Ian's clients include real estate developers, renewable power producers, electric utilities, property management companies, water districts, industrial manufacturers, food processors, oil and gas refineries, and mining companies. As a former environmental consultant, Ian facilitated the permitting and implementation of over 60 public and private development projects, including rapid urban transit, energy capacity and infrastructure, mixed-use residential and water quality enhancement. Ian also served as a technical point of contact and public spokesperson, representing client interests before the media and in environmental negotiations with community groups, local municipalities, and regulators.
Most recently, Ian provided a variety of strategic, legal, risk management and business advisory services in his role as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Google Development Ventures, a joint venture between Lendlease Americas, Inc. and Google LLC seeking to plan, develop and manage four mixed-use communities in the south San Francisco Bay area, including plans for 15,000 residential units, 11.5 million sf. of office space, and 780,000 sf. of retail/hotel space. Prior to that, Ian served as a Senior Attorney with Southern California Edison Company (SCE), where he was regulatory counsel for the successful entitlement, defense, and development of over $3.5 billion of energy infrastructure projects. While at SCE, Ian also served as the Decommissioning Environmental Affairs Manager for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Prior to these in-house positions, Ian was an associate attorney with Hunton, Andrews Kirth LLP and Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Mitchell LLP.
Ian is a frequent lecturer regarding renewable energy development, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and climate change legislation and policy.
Ian is fluent in Spanish and French, and has worked with numerous international organizations, including the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), World Business Council For Sustainable Development (WBCSD), United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), and the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (Centre d'Informació i Documentació Internacional a Barcelona or CIDOB).
Ian is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, the Federal Polytechnic University of Lausanne, Switzerland (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne or EPFL) and Boston College Law School. Ian's graduate work and thesis at the EPFL focused on the role of sustainability in carbon emissions trading and the development of carbon offset projects. During law school, Ian served as a judicial intern for then Chief Judge Hon. William G. Young of the Massachusetts Federal District Court and was a Managing Editor for the Boston College International and Comparative Law Review.
