property) law, maritime & admiralty law, and environmental law, clients consistently turn to Jim when they need help at the VMRC. His strong focus in this area gives him a major competitive advantage over those less skilled in this area, which consistently benefits his clients.
Jim established the firm's waterfront law practice group, along with a separate website devoted to waterfront (riparian) property rights law, maritime and admiralty law, and environmental law. Please click here to visit his waterfront law website.
A published author whose numerous articles cover a variety of waterfront law topics, he is also a frequent guest speaker at legal and business conferences and seminars.
Before joining the firm in 2005, Jim completed a 25-year career in the U.S. Navy starting as an E-1 Fireman Recruit and finishing as an O-5 Commander, including 16 years as a U.S. Navy JAG Attorney. He served as Law Clerk for the Honorable Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia from 2002-2003.
MEMBERSHIPS
Virginia State Bar, Second District Subcommittee, Past Subcommittee Vice Chair, Norfolk, 2004-2010
Virginia Bar Association
Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association
Virginia Beach Bar Association
HONORS & AWARDS
Leaders in the Law, 2017
Coastal Virginia's Top Lawyers, Environment Land Use 2016-2022
Virginia's Legal Elite, Environmental Law, 2015-2021
Yucca Valley High School Hall of Fame, 2017
Boy Scouts of America, Distinguished Service Award, 2012
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
The Up Center, Mentor since 2012
Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Chesapeake Division Executive Committee and Board Member
Kemp Woods Civic League, Board Member and General Counsel
Boy Scouts of America Bayside District, Past Chairman
Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, Past Board Member
Transportation Task Force of Empower Hampton Roads, Past Volunteer and General Counsel
ARTICLES
Riparian Property Rights at Waterfront Properties in Virginia - December 2018
Waterfront Lawyer Jim Lang Fights for Riparian and Environmental Rights of Virginia Property Owners Against Oyster Cages - September 2018
Waterfront Property Owners: Riparian Rights vs. Oyster Aquaculture Companies - June 2018
The Fight for Waterfront Property on Norfolk's Elizabeth River - April 2018
Citizens' Environmental Lawsuits - June 2017
Legal Remedies Available to Persons Who Are Injured or Whose Property Is Damaged by 94,000 Gallons of Aviation Fuel Released at Naval Air Station Oceana on May 11, 2017 - May 2017
A New Approach to Water for Hampton Roads Cities - April 2017
Virginia Lawyer Magazine Features Jim Lang's Leadership of Volunteer Effort to Clean and Restore Elizabeth River Shoreline - February 2017
Environmental Law Eliminates a Floating Junkyard (Part 2 of 2) - June 2016
Environmental Law: The Supreme Court's Hawkes Co. Decision May Help Save Your Project When Wetlands are Present - June 2016
President Nixon as Midwife for the Birth of Enviromental Law - June 2016
Environmental Law Eliminates a Floating Junkyard (Part 1 of 2) - June 2016
Environmental Law: An Oil Spill Could Cost Your Business - March 2016
Oil Spills: The Clean Water Act to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 - February 2016
Environmental Law and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act: Where Local Knowledge is a "Must" - October 2015
How Citizens' Environmental Lawsuits Can Stop Pollution - September 2015
As Coastal Migration Continues, Waterfront Property Owners Encounter Complicated and Costly Environmental Regulations - September 2015
Riparian Rights When You Own Land in Contact with the Water: A Mix of Environmental, Admiralty and State Law - June 2013
Vessel Operations & Environmental Law in the Chesapeake Bay: Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act - June 2012
PRACTICE AREAS
Environmental Law
Maritime and Admiralty
Real Estate
Waterfront Law
EDUCATION
Case Western Reserve University School of Law, summa cum laude, 1989, Order of the Coif; Editor, Law Review
Master of Laws, Environmental Law, The George Washington University, high honors, 1995
University of Southern California, 1982
ADMISSIONS
Supreme Court of Virginia, 2003
Eastern District Court of Virginia, 2003
Western District Court of Virginia, 2009
United States Bankruptcy Court, 2004
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2010REPRESENTATIVE CASES & TRANSACTIONS
Represented residential landowners facing a Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act civil enforcement action in which the City of Richmond demanded they pay a civil penalty of $32,500 and demanded that they install new plantings at their property with a cost in excess of $150,000. The case was resolved in early 2017 to our clients' benefit as the City withdrew the Notice of Violation, dropped the demand for monetary civil penalty, and accepted the clients' landscaping plan instead of requiring the more costly landscaping plan designed by the City. (2017)
Drafted an amendment to the Virginia Coastal Primary Dunes and Beaches Act that was enacted into law by the Virginia General Assembly. (2017)
Represented a family owned business that owns a 7 acre parcel (value $6M) in Norfolk, on the Elizabeth River, where a neighbor clogged the waterway with a Floating Junkyard consisting of 26 ships. Prosecuted a citizen's environmental lawsuit in federal court that forced the neighbor to remove the Floating Junkyard from the river which removed all interference with client's riparian property rights. 307 Campostella, LLC v. Timothy S. Mullane, civil action no. 2:15-cv-224 (E.D. Va. 2016).
