Jay K. Griffith

Jay Griffith is part of Kell Alterman & Runstein, L.L.P’s Environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group.  He joined the firm in 2016 from an in-house position at a large international steel manufacturer where he started in environmental compliance at the company’s Portland mill site.  Jay’s compliance experience includes managing compliance with the company’s NPDES permits, Title V air permit, and hazardous and solid waste rules and regulations.  His experience in heavy industry informs his understanding of his business client’s needs and gives him the unique ability to see challenges and opportunities from the client’s perspective.  As senior counsel for the company, Jay supervised outside legal counsel on the Portland Harbor superfund project for several years and became well-versed in CERCLA practice.  Jay also has handled large and complex policyholder environmental insurance coverage claims related to cleanup matters.

His environmental compliance background and keen understanding of the business case for acquisitions and dispositions makes him a key component of any M&A transaction.  Jay has been involved in transactions with challenging environmental issues, multiple purchasers, and major upgrades.  He also has extensive experience negotiating contracts for sales, procurement, finance, lease agreements, and customer claims and approaches these negotiations with the client’s business goals in mind and practical solutions to achieving those goals.  Further, Jay has lead and resolved several large litigation matters, including multiple party litigation, environmental tort litigation, and large customer claims.  His broad spectrum of experience in business law and litigation brings a solid understanding of his clients’ goals to transactions and disputes.

Jay also ran his own law practice while maintaining full-time employment in environmental compliance.  In his private practice, Jay prosecuted collection cases for northwest collection agencies.  He negotiated settlement of cases where appropriate for his clients, and pursued legal remedies where necessary.

Jay earned his Bachelor of Science in Politics from Willamette University where he met his wife in a class that mixed the politics majors with the environmental science majors.  He attained his J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School, graduating with a certificate in environmental law.

He is a northwest native, returning to Portland after four years in Chicago.  Growing up in Olympia, Washington, he loves the outdoors, hiking, biking, camping, skiing, and working around the house.  Jay enjoys working on house projects, including tinkering with wiring and plumbing projects, and even finished his basement himself.  When not at the office, Jay and his wife and sons enjoy camping, visiting the coast with their Labrador Retrievers, and enjoying the Oregon outdoors.