As Chair of Connell Foley’s Environmental Law practice group, Agnes Antonian draws on her engineering background to address a broad range of complex environmental litigation and land use matters. Her environmental litigation experience spans the full spectrum of federal and state environmental law, including Superfund, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the New Jersey Spill Act.

Agnes represents potentially responsible parties in federal and state court and alternative dispute resolution forums regarding government and private cost-recovery litigation. Clients turn to her for advice on compliance with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) related to hazardous substances, land use and air permitting, and on NJDEP enforcement of the associated laws and regulations. She also counsels clients facing United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) enforcement of Superfund and other federal environmental laws.

Agnes understands the diverse issues companies face in developing environmentally sensitive real estate, including wetlands and coastal areas regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). She advises owners, tenants, buyers and developers on redevelopment of brownfields and other contaminated sites covered by ISRA, as well as the business management of these projects. Agnes also represents developers and property owners in challenges to adverse rulings by state and federal regulators, including the NJDEP and the USACE.

Outside her environmental law practice, Agnes has served as local counsel on major patent antitrust litigation for global and national companies, including pharmaceutical and technology firms.

Prior to joining Connell Foley, Agnes completed a judicial clerkship for the Honorable Katharine S. Hayden in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Jersey District Ethics Committee for Essex County from 2011 to 2015.

Agnes worked for six years for Keyspan Energy Corp. as an environmental engineer before becoming a lawyer. While at Keyspan, she managed redevelopment and other aspects of the company’s environmentally impaired properties. In addition, she oversaw Keyspan’s environmental compliance with multiple regulatory agencies.

Agnes received her Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1993.  She received her Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University, School of Law, Magna Cum Laude, in 2000.

Representative Cases

• Represents a utility in a CERCLA and NRD enforcement matter relating to the Passaic River and Newark Bay
• Represents the Special Master in the enforcement of court ordered injunction against Honeywell
• Representation of a retail developer in connection with substantial claims relating to defective workmanship, fraud, and construction delay claims
• Represented Mosaid Technologies Inc. in a case which resulted in a landmark legal decision regarding e-discovery, has been cited and analyzed more than twenty-five times
• Represented property developer in a litigation against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which resulted in a significant decision in the Federal court, in support of the land owner/developer
• Represented Texas Instruments as local counsel in patent and anti-trust litigation that resulted in a jury verdict in excess of $100,000,000 on behalf of the client

Honors

Premier Environmental Lawyers, Exclusive featured Attorney for Roseland New Jersey 2020

Best Lawyers in America (2018-2020)

• Environmental Law
• Environmental – Litigation

“Best 50 Women in Business,” NJBIZ (2017)

Chambers USA, New Jersey Environmental Law (2016)

New Jersey Super Lawyers (2016-2019)

“40 Under 40,” New Jersey Law Journal (2010)

Connell Foley LLP.

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