Anne E. Viner
General Counsel, Environmental & Construction
Anne E Viner
Ms. Viner is an environmental and construction attorney with 25 years of experience representing corporate clients in a broad range of matters, including federal and state litigation, regulatory compliance, permitting and operational issues, and transactions. Anne is a partner and co-founder of Corporate Law Partners, a law firm with offices in Chicago and Minneapolis. Prior to starting her own firm, Anne was in-house General Counsel and Director of Environmental Risk Management at WCD Group, a national environmental risk management consulting firm.
Anne has extensive experience at the intersection of real estate, construction and environmental law and has advised manufacturers, consultants, developers, banks, financial institutions, and other clients regarding the risks and impact of environmental issues on transactions, investments, and other strategic initiatives. Ms. Viner is known for her proactive approach to the complex issues involved in the redevelopment of challenging Brownfields sites across the United States. As an experienced negotiator and litigator, she takes a proactive approach to the resolution of environmental issues and understands how to mitigate the risks involved for all stakeholders.
In her career, Anne has prosecuted and defended a number of environmental disputes (including class actions) on behalf of manufacturing clients in a wide range of industries. She has represented Superfund potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and has served as common counsel for a CERCLA PRP group with respect to remedy negotiations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, implementation of landfill remedies, operations and maintenance activities, allocation determinations and contribution litigation. Anne has advised clients in the manufacturing, chemical, fuel and other industries on regulatory, compliance and day-to-day operational issues.
Anne frequently speaks on real estate-related environmental issues to fellow lawyers, clients and professional groups at a variety of conferences and seminars, including programs sponsored by the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Claims Litigation Management Alliance, the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and the Illinois State Bar Association.
She serves as a Co-chair for the ABA’s Environmental Transactions and Brownfields subcommittee and is an active member of Commercial Real Estate Executive Women and the Claims & Litigation Management Alliance. Anne chaired the Chicago Bar Association’s Environmental Law Committee from 2011-2013. In 2005, Anne was selected by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company as one of the “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch.” She has served as an Adjunct Professor of environmental law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Anne earned her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago and has a B.A. from Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
