Mary Lynn Coffee and Svend Brandt-Erichsen Recognized as “Lawyers of the Year”
Mary Lynn Coffee and Svend Brandt-Erichsen were recently recognized as “Lawyers of the Year” in their practice areas and regions for 2023 in The Best Lawyers in America®. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with a “Lawyer of the Year” award.
Mary Lynn was recognized in the Orange County, CA region as “Lawyer of the Year” in two practices: Land Use & Zoning and Water Law. Mary Lynn focuses on providing legal and regulatory advice and counsel with respect to complying with and permitting under CEQA, NEPA and state and federal water quality, wetlands, endangered species and other natural resource protection laws. Her experience includes successfully negotiating, obtaining and defending, or administratively challenging and moderating, the requirements of NEPA/CEQA clearances and environmental permits for large public water, transit, transportation, energy and logistics infrastructure projects totaling more than $11.5 billion in capital costs and for more than 28 privately developed master planned communities encompassing more than 95,000 acres throughout California.
Svend was recognized in the Seattle region as “Lawyer of the Year” in the Litigation: Environmental category. Svend focuses on the development and ongoing operation of energy and natural resource projects. He advises companies on permitting, compliance, regulatory development and other issues arising under all of the major federal environmental statutes, as well as their counterparts in a number of states, with a particular emphasis on air, water, waste and wildlife. He routinely handles appeals involving environmental matters in federal and state courts. He was previously named a “Lawyer of the Year” in 2017 in the Natural Resources category.
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Its methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
