James Dragna focuses on counseling and litigation matters in all environmental media, with a particular emphasis in waste, wastewater and water rights matters. Prior to entering private practice, he served as senior trial counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Enforcement Section in Washington, D.C., where he managed the EPA’s environmental enforcement litigation in Regions IX and X. Before that, he was a founding member of the EPA’s Hazardous Waste Enforcement Task Force, the entity responsible for the development of the EPA’s Superfund Program. While at the Department and the EPA, he represented the EPA in a wide range of environmental enforcement actions across the nation.
Jim now represents energy, aerospace and manufacturing clients in a wide range of environmental matters, including air, water and wastewater counseling, enforcement and litigation matters nationwide. His practice also includes the representation of water purveyors in water rights cases, including litigation involving Native American water rights. He also has served as group or common counsel to several multiparty Superfund groups, in addition to representing a host of individual clients in over 50 federal or state Superfund matters nationwide. This work has included the negotiation of complex settlement agreements, contribution litigation and the creation of insurance and long-term financial management products to fund long-term remedies. In addition, Jim has been selected by several major municipalities to serve as special counsel in wastewater litigation and permitting issues. He is an experienced trial lawyer who can and has pursued these matters through trial, as necessary.
- Common counsel in four major multiparty Superfund actions
- Special counsel on wastewater issues to the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Luis Obispo and County of Orange County, all in California
- Involved in over 50 Superfund actions nationwide
- National or regional environmental counsel for several multinational oil, chemical, fertilizer and packaging companies on air, water and waste matters
- Representation of one of California’s largest water purveyors in native American water rights cases
- Aera Energy
- Agrium
- Allegheny Technologies
- Cal Compact Defense Group
- Casmalia Steering Committee
- Chevron Texaco
- City and County of Denver
- City and County of Honolulu
- City of Los Angeles
- Port of Los Angeles
- City of Newport Beach
- City of San Diego
- Exxon Mobil
- Metropolitan Water District
- Mitsui
- NL Industries
- Pima County
- County of Oakland Hills
- Orange County
- Rhodia
- Shell
- Tesoro
- Teledyne Technologies
- Waste Management
- Leading lawyer in environmental (California), Chambers USA (2010)
- Top Defense Verdicts of 2009, Daily Journal
- The Best Lawyers in America, Leading lawyer in environmental and water law (2010)
- Leading Lawyer, Legal 500 US, Environmental (2009)
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2005–2010)
- Super Lawyers, Southern California (2004–2010)
- The Legal 500 US, Environmental Litigation (2007)
- Lawdragon 3000 Leading Lawyers in America (2006)
- Who’s Who Legal: California (2009)
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Admitted to practice in California
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- Supreme Court of California
- Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- Loyola Law School, Juris Doctor, 1979
- University of California, Irvine, Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, 1976