Related Practices

Education

J.D., University of Notre Dame Law School, 1991
B.A., Lewis and Clark College, 1987

Bar Admissions

Arizona, 1991

Carla A. Consoli

Practice Group Leader

Partner

vCard

Phoenix

40 North Central Avenue
Suite 1900
Phoenix, Arizona 85004

Phone 602.262.5347

Fax 602.734.3896

About Carla Consoli

Ms. Consoli is a partner and Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Energy, Natural Resources, Environmental, Regulatory, Government Relations and Indian Affairs Practice Group. Her practice emphasizes permitting new facilities, transactional due diligence, pro-active counseling and agency negotiation. The industries which regularly call on Ms. Consoli include mines, alternative energy developers, large-scale residential and commercial developers, manufacturers, and investors in these industries. Her work includes traditional environmental and mine permitting, as well as endangered species and habitat compliance, water rights and water availability analyses, and community outreach. She works closely with clients assisting in remedial activities, litigation, natural resources evaluations, and compliance negotiation.

Ms. Consoli negotiates a variety of agreements including liability transfer, royalty payment, utility service, development and consulting agreements. She counsels companies of various sizes to aid their understanding of environmental, water, historic, cultural and natural resource laws affecting their business operations. Ms. Consoli also assists clients in acquiring water rights and resolving water law, endangered species and critical habitat issues.

Ms. Consoli has authored numerous articles on environmental topics including due diligence, prospective purchaser agreements, defenses and liability reduction agreements. She is editor-in-chief of a handbook for non-environmental lawyers and business owners to aid their understanding of the impact of environmental law on business transactions; in that handbook, she authored the section on environmental due diligence in commercial property transactions.

Representative Cases/Matters

Counsel to exploration company in permitting, public outreach and remediation activities associated with re-activating a former copper mine.
Counsel Canadian exploration company in the acquisition of a potentially significant copper resource; the acquisition involved negotiating with the U.S. EPA, the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of Interior, Indian Tribes, the State of Nevada and private entities identified as responsible parties.
Counsel solar power developer in permitting new utility-scale solar power generating facility.
Counsel the State of Kuwait on claims heard by the United Nations regarding environmental damages resulting from the Republic of Iraq’s 1990/1991 Invasion and Occupation of Kuwait.
Counsel "green" development company regarding Aquifer Protection Program permits.
Counsel international mining company in Arizona’s statewide water adjudication.
Counsel Brownfield Developer on assured and adequate water supply, endangered species, and Clean Water Act permits.
Counsel nationwide housing manufacturer proving non-contribution to Superfund Site.
Counsel manufacturer in industrial waste water notice of violation; obtained fine reduction of 97 percent.
Counsel real estate developer on applicability of NEPA to development of virgin desert.

Memberships and Affiliations

Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Arizona, Member and Former Chairman
Audubon of Arizona, Board Member, Education Chair
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Arizona, Board Member and Former Chair
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Trustee
Valley Forward, Member and Former Chairman of the Board
Maricopa County Bar Association Environmental Section, Member and Former Chairman
ABA Section on Energy, Environmental Resources, Member and Fall Meeting Planning Committee Member

Publications

Chapter Contributor, “Implementing Institutional Controls at Brownfields and Other Contaminated Sites,” American Bar Association, 2012
Chapter Contributor, "Inside the Minds: Client Strategies for Alternative Energy and Efficiency," Aspatore Books, December 2008
Author, "Colorado River Water Entitlement Transfers, Kayaking the Middle of the River Between State and Federal Jurisdictions," CLE International, Summer 2008
Author, "Good Intentions, Unintended Consequences: The Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District," Arizona Law Review, June 28, 2007

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, Arizona, 1991

Other Distinctions

Ms. Consoli is honored by Arizona Business Magazine as one of the "50 Most Influential Women” in Arizona. The Arizona Business Journal chose Ms. Consoli as a “Forty under 40” honoree, as well as a “Woman to Watch”.

An "AV/Preeminent” rated attorney with Martindale-Hubbell, Ms. Consoli is listed in the 2008-2013 editions of Best Lawyers in America and the 2009 edition of Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel. She is listed in the 2008-2013 editions of Southwest Super Lawyers, as well as named a Top 25 Female Attorney in the 2013 edition. She is also listed in the 2007-2013 editions of Chambers USA, and named in the 2010 and 2013 editions of AZ Business Magazine's Top Lawyers. In each of the above listings and accreditations, Ms. Consoli is named in the category of Environmental Law, including Water Rights.

In 2012, Ms. Consoli was named The International Who’s Who of Environmental Lawyers 2012 by Who’s Who Legal Services. She is further named in The International Who's Who of Business, and in Arizona's Who's Who of Business, in the March 2011 edition of AZ Central.