Charles H. Haake is an of counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and is a member of the firm’s Litigation and Environmental Litigation and Mass Torts Practice Groups. Mr. Haake has extensive experience litigating matters in both federal and state courts, representing clients in a wide range of environmental matters. Mr. Haake’s practice includes pretrial motions practice, bench and jury trials, criminal investigations, rulemaking and regulatory challenges, and appellate practice. He has particular experience developing and challenging expert testimony under both federal and state law. Mr. Haake has represented clients in mass tort and toxic tort actions, water contamination and asbestos claims, and actions under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Mr. Haake’s practice also includes handling matters concerning greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, such as defending tort actions against clients and representing clients in challenges to agency regulations of greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Haake has extensive experience in the following areas:

Mass and Toxic Tort Defense
Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas
Environmental Enforcement Actions
Appellate Litigation

Mr. Haake earned his law degree in 1997 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served on the Articles Review Board of the Virginia Law Review. He received a B.A. degree magna cum laude in 1992 from Washington and Lee University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating from Washington and Lee, he studied for one academic year at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany on a Fulbright Scholarship. He is a member of the bars of California and the District of Columbia.

Mass and Toxic Tort Defense

Mr. Haake has represented clients in a wide variety of mass tort and toxic tort actions under both federal and state law. Representative matters include:

Defending a pulp and paper client in a series of lawsuits in both state and federal courts in four jurisdictions alleging that emissions from the client’s facilities have caused personal injuries and property damage.
Defending rocket motor manufacturing company in state court toxic tort litigation alleging personal injuries and medical monitoring damages for alleged groundwater contamination with TCE and ammonium perchlorate.
Representing aerospace company in federal toxic tort case alleging claims for personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, CERCLA response costs, medical monitoring and punitive damages in connection with alleged air and groundwater contamination with TCE, PCE and hexavalent chromium.
Defending aerospace manufacturer in asbestos litigation brought in multiple jurisdictions, including an action leading to a seminal published opinion concerning the scope of federal officer removal. Durham v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 445 F.3d 1247 (9th Cir. 2005).

Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas

Mr. Haake’s practice includes representing clients in a number of high-profile matters concerning greenhouse gas emissions and climate. These matters include:

Participating on behalf of automobile industry clients in rulemaking under both the Clean Air Act and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish coordinated standards governing motor vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions, and representing those clients in defending those regulations against challenges brought by third parties.
Filing, on behalf of automobile industry clients, amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent the creation of a federal common law nuisance right of action arising out of the electricity generating industry’s historical greenhouse gas emissions.
Defending automobile manufacturers in nuisance action brought by the State of California seeking damages allegedly caused by global warming resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. California v. General Motors Corp., et al., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68547 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 17, 2007).
Representing trade association of automobile manufacturers challenging on preemption grounds state regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. Green Mountain Chrysler Jeep v. Crombie; Central Valley Chrysler Jeep v. Goldstene; and Association of International Automobile Manufacturers v. Sullivan.
Intervening on behalf of automobile trade association in an action challenging EPA’s denial of California’s application for waiver of Clean Air Act preemption for state greenhouse gas regulations.

Mr. Haake also counsels clients on a range of issues concerning climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, such as S.E.C. disclosure issues and regulatory developments.

Environmental Enforcement Actions

Mr. Haake has experience representing clients in enforcement actions brought under environmental statutes such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. Representative matters include:

Defending a pulp and paper company in a $600 million enforcement action brought by EPA under the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review provisions.
Representing a developer in an EPA enforcement action, a citizen suit and a criminal investigation alleging violation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

Mr. Haake has published the following articles in the area of environmental law:

Charles H. Haake and Justin A. Torres, Drawing The Line: Preemption Of State Environmental Regulation, Law360 (July 15, 2013)
Charles H. Haake and Karyn B. Marsh, Regulating The Environment Through The Courts, Law360 (June 7, 2011).
Raymond B. Ludwiszewski, Charles H. Haake & Stacie B. Fletcher, The “Glorious Mess Comes to Court, Carbon and Climate Law Review Vol. 2 p. 173 (Feb. 2010).
Raymond B. Ludwiszewski & Charles H. Haake, Comment on Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Climate Change Mitigation Policy in the United States: Integrating Levels of Government and Economic Sectors, Environmental Law Reporter Vol. 39, No. 8 p. 10732 (Aug. 2009).
Raymond B. Ludwiszewski & Charles H. Haake, Climate Change: A Heat Wave of New Federal Regulation and Legislation, The Federal Lawyer Vol. 56, No. 5 p. 32 (June 2009).
Charles H. Haake and Karyn B. Marsh, The Trouble With Angels: Carbon Capture and Storage Hurdles and Solutions, BNA World Climate Change Report (May 8, 2009).
Elizabeth A. Ising and Charles H. Haake, Climate Change Disclosures in SEC Filings “Heat Up,” Insights: The Corporate and Securities Law Adviser Vol. 22. No. 9 p. 2. (September 2008).
Raymond B. Ludwiszewski, Charles H. Haake and Stacie B. Fletcher, Regulating Greenhouse Gases Emissions Using Existing Clean Air Act Authorities: If All You Have Is A Hammer, Everything Looks Like A Nail, Mealey’s Emerging Toxic Torts Vol. 17, No. 12 p. 1 (September 16, 2008).
Raymond B. Ludwiszewski & Charles H. Haake, Comment Basic Compensation for Victims of Climate Change, 38 Evtl. L. Rep. 10,536 (2008).
Raymond B. Ludwiszewski & Charles H. Haake, Cars, Carbon and Climate Change, 102 Nw. U. L. Rev. 665 (2008).
Christopher H. Buckley Jr., and Charles H. Haake, Separating the Scientist's Wheat from the Charlatan's Chaff: Daubert's Role in Toxic Tort Litigation, 28 Envtl. L. Rep. 10,293 (1998).