Attorneys

William P. Hefner was a Minnesota Assistant Attorney General from 1995 though 1999.  During that time, he advised and represented the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in a variety of enforcement, regulatory compliance, permitting and rulemaking matters involving various federal and state environmental laws.  He joined the Minneapolis law firm of Greene Espel, PLLP, in 1999, where he became a partner in 2002.  While at Greene Espel, Bill defended corporate, municipal and individual clients in environmental and land use litigation and enforcement proceedings at the federal, state and local levels. 

Bill is a frequent lecturer on current environmental issues and since 2000 has authored a bi-monthly environmental law update for Bench and Bar, the monthly magazine of the Minnesota State Bar Association.  He is currently the Chair of the MSBA’s Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law Section, and has been a member of the Section’s Governing Council since 2000.  He is also the Environmental Law Group’s liaison to the Environmental Law Network, a nationwide network of firms specializing in environmental law.  Bill has been named both a Super Lawyer and a Rising Star through statewide surveys of lawyers conducted by Minnesota Law and Politics magazine.  He received his Juris Doctor, with special honors, from the University of Iowa College of Law and his Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from the University’s Graduate College in 1995.  He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, also with special honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Iowa in 1991.