Green Washing & Environmental Law Impacts on Businesses

Jessica is Lead Director for Online Food Delivery (OFD) at Uber Technologies, Inc. working to propel innovation technology and transform how people "Go and Get" across the globe. She has significant legal, management, and regulatory experience with a track record of success in both the private and public sectors. She currently leads a team of 10 talented attorneys and legal professionals that provides product counseling for the OFD business (in the Merchant, Consumer and Earner spaces) as well as commercial drafting and negotiation of all Uber Eats merchant contracts from the hyperlocal to global deals. Jessica is also the primary attorney supporting Uber’s sustainability initiatives and commitments for its Delivery business and previously served as the first lawyer for Uber’s Airports team.

Prior to going in-house, Jessica cut her teeth as a litigator and then went to work in the public sector as Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and General Counsel for O’Hare and Midway International Airports.

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. 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.

Elizabeth Small is Chief Legal Officer and Head of ESG.

She is a mission-driven leader committed to changing the trajectory of the climate crisis and supporting sustainable and just livelihoods across the globe. Elizabeth is adept at forging and protecting unprecedented solutions across governments, finance, philanthropy, communities, business and innovation.

Prior to GEAPP, Elizabeth served as General Counsel and Head of Policy at CDP the global data and disclosure platform, focusing investors, companies, and governments on building a sustainable economy by measuring and understanding environmental impacts. As a thought-leader on ESG, Climate Change and Environmental Justice, Elizabeth led on legal and strategic business matters, advising C-Suite executives, boards of directors, and overseeing CDP’s annual investor request, the CDP Supply Chain program, CDP policy, Cities, States, and Regions (CStaR), data and technology operations; the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) partnership; and served on the Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Accessibility (JEDIA) global task force.

Previously, Elizabeth worked as a Global Litigator with Howrey LLP and with Hemenway & Barnes, focusing on complex commercial litigation, antitrust and intellectual property law. Elizabeth has a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law, where she trained in the International Sustainable Development program in London, Paris and Geneva. Elizabeth also holds a B.A. in Philosophy from The College of the Holy Cross.

Elizabeth is also an adjunct professor of Bioethics and Logic.