Ian Michael Forrest

Ian Forrest heads Forrest Environmental Law, a boutique law firm specializing in CEQA, NEPA, the permitting and development of real estate and energy assets, and environmental and real property litigation. He leverages over 25 years of experience navigating diverse and unique regulatory challenges on behalf of real estate developers, renewable power producers, electric utilities, hospitals and health care networks, property management companies, water districts, industrial manufacturers, food processors, oil and gas refineries, and mining companies. His technical training, breadth of experience, nimble approach to the law, and extensive regulatory and industry relationships make him uniquely qualified to cost-effectively support his clients' success.

Immediately prior to the launch of Forrest Environmental Law, Mr. Forrest 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. This was 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, Mr. Forrest 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, he also served as the Decommissioning Environmental Affairs Manager for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Prior to these in-house positions, Mr. Forrest was an associate attorney with Hunton, Andrews Kirth LLP and Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Mitchell LLP.

"Mr. Forrest 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. His 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, Mr. Forrest 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. Mr. Forrest is a frequent lecturer regarding renewable energy development, CEQA, NEPA, and climate change legislation and policy. He 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)."