Biography

Ms. Ash is an associate in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. As a member of the Labor & Employment Department, she focuses on Environmental, Safety & Toxic Torts. Ms. Ash’s practice spans all media and involves compliance counseling, litigation, and transactional work. She has assisted clients in developing permitting strategies under the Clean Air Act, and has represented clients in connection with construction and operating permit appeals before the Illinois Pollution Control Board, the Indiana Office of Administrative Law Judges, and the U.S. Environmental Appeals Board. Ms. Ash has also counseled manufacturers on their obligations under the Toxic Substances Control Act and assisted multiple Fortune 500 clients in conducting comprehensive environmental compliance audits and in developing strategies for disclosing instances of non-compliance to regulatory agencies.

Ms. Ash’s litigation experience includes defending employers against claims of retaliatory discharge arising under federal “whistleblower” statutes, including the Clean Air Act, and the Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA). She has defended clients against OSHA citations and is currently pursuing an appeal of an OSHA citation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Ms. Ash has also negotiated favorable settlements with the Illinois EPA and the U.S. EPA Region V in enforcement actions arising under the Clean Air Act. She also represents clients, including landfills, property developers, and oil refineries, in toxic tort actions involving mold, odor migration, and contaminated groundwater.

Ms. Ash’s transactional experience involves structuring transactions to avoid liability for environmental issues, including mold, underground storage tanks, and lead-based paint. She has advised financiers in the acquisition of property for the development of low-income housing, and handles the environmental aspects of complex asset and/or stock purchases and sales.

Education

J.D., University of Michigan (2003)

Michigan Law Review, Note Editor

B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, cum laude (2000)

Admissions

• Illinois

Courts

• Illinois Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois