Profil
Michael P. Canavan is a member of the Environmental Practice at Greenberg Traurig. He focuses his practice on environmental issues associated with real estate and corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. Michael represents leading private equity funds, institutional investors, commercial and residential real estate developers and managers, lenders, public and private companies, and businesses in highly regulated industries.
Michael advises clients on environmental due diligence, contractual allocation of environmental risks and liabilities, environmental insurance, brownfield redevelopment, contaminated site investigation and remediation, regulatory compliance, facility operations, leasing, financing, and refinancing. He counsels owners, developers, and operating companies through environmental issues that arise throughout the life cycle of businesses and real property, from acquisition and development through operation, financing, and sale.
Clients rely on Michael for his ability to identify and evaluate environmental risk quickly and develop practical strategies for managing that risk. He has assisted with hundreds of real estate and corporate transactions in the majority of U.S. states, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Japan.
Michael writes frequently on California’s climate disclosure regime, including CARB’s SB 253 and SB 261 rulemakings. He has also presented on environmental and regulatory issues in data center development and helps develop AI-assisted tools for environmental diligence and risk allocation.
Concentrations
- Environmental
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Real estate transactions
- Brownfield redevelopment
- Contaminated site investigation and remediation
- CERCLA and Superfund
- Environmental risk management and mitigation
- Environmental insurance
- Environmental remediation contracts
- Hazardous waste and facility compliance
- Leasing, financing, and refinancing
- Private equity and venture capital
- Construction and development
- Manufacturing and life sciences
- Timberland and natural resources
Kluczowe Praktyki
Doświadczenie
- Professional sports franchise in connection with the development and expansion of a training facility at a former Naval Station and federal Superfund property in California.
- Real estate investment manager in connection with the redevelopment and continuing regulatory oversight of a former coastal industrial property remediated under the California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act.
- Property owner in connection with protected habitat, conservation easements, restoration obligations, financial assurance, and long-term maintenance requirements at a remediated coastal development.
- Real estate investment manager in connection with Southern California self-storage developments regulated by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, including one located within a federal Superfund groundwater operable unit.
- Real estate fund in connection with the acquisition and redevelopment of a former ceramics manufacturing site subject to a voluntary cleanup agreement with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.
- Industrial manufacturer in connection with renewal of a hazardous waste facility post-closure permit and associated soil vapor and groundwater investigation in California.
- Real estate investor in connection with the acquisition and redevelopment of a mixed-use property affected by an off-site chlorinated solvent plume and regulated under a California county Site Cleanup Program.
- Developer in connection with cleanup and redevelopment of a California industrial property subject to Regional Water Quality Control Board oversight and a recorded land use covenant.
- Owner of a transit-adjacent office property in connection with agency-directed soil vapor investigation, contaminated-site closeout, ground-lease requirements, and refinancing.
- Developer in connection with approval of a remedial action workplan and commencement of cleanup activities at a California retail property.
- Public agency in connection with the post-closure land use plan for redevelopment of a former landfill.
- Property owners and developers in connection with federal and state Superfund sites involving groundwater plumes, third-party property impacts, land use controls, engineering controls, and overlapping federal, state, and local oversight.
- Purchasers and property owners in connection with CERCLA liability, including the definition of a CERCLA facility, owner and operator liability, the petroleum exclusion, and landowner liability protections.
- Private equity sponsors and strategic buyers in connection with environmental diligence for mergers, stock purchases, asset acquisitions, and portfolio transactions involving chemical, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, industrial services, and natural resource businesses.
- Institutional agricultural investor in connection with the acquisition of Missouri farmland portfolios, including Phase I and Phase II environmental diligence, assessment of petroleum conditions, and seller cleanup.
- Buyer in connection with the acquisition of a specialty chemical company with manufacturing operations in the United States and Europe.
- Publicly traded health and pharmaceutical company in connection with environmental compliance and operational readiness for an acquired peptide manufacturing facility in California.
- Specialty chemical company in connection with stock-purchase environmental diligence involving hazardous waste compliance and resolution of federal agency inspection findings.
- Purchasers and sellers in connection with transactions subject to the New Jersey Industrial Site Recovery Act and the Connecticut Transfer Act.
- Real estate investor in connection with the marketing of a New York industrial portfolio subject to the state Brownfield Cleanup Program, including remedial requirements, environmental easements, and regulatory closure.
- Owners and developers in connection with brownfield and voluntary cleanup programs in California, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, Nevada, Missouri, and West Virginia.
- Property owner in connection with a Florida petroleum cleanup matter involving conditional closure, restrictive covenants, state-funded remediation, groundwater investigation, and pursuit of a No Further Action determination.
- Real estate investor in connection with the acquisition of a North Carolina property subject to a Brownfields Agreement, including land use restrictions, redevelopment requirements, and continuing compliance obligations.
- Timberland investors in connection with acquisitions and financings of multi-state (AR, CA, LA, FL, OR, and WA) portfolios involving oil and gas operations, abandoned wells, agricultural uses, release reporting, operator financial assurance, and mineral rights.
- International real estate investor in connection with acquisitions of office, retail, and mixed-use properties in Japan.
- Buyers and sellers in connection with environmental provisions in purchase and sale agreements for legacy industrial properties, including investigation rights, indemnities, retained liabilities, voluntary cleanup obligations, and regulatory closure.
- National real estate opportunity fund in connection with the design, placement, renewal, and administration of a portfolio pollution legal liability insurance program covering hundreds of properties.
- Real estate investors and operating companies in connection with site-specific environmental insurance placements for industrial, multifamily, hospitality, office, retail, data center, chemical manufacturing, and development properties.
- Property owners in connection with environmental insurance claims, divested-location coverage, policy tail coverage, lender endorsements, and coverage for known contamination and remediation obligations.
- Owners, borrowers, and lenders in connection with environmental indemnities, remediation holdbacks, financial assurance, engineering controls, institutional controls, and regulatory closure requirements.
- Property owner in connection with environmental insurance and financial assurance supporting long-term operation, maintenance, and monitoring obligations at a residential development.
- Global semiconductor manufacturer in connection with the lease of space at a Silicon Valley campus located on a federal Superfund site and subject to post-closure orders and landfill gas controls.
- Landlord in connection with a build-to-suit research, development, and vehicle operations lease involving hazardous materials use, environmental insurance, decommissioning, surrender obligations, and consequential damages.
- Medical waste company in connection with the lease and permitting of a processing facility subject to a recorded land use covenant and environmental closure determination.
- Property owner in connection with a New Jersey lease termination and sale involving potential ISRA triggers, Spill Act liability, underground storage tanks, and preservation of contribution and indemnity rights.
- Technology company in connection with environmental closeout, lease transfers, assignments, and termination of leased facilities.
- Developers and commercial property owners in connection with environmental provisions in construction, remediation, access, and consultant agreements, including responsibility for contractor-caused releases, waste management, insurance, indemnification, and regulatory compliance.
- Institutional investment managers and public companies in connection with California climate disclosure requirements, including applicability assessments, greenhouse gas reporting, climate-related financial risk reports, and implementation planning.
- National real estate investor in connection with a multi-property Florida premises security compliance program designed to support a statutory liability safe harbor.
- Institutional real estate clients in connection with development of environmental diligence, insurance, remediation, holdback, lender, and transaction playbooks for use across large property portfolios.
- Tax Policy Legal Intern, Office of Jim McDermott (D-WA), 2013
- Legal Intern, Office of Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 2012
- Legal Intern, Hon. Susan G. Braden, U.S. States Court of Federal Claims, 2012
- Legal Intern, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2010 and 2011
- Intern, Office of Bob Etheridge (D-NC), U.S. House of Representatives, 2008 and 2009
- Intern, APCO Worldwide, 2008
- Intern, Edison International, 2008
Wyróżnienia i aktywność zawodowa
- Team Member, a Law360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2023
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, "Ones to Watch," Environmental Law, 2021-2022
- Team Member, a Law360 “Environmental Practice Group of the Year,” 2022
- Member, Bar Association of Pennsylvania
- Member, New York Bar Association
Wykształcenie i uprawnienia do wykonywania zawodu
Wykształcenie
- J.D., with Honors, The George Washington University Law School
- B.A., Political Science; History, cum laude, Wake Forest University
Uprawnienia
- California
- Pennsylvania
- New York