Preston Brooks is a partner with the law firm of Cox, Castle & Nicholson in Los Angeles, and chairs the firm’s Environmental Group. Mr. Brooks counsels property owners, developers, lenders, municipalities, and pension funds on environmental risk management strategies in the context of real estate acquisition, financing and development. In addition, Mr. Brooks represents clients engaged in the redevelopment of brownfields. He has represented purchasers of contaminated properties in negotiations with governmental agencies to minimize environmental liabilities, using procedures available under the California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act, the Polanco Act, and the Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act. Mr. Brooks also frequently assists clients to obtain and tailor environmental insurance policies to address environmental issues associated with real property.

Mr. Brooks also litigates environmental matters. His cases include actions against responsible parties to recover costs of environmental cleanups, mold exposure claims, Proposition 65 actions, and insurance recovery actions.

Mr. Brooks is a member of the National Brownfields Association, the California Solar Energy Industries Association, and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. His legal articles include publications on brownfields redevelopment, environmental insurance, green building, mold, electromagnetic fields, OSHA asbestos standards, Proposition 65 and the federal Clean Air Act’s transportation control measures. Mr. Brooks has been listed in the Southern California Super Lawyers publication for several years.

Mr. Brooks graduated from Harvard College and received his law degree from Yale Law School. Prior to entering the practice of law, Mr. Brooks served as a law clerk to the Honorable Alicemarie H. Stotler of the United States District Court in the Central District of California.