Michael A.Chernekoff
- Position
- Partner
- Office
- Houston
Mike Chernekoff is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. He focuses on environmental law, related areas of environmental litigation and toxic tort defense, and commercial and energy litigation.
Mike’s practice centers principally on matters and businesses located in Louisiana and Texas. As a litigator, he develops and pursues effective dispute-resolution strategies in the context of investigations, trials, and settlement negotiations; as a counselor, he regularly helps clients identify compliance risks and prevent disputes from arising in the first place. In both arms of his practice, he draws on his more than three decades of private legal practice and firsthand experience at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he worked as an attorney-adviser in the Office of Air, Mobile Source Enforcement before joining Jones Walker in 1982.
Also a member of the firm’s real estate group and Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resources Industry Team, Mike has handled a broad spectrum of environmental issues and matters, including:
- Air, water, and waste permitting
- Regulatory compliance assessment and auditing
- Transaction due diligence
- Enforcement counseling and defense
- Site remediation and response action assessment and coordination
- Hazardous substance and oil release emergency response actions
Mike has represented clients in numerous “first-ever” matters of note that have set the standard for subsequent actions. These include:
- Obtaining the first complete response costs reimbursement against the EPA’s Superfund after completion of an emergency response action pursuant to a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Section 106 Order
- Negotiating, on behalf of a refinery, possibly the first state-led agreement under the EPA's New Source Review Refinery Initiative with the State of Louisiana
- Negotiating the first private-party partial remedial action agreement with the State of Louisiana under its Voluntary Clean Up Program (brownfield equivalent), placing contaminated property back into commerce
Mike also writes and speaks frequently on a variety of environmental topics, including civil and criminal enforcement, compliance auditing, due diligence, voluntary cleanup projects, the Oil Pollution Act, and CERCLA, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act programs.
Environmental Litigation: Federal, State, and Administrative Matters
A highly effective litigator, Mike has led or been a member of teams of attorneys and experts handling complex litigation involving property damages and health-effects allegations from Superfund sites, hazardous waste landfills, municipal and industrial waste landfills, refineries, chemical facilities, manufacturing facilities, maritime facilities, and oil and gas operations. These cases have included class action matters, mass tort matters, multi-defendant matters, and trials from initial fact finding and depositions through jury verdicts.
Among other high-profile disputes, he participated in the defense of a client in the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Mike also has led or participated in teams defending criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement matters involving EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and the National Enforcement Investigation Center (NEIC); parallel proceedings of contemporaneous civil and criminal matters; internal investigations of alleged civil and criminal violations; CERCLA cost-recovery reimbursement pursuit and cost-recovery defense; and claims under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA). He has served on potentially responsible party (PRP) committees and as PRP group counsel.
In the face of an increasingly creative plaintiffs’ bar, Mike has defended legal challenges by non-governmental organizations to federal and state environmental permits, including permit challenges involving greenhouse gas emissions, as well as citizen suits by landowners and non-governmental organizations involving federal and state laws and regulations. He also has defended companies in complex toxic tort and chemical release matters in federal and state courts, including many that have involved class action issues, punitive damage issues, and claims for property damages and personal injuries — such as fear and medical monitoring — as a result of alleged releases to air, soils, surface water, and groundwater.
Mike has also defended companies engaged in energy production — including service companies — against damages claims associated with those activities, including legacy liability claims, seismic damage claims, and equipment damage claims.
Environmental Counseling
Over the years, Mike has counseled industry participants on compliance with air, water, and waste management requirements and permits, and siting requirements, including wetlands issues. He helps clients conduct internal audits of environmental regulatory compliance (including assisting clients with audits under the Texas Audit Privilege statute). He has counseled offshore oil and gas producer and service company clients on environmental and safety regulations adopted in response to the 2010 BP oil spill incident.
Further, he routinely counsels lenders, purchasers, and sellers in real estate transactions and financing arrangements, including on "all appropriate inquiry" issues. He also provides guidance on environmental due diligence efforts as part of corporate mergers and acquisitions, as well as large asset transactions.
Mike assists clients in coordinating with regulatory agencies on environmental releases and spills, including notification requirements, and helps clients manage response actions and site cleanups. He counsels on responding to governmental cleanup orders, as well as advising on cleanups under state voluntary cleanup statutes, including brownfield developments. He also counsels on environmental issues involved in new project developments and greenfield developments.
