Attorneys

James A. Payne handles cases arising under most major pollution control statutes, and his practice includes the management of environmental permitting and regulatory compliance efforts, the negotiation of remediation plans, counseling with respect to the environmental aspects of business transactions, the defense of enforcement actions and citizen suits, counseling with respect to environmental impact assessments, and environmental auditing.  In more than thirty years of practicing environmental law, Jim has represented large corporations, small businesses, public institutions, major national environmental organizations, and local citizen groups. He was a partner at Pepin, Dayton, Herman, Graham & Getts from 1976 through 1984; a shareholder at Popham, Haik, Schnobrich & Kaufman, Ltd. from 1984 through 1997; and a partner at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly, LLP from 1997 through 2000.

Jim is the past Chair and Vice Chair of the Special Committee on Science and Technology of the ABA’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Law, the past chair of the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board’s Advisory Committee on Genetically Engineered Organisms, and a past member of the Governing Council of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association. He has also been an adjunct professor of environmental law at the University of Minnesota Law School and at William Mitchell College of Law, a faculty advisor for the Environmental Moot Court at the University of Minnesota Law School, and a guest lecturer on environmental policy at Hamline University. Jim speaks frequently on environmental issues and has authored several articles and treatise chapters. He received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota, where he was president of the Minnesota Law Review. He received his Artium Baccalaureatus degree, cum laude, from Dartmouth College, where he was a Senior Fellow and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Jim has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 1991.