Photo of Gregory H. Smith
Gregory H. Smith
Director & Chair, Administrative Law Department and Managing Director of State Capital Office
Office603-226-0400
11 South Main Street
Suite 500
Concord, NH 03301

Greg is chairman of the firm’s Administrative Law Department and Environmental Practice Group. He has over 40 years’ experience in environmental and regulatory law and litigation involving the State, federal and local governments. He was the New Hampshire Attorney General following service as a homicide prosecutor in that office. He has led the firm’s environmental, regulatory and government relations practice since leaving the position of Attorney General.

His practice involves representation of our clients in permitting, enforcement and litigation matters arising under all the major federal and State environmental laws. For example, he has handled energy facility siting including a 720 megawatt natural gas fired electric generating station, extension of an interstate natural gas pipeline and a wood fired bioenergy electric generating station.  He has extensive experience with Superfund, RCRA, TSCA, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act, including most recently regulation of PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern.  He has handled regulatory compliance and permitting appeals and resolved enforcement cases involving the development of natural resources including municipal, industrial and bottled water supplies, solid waste facilities, storm water management at mining operations, wetlands and shoreland protection. He has also handled a wide variety of other types of regulatory cases, by way of example insurance, transportation, the Liquor Commission, the Sweepstakes Commission, governmental competitive bidding and numerous legislative lobbying projects.

Greg is the editor and coauthor of the NH Environmental Handbook, and is a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, since 2008.

Greg received his J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law (1973) and his B.A. in Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire (1969).

Areas of Focus

  • Environmental Law
  • Energy Facility Siting
  • Hazardous Waste Law, CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA
  • Clean Water Act, Wetland & Shoreland and Stormwater Management
  • Solid Waste Permitting & Enforcement
  • Government Relations
  • Legislative Counsel

Admissions

  • New Hampshire
  • Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court for New Hampshire
  • United States Supreme Court

Involvement

  • American College of Environmental Lawyers, Fellow, Elected in 2008
  • New Hampshire Bar Association
  • New Hampshire Association for Justice
  • Fellow, New Hampshire Bar Foundation
  • The New England Council, Member, Board of Directors
  • NH Supreme Court Society, Trustee
  • Supreme Court Society Oral History Project, Chair
  • Legal Counsel of New Hampshire Senate (1992 – 1993)
  • Representative to Terralex, a worldwide network of lawyers
  • Mountain Green Homeowners Association, Member, Board of Directors
  • Patrician Shores Association, Member, Community Dock Committee

Recognitions

Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America (Administrative/Regulatory Law, Environmental Law; Government Relations Practice), 1995 – present
  • Best Lawyers in America’s (Lawyer of the Year – Environmental) Concord, New Hampshire, 2012 & 2021
  • Marquis Who’s Who

Representative Work

  • Handled many Superfund and State hazardous waste cases in N.H., New England and throughout the United States.
  • Represented public company in multimillion dollar solid waste permitting, compliance and enforcement cases
  • Represented public company in large, complex solid and hazardous waste, and Safe Drinking Water Act cases
  • Represented international client in Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act cases involving PFAS regulation
  • Successfully represented a major energy company through all of the permitting before the State Site Evaluation Committee and in State and federal court to obtain the necessary permits for a 720 megawatt natural gas fired combined cycle electric generating station. Appeal of the Londonderry Neighborhood Coalition, 761 A.2d 426 (N.H. 2000)
  • Against significant opposition, represented before State Site Evaluation Committee and the courts, a major interstate gas pipeline company in all of the permitting for a new interstate natural gas transmission pipeline;
  • Successfully pursued insurance recovery in a large number of environmental hazardous waste contamination cases;
  • Represented industry, municipalities and bottled water companies in the development and permitting of large groundwater withdrawals;
  • Successfully handled numerous cases involving the terrain alteration, shoreland protection and wetlands regulations;
  • Successfully handled numerous boat dock permitting and enforcement cases;
  • Represented gravel mining and industrial clients in State and federal stormwater permitting and enforcement cases;
  • Advised charitable educational institutions about regulation by the office of Attorney General, Division of Charitable Trusts;
  • Successfully acted as regulatory counsel on a wide variety of substantive issues and legislative matters for more than 40 years, including regulation of the liquor industry, environmental and utility matters, insurance, healthcare and taxation. See for example Appeal of Monsieur Henri Wines, Ltd., 128 N.H. 191 (1986)