Noteworthy
- Chambers USA, Environmental (2006–2017, 2024)
- Texas Super Lawyers, Environmental Litigation (2011–2013 and listed annually since 2017)
- The Best Lawyers in America®, Environmental Law and Litigation – Environmental (listed annually since 2007)
- Best Lawyers®, "Lawyer of the Year,” Houston Environmental Law (2013)
- Louisiana Super Lawyers, Environmental Litigation (2007–2009)
- AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating in Martindale-Hubbell
Publications
- "Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation (SNRDL) Case Summary: City of Las Cruces v. The Lofts at Alameda, LLC, No. 17-809 JCH/GBW, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 225834 (D.N.M. Dec. 15, 2022)," Discussion Forum, American Bar Association, Environment, Energy, and Resources Communities, January 6, 2023
- "Change Is in the Air: Biden Revives the Social Cost of Carbon," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, June 24, 2021
- "Reversal of Trump-Era Policies May Resurrect SEPs," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, March 10, 2021
- Jones Walker Attorneys Author "Environmental Law 2019" Chapter, Chambers Global Practice Guide, May 2019
- "Opinion Summaries: Gold King Mine Release in San Juan County, Colorado, on August 5, 2015 United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, No. 1:18-md-02824-WJ," Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Digest, American Bar Association, April 2019
- "Environmental Issues Related to Harvey," Jones Walker LLP Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Client Alert, September 8, 2017
- "The EPA's 'Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of Regulatory Actions' and the Potential Effect on the Regulated Community," Jones Walker LLP Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Client Alert, June 9, 2015
- "Louisiana and Texas Lay the Groundwork for Enhanced Oil Recovery Through Carbon Sequestration: A Possible Win-Win for Energy and the Environment," Jones Walker LLP Environmental & Toxic Torts Elert, April 28, 2009
- "Ships in U.S. and Canada Waters Could Soon Be Subject to Air Pollution Limitations," Jones Walker LLP Environmental & Toxic Tort ELert, April 28, 2009
- "Mississippi's First Katrina Insurance Jury Trial Addresses Burdens of Proof and Awards Punitive Damages," Jones Walker LLP Elert, January 11, 2007
- "Will Hurricane Katrina Further Define the 'Act of God' Defense?," Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Section Report, State Bar of Texas, Vol. 30, No. 2, February 8, 2006
- "Louisiana Appeals Court Affirms Damage Award, Reduces Punitive Damage Award in NORM Contamination Suit," Jones Walker LLP Environmental and Toxic Torts EZine, April 28, 2005
- "Supreme Court Denies CERCLA Contribution Claim Of Party That Voluntarily Cleaned Up Sites, Leaves Several Questions Unanswered," Jones Walker LLP Environmental & Toxic Torts Ezine, January 14, 2005
- "EPA Moves Closer to Developing Property Audit Standard," Jones Walker LLP Energy, Environmental & Toxic Torts EZine, January 26, 2004
- "Changes Expected in Environmental Enforcement in Louisiana," Jones Walker LLP Environmental and Toxic Torts EZine, February 21, 2003
- "EPA Announces Controversial Revisions to Clean Air Act New Source Review Requirements," Jones Walker LLP Energy, Environmental & Toxic Torts EZine, January 16, 2003
- "Louisiana Remediation Statute Held Not Retroactive," and more..., Jones Walker LLP Energy, Environmental & Toxic Torts EZine, March 1, 2002
- "New Federal Brownfield Relief Law Enacted: A Synopsis," Jones Walker LLP Energy, Environmental & Toxic Torts Special Report EZine, January 17, 2002
- "Fifth Circuit Ruling Precludes CERCLA Contribution Claims Arising From Voluntary Clean-Ups," and more... Jones Walker LLP Energy, Environmental & Toxic Torts EZine, October 12, 2001
- "U.S. Supreme Court Sets New Guidelines for Developers," and more..., Jones Walker LLP Environmental and Toxic Torts EZine, August 2, 2001
- "When the EPA Comes Knocking at Your Door with Weapons and Search Warrant in Hand," Louisiana Bar Journal, Vol. 49, No. 1, June 1, 2001
- "U.S. Supreme Court Limits Corps of Engineers Jurisdiction Over Wetlands," and more..., Jones Walker LLP Environmental and Toxic Torts EZine, January 26, 2001
- Louisiana Environmental Handbook, Lawyer's Cooperative Publishing, 1992, West Group, January 1, 1997
Presentations
- "EPA Region 6: Permitting, Compliance, Enforcement—Is It Three's Company or Three's A Crowd," 45th Spring Conference of the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, Austin, Texas, March 23, 2016
- "Federal Environmental Enforcement Issues," Salt Lake City, Utah, March 22, 2012
- "Water Use Issues in Louisiana," Houston, Texas, August 22, 2011
- "Oil and Gas Environmental Enforcement Workshop," Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee of the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, Houston, Texas, April 27, 2010
- "The Carbon Capture Continuum—From Study and Production to Capture and Consumption," Louisiana State University Seminar, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 23, 2009
- "Environmental Issues: Louisiana, Post Katrina," Houston Bar Association Environmental Section Meeting, April 11, 2007
- "Update on CERCLA Issues," Louisiana State University Environmental Law Seminar, March 17, 2006
- "Louisiana's Voluntary Remediation Program: Banking on the Certificate of Completion, A Case Study," Environmental Bankers Association, Semi-Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 18, 2005
Memberships
- American Bar Association (Section of Environment, Energy and Resources; Vice Chair, Environmental Enforcement and Crimes Committee, 2005–2017; Superfund and Natural Resources Committee, 2017–present; Section of Tort Trial and Insurance Practice, Toxic Tort and Environment Law Committee; Section of Litigation, Environmental Litigation Committee)
- Defense Research Institute
- District of Columbia Bar
- Federal Bar Association
- Houston Bar Association (Environmental Law Section)
- Louisiana State Bar Association (Past Chairman, Section on Environmental Law)
- New Orleans Bar Association
- State Bar of Texas (Environmental Law Section)

Education
- The George Washington University Law School
JD, cum laude, 1980 - Tulane University
BA, 1977
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Louisiana
- Texas
Court Admissions
- US Supreme Court
- US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
- US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- US District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- US District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- US District Court for the Western District of Texas
Related Practices
- Class Action Defense & Multi-District Litigation
- Corporate Compliance & White Collar Defense
- Disaster Preparedness & Recovery
- Economic Development
- Energy & Natural Resources
- Energy Litigation
- Energy Regulatory
- Environmental & Toxic Torts
- Environmental Criminal Defense
- Environmental Enforcement & Litigation
- Environmental Regulatory
- Environmental Transactional
- Green Building & Sustainable Development
- Litigation
- Maritime Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Real Estate
- Offshore Energy