Cozen O’Connor members Peter J. Fontaine, Michael R. Stein and William Stewart recently organized and participated in a seminar presented by the Environmental Health & Safety Committee of the Delaware Valley Area Corporate Counsel Association (DELVACCA) titled “A Practical Primer on Climate Change: The Business of Climate Change.” Fontaine, Stein, and Stewart spoke on the different ways climate change can impact businesses. In addition to addressing the science and legislation related to this critical global problem, this seminar also discussed the ways businesses can gain competitive advantages, tax benefits and opportunities while mitigating their risks.
A member in the Cherry Hill office, Fontaine co-chairs the firm's energy, environmental and public utility practice group and the climate change practice area. He previously served as an attorney with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at its Washington, D.C., Headquarters. Fontaine has expertise in the Clean Air Act and in brownfield development, with extensive experience helping clients to successfully develop contaminated properties.
A frequent speaker and writer on environmental issues, Fontaine has also received awards for his work, including the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award. He is an active member of his community, and chairs Camden County's Open Space Advisory Committee, which since 1999 has conserved more than 1,900 acres of farmland and open space in Camden County. He also served on Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell's transportation transition team.
A member in the trusts and estates practice resident in the Philadelphia and Wilmington offices, Stein has significant experience in wealth transfer planning and tax planning for high net worth individuals and families. He handles estate planning, estate and trust administration, post-mortem planning, business succession planning and charitable planning. Stein also represents clients before the IRS in audit and related proceedings pertaining to federal estate tax and gift tax returns and counsels clients on the advantages of using Delaware estate planning and asset protection techniques that are available to residents and non-residents of Delaware.
A member resident in the West Conshohocken office, Stewart practices in the global insurance group and heads the firm's climate change/global warming practice area. He also handles matters involving insurance coverage, fraud defense, bad faith defense, toxic tort and mold coverage defense, and is one of the nation’s foremost litigators in the fields of insurance coverage mold-related litigation. Stewart is an arbitrator for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the Montgomery Court of Common Pleas.
Stewart has lectured on climate change at numerous national symposia, and his work has been featured by national news media and insurance industry publications. He is a frequent lecturer and contributor to Business Insurance, Best's Insurance, CPCU Journals, Mealey’s Bad Faith Reporter and Mealey’s Mold Litigation Reporter.
A resident of Eagleville, Pa., Stewart is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University (B.A., 1987) and the University of Notre Dame (J.D., 1990). Admitted to the bars of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, he has practiced in more than 10 U.S. states and territories and is a member of the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Montgomery County and Camden County Bar Associations.