1. Oil and Gas

Fair Shake represents individuals and communities in all aspects of oil and gas law from negotiating leases of mineral rights and negotiating pore space rights to bringing legal action for contamination from oil and gas operations.

2. Clean Water

Fair Shake represents parties in all aspects of Clean Water Act regulations, from pursuing litigation when violations are suspected at a facility to increasing water quality standards to help prevent degradation in the future.

3. Stormwater

Fair Shake works to ensure factories and plants throughout the tri-state have robust storm water pollution prevention plans to minimize environmental impact from raw materials, truck transport, and waste used at their facilities.

4. Clean Air

Fair Shake helps ensure facilities are meeting or exceeding permit requirements of the clean air act and pursues corrective measures when violations of the clean air act are suspected or reported.

5. Landfill Regulation

Fair Shake works to hold landfill operators accountable to the strict standards of the federal resource conservation and recovery act and state solid waste regulations.

6. Mine Reclamation

Fair Shake helps enforce federal mine reclamation act requirements to ensure lands are restored to functional and safe uses after mining activity has ceased.

7. Development PERMITTING PROCESS

Fair Shake helps communities engage in the public participation process for state and local permits and purses administrative appeals and civil litigation when health and safety concerns remain unresolved.

8. Zoning Ordinances and Variances

Fair Shake helps communities develop zoning ordinances and ensure their voices are heard when zoning variances decisions are made.

9. Land Use Rights

Fair Shake helps defend property owners from challenges to the use of their property from state and local authorities.

10. Land Conservation

Fair Shake helps establish land conservation easements, land trusts, and other legal agreements to ensure our clients land is able to remain in its natural state free from encroaching developments and able sustain plants and wildlife for generations to come.

11. Solar Power

Fair Shake helps communities and individuals understand the benefits of solar energy through education and representation in solar installation contract negotiations.

12. Nonprofit Formation and representation

Fair Shake helps incorporate nonprofit organizations from concept to action, including drafting articles of incorporation, filing with the secretary of state, and securing 501(3)c status from the Internal Revenue Service.

We also provide general council representation to nonprofits so partners have somewhere to turn for routine and unexpected legal questions.

Fair Shake lawyers practice a values-based form of lawyering called client-centered counseling. Client-centered counseling demands of lawyers not just zealous representation of their clients’ legal objectives, but also to understand and integrate their clients’ non-legal objectives into their work.
A guiding principle of client-centered counseling is to maximize the autonomy of the client; to guide clients in identifying their own values and objectives and help them to realize these objectives within the lawyer-client relationship and also in the world.
Standing up for your environment requires the financial means to do so. Exacerbating this issue is the fact that those of lower economic means are exposed to the highest levels of environmental pollution and damage. We represent individuals and organizations for their environmental and good government needs using these methods:
PRO BONO SERVICES
We provide free legal services to individuals whose income is within 300% of the federal poverty level.
SLIDING SCALE LEGAL SERVICES
Our sliding scale services offer legal services priced according to the client’s household income or the organization’s average annual budget over the last three years. By providing income relative rates we open the doors of the environmental legal process to the individuals who need it most.
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION
Public interest litigation is work for organizational clients that seeks to accomplish outcomes for the public and environmental greater good.
1. Reach out to us by calling us at 412-664-5546, emailing us at info@fairshake-els.org, or filling out our Contact Us form.
2. One of our attorneys will set up an intake call. During this call the attorney will:
  1. Listen to learn more about your situation;
  2. Talk about how we might be able to support you;
  3. Explain our pricing structure, and;
  4. Can give you an estimate for your legal rate and let you know about any additional costs you can anticipate (for example, hiring a expert witness or scientific expert.)
3. There is no cost or commitment to an intake call.
4. If you want to move forward, the attorney brings the case back to our full team, where the team discusses if we have the expertise and capacity to help and that it fits to our strategic mission.
5. If we are able to move forward and represent you, we will sign a retainer agreement and begin legal representation & counseling.
6. If we aren’t able to help, we try to provide a good referral, or may encourage you to call back in a few months when our capacity is different.