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Chadbourne & Parke Green Program Wins Top Ranking for Resource and Energy Conservation, Recycling

Posted on: Thursday, 4 June 2009, 11:00 CDT

Certified as a 'Leader' in Three More Categories in ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge

NEW YORK, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- A year after it began a comprehensive Green Initiative in its three U.S. offices, the international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke has been ranked at the top of the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Change Challenge in three additional categories that focus on resource and energy conservation and recycling.

"We are thrilled to have attained this leading ranking in just a year," said partner Adam S. Umanoff, a member of the renewable energy practice who led the team that developed the Green Initiative. "The Chadbourne program gave everybody an opportunity to have an immediate impact -- and we did. Institutionally and individually, we are now walking the walk as well as talking the talk."

The Firm was first certified in the Green Power category in April 2008 as a "Leader" in the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge, a project of the American Bar Association and the Environmental Protection Agency. Now, Chadbourne has also been given "Leader" status in the Best Paper Practices, Waste Wise and Energy Star categories. In the first two, the Firm documented a 50% reduction in paper usage; in the Energy Star category, Chadbourne's New York office documented an 11.8% decrease in power usage.

These reductions were achieved by, among other practices, using more energy-efficient light bulbs and encouraging employees to shut off lights, computers and all equipment when they are not in their offices. Additionally, copiers and printers have been programmed for two-sided usage and employees have been encouraged to do more work electronically without printing.

The Climate Challenge Program encourages law firms to take specific actions to conserve energy and resources, as well as reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Chadbourne's "Leader" status in Best Paper Practices, Waste Wise and Energy Star ranked it well ahead of most of the 168 law firms enrolled in the program to date.

"This has been an exciting and extremely rewarding process at Chadbourne," said Managing Partner Charles K. O'Neill. "We are well known as legal market leaders with our project finance, renewable energy and climate change practices, and we have now become leaders in the way we use and conserve resources in our own operations."

The Green Initiative's roll-out in April 2008 included these key actions:

• On the recycling front, all personnel have separate containers at their desks for paper and trash. Bottles and cans are recycled in bins located in pantries.
• Chadbourne has purchased Renewable Energy Certificates to offset 60% of its domestic energy use.
• General office supplies that contain recycled materials are being used where available; copier paper is 30% recycled content. As stationery and business cards have been replaced, they have used a higher content of recycled paper.
• Wherever possible, copiers and network printers have been programmed to default to double-sided copies to reduce use of paper.
• Firm copiers are Energy Star-designated, a U.S. government designation meaning they are energy efficient. Wherever possible, all new appliances and equipment purchased are Energy Star-designated.
• Employees have been encouraged to use filtered water fountains and in meetings tap water is served in pitchers, almost completely eliminating the use of plastic water bottles.
• In all U.S. offices, wherever possible, wood furniture is being reconditioned and refinished and carpets are being cleaned with environmentally friendly products; paint with fewer toxins is now in use; bathroom faucets and facilities have been retrofitted to use less water.
• The U.S. offices of the Firm are using environmentally friendly plates, utensils and cups; catered events that previously used plastic also use such products.

About Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, project finance, private funds, corporate finance, energy/renewable energy and climate change, communications and technology, commercial and products liability litigation, securities litigation and regulatory enforcement, special investigations and litigation, intellectual property, antitrust, domestic and international tax, insurance and reinsurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, employment law and ERISA, trusts and estates and government contract matters. Major geographical areas of concentration include Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS, the Middle East and Latin America. The Firm has offices in New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Mexico City, London (a multinational partnership), Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Kyiv, Almaty, Dubai and Beijing. For additional information, visit www.chadbourne.com.

SOURCE Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Source: PR Newswire

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