Designed and then persuaded Virginia Beach City Council to adopt a plan that enabled oceanfront property owners in Sandbridge, Virginia to remove beach sand that inundated their homes, free of prosecution by the Wetlands Board, and consistent with requirements of the Virginia Coastal Primary Dunes and Beaches Act. (2016)
Represented a medium size HVAC contractor in managing risk to the company after an employee intentionally released 30-40 pounds of R22 refrigerant into the atmosphere, conduct that is prohibited by the Stratospheric Ozone Protection regime at subchapter VI of the Clean Air Act, and the implementing regulations promulgated by EPA. (2016)
Represented a family owned business that owns a 3 acre parcel in Chesapeake which had been heavily polluted by its Fortune 500 corporate tenant who disposed of metals and hydrocarbons in the soil and in the groundwater over the course of its 30 year occupancy. Forced the tenant to clean up the environmental contamination and to compensate landlord for reduced property value due to stigma. (2015)
Persuaded the US Army Corps of Engineers to rescind the permit it had granted (under the Rivers and Harbors Act) that improvidently authorized a 600' long mooring system in the middle of an active waterbody fronting our client's commerical industrial property. The proposed mooring system, if installed, would have driven the client's waterfront enterprises out of business. After persuading the USACE to rescind the permit, we persuaded the staff at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to oppose the project, causing the applicant to withdraw the application and abandon the project. (2015)
Represented highway builder in establishing a 32 acre offsite facility to mitigate stream bank impacts caused by highway construction project. (2014)
Represented waterfront landowner cited for destruction of 600 square feet of nonvegetated wetlands in proceedings at Norfolk Wetlands Board. (2013)
Assisted lender in arranging Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act compliance for tear down and reconstruction of repossessed bay front residence. (2013)
Defended as lead cousel the governmental entity that owns the Chincoteague Bridge against a $10M claim brought by shellfisherman who alleged that the construction of the bridge destroyed shellfish beds located in the Chincoteague Bay. The case was resolved on favorable terms following 18 months of litigation in the U.S. District Court and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. American Bridge v. James Young, civil action no. 2:08-cv-316 (E.D. Va. 2008), appeal filed, no 09-1458 (4th Cir. 2009).
About James T. Lang
Practice Areas
- Environmental Law
- Waterfront Law
Litigation
- 15%
Qualifications
Bar Admissions
- Virginia, 2003
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 2010
- U.S. District Court Western District of Virginia, 2009
- Virginia Supreme Court, 2003
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia, 2003
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Virginia, 2004
Other Affiliations
- Virginia State Bar Second District Disciplinary Committee, 2004 - 2010
- Norfolk Portsmouth Bar Association, 2004 - Present
- James Kent American Inn of Court, 2003 - 2006
- Virginia Beach Bar Association, 2011 - Present
Education
- Case Western Reserve University Law School, Cleveland, Ohio, 1989
J.D.
Honors: summa cum laude
Honors: Order of the Coif
Law Review: Law Review, Editor - The George Washington University Law School, Washington, District of Columbia, 1995
LL.M.
Honors: With Highest Honors
Major: Environmental Law - University of Southern California, 1982
B.S.
Major: Industrial and Systems Engineering
Past Positions
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Judicial Law Clerk, 2002 - 2003
- U.S. Navy, E-1 (Fireman Recruit) to O-5 (Commander), 1977 - 2002
Pro Bono Activities
- Boy Scouts of America, District Chair, Bayside District, Tidewater Council, January 1, 2012 - October 1, 2013
- Youth Mentor at The UpCenter, Norfolk, June 1, 2012 - Present
- Board Member, Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, 2012 - 2014
Classes and Seminars
- Environmental Issues in Eminent Domain, International Right of Way Association, March 18, 2016
- Riparian Property Rights, Hampton Roads REALTORS Association, April 14, 2016
- Environmental Contamination: A Condemnor's Minefield, Eminent Domain Institute, May 6, 2016
Achievements
Honors
- Legal Elite in Environmental Law (Virginia Business Magazine), 2015 - 2016
- Distinguished Service Award (Boy Scouts of America), 2011 - 2012
- Legion of Merit medal (U.S. Navy), 2000 - 2002
Office Information
Address
222 Central Park Avenue, Suite 400 Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Phone
Fax
- (757) 502-7372
Websites
Publication
Articles
- Environmental Law and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act: Where Local Knowledge is a "Must", Opinions and Observations from the attorneys of Pender & Coward, 2015
- How Citizens' Environmental Lawsuits Can Stop Pollution, Opinions & Observations from the attorneys of Pender & Coward, 2015
- As Coastal Migration Continues, Waterfront Property Owners Encounter Complicated and Costly Environmental Regulations, Opinions & Observations from the attorneys of Pender & Coward, 2015
- Riparian Rights When You Own Land in Contact With the Water: A Mix of Environmental, Admiralty and State Law, Opinions & Observations from the attorneys of Pender & Coward, 2013
- Vessel Operations & Environmental Law in the Chesapeake Bay: Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act, Opinions & Observations from the attorneys of Pender & Coward, 2012
- Oil Spills: The Clean Water Act to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Opinions & Observations from the attorneys of Pender & Coward, 2016
- Environmental Law: An Oil Spill Could Cost Your Business, Opinions and Observations from the attorneys of Pender & Coward, 2016
Representative Cases
- 307 Campostella, LLC v. Mullane ,(U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia 2015)
- In re American Bridge Company ,(U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia 2009)
- VDOT v. TUG ROBERT BURTON, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94015, 2012 AMC 2230 (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia 2012)
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