Attorney John Hanna Jr. Honored for Environmental Leadership

Among those recognized was John Hanna, Jr., a founding member of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP , who has committed himself to environmental leadership throughout his career. As a former Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Hanna worked to strengthen and expand the environmental police force by sending environmental conservation officers to the police academy for training. He also lobbied for environmental impact legislation, freshwater, wetlands, and mined land reclamation. Many of his ideas came to fruition in the Uniform Land Use Procedures Act.

Hanna has also served as an Assistant US Attorney and as a Counsel to the Office of Employee Relations in the New York State Governor's Office. Earlier in his career, he worked with New York City and Boston law firms.

Hanna practices environmental and commercial law and also serves as an international and domestic arbitrator and mediator. Additionally, he teaches international environmental law in Chicago,for John Marshal Law School's LLM program and is active in The Nature Conservancy and other environmental organizations. He is also a member of the New York State Bar Association and has held various positions in the International and Environmental Sections.

As noted by Robert J. Bob Kafin, the Vice Chair of Parks & Trails New York, the ideas behind environmental law are widely accepted today but when the George W. Perkins Award recipients initially stepped into the legal field, course offerings in environmental law were non-existent. “There was no EPA- no Department of Environmental Conservation.” Furthermore, Kafin noted that the National Environmental Policy Act, the State Environmental Quality Review Act, environmental law practice groups, environmental law boutiques, environmental conservation committees, and bar environmental law sections were unheard of.

“The fact is: as our honorees entered the practice of law there really was no such thing as a distinct discipline of environmental law,” said Kafin at the November awards ceremony. He went on to refer to the honorees as “leaders and innovators in using litigation as a tool to protect environmental quality.”

Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP is the Capital Region's largest firm. It boasts a leading environmental law practice but also offers expertise in a variety of other areas including business, corporate, education, cleantech, energy, utility regulation, land use, health care, immigration, intellectual property, labor, employment, real estate development, and tax and telecommunication.

Parks & Trails New York is a supporter of New York's parks, greenways, bike paths, and other outdoor locations that enable New Yorkers to experience a connection with nature.