Douglas A. Codiga

DOUGLAS A. CODIGA is a Member of the firm concentrating his practice in the areas of  energy and environmental law, with an emphasis on regulatory and administrative proceedings and dispute resolution.  Mr. Codiga founded Hawaii’s first Climate and Sustainability Law Practice Group in 2007 and frequently publishes and lectures on clean energy, climate change, and environmental law and policy.  He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and holds the highest Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Professional Rating of AV (Preeminent).

PRACTICE AREAS

• Environmental, Land Use, and Climate and Sustainability
• Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Energy and Environmental Law

• Regulatory and environmental counsel on renewable energy development projects with cumulative value of $1 billion
• Lead counsel for clean energy advocacy organizations on policy dockets before Hawaii Public Utilities Commission including renewable generation and transmission, ratemaking, resource planning, and grid modernization
• Advise and represent clients in multi-year, multi-stakeholder regulatory proceedings on clean energy matters
• Represent multinational corporations on energy development and power purchase agreements for hydro and solar PV projects
• Energy and environmental due diligence and lease review for $44 million oil company transaction
• Regulatory and environmental review and permitting for hotel resort and commercial development projects
• Advise clients in air and water pollution control permitting and compliance matters, including enforcement and cost recovery
• Advise and represent parties to Hawaii Water Commission proceeding defending water resource use claims
• Two-year mediation of complex enforcement action under Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal, state, and county agencies
• Advise university on environmental compliance for research permits and approvals
• Administrative proceedings and litigation involving $11 million Waikiki municipal development project

Professional and Civic Activities

• Member and former Chair (2015-2017), Environment, Energy, and Resources Section, Hawaii State Bar Association
• Member and Vice Chair, Energy Law Committee, Inter-Pacific Bar Association
• Presenter, SSFM International Managed Retreat Symposium
• Presenter, Hawaii State Bar Association Annual Convention, Bats, Birds and Blades: Renewable Energy Project Development and Endangered Species Protection in Hawaii
• Moderator, Hawaii State Bar Association, First Annual Hawaii Environmental Court Bench and Bar Update
• Presenter, The Seminar Group, Hawaii’s Shoreline: Legal and Regulatory Issues, Sea Level Rise & Adaptation
• Co-Chair, The Seminar Group, Hawaii Clean Energy Law and Finance: Recent Developments from Policy to Implementation
• Presenter, The Seminar Group, Hawaii Water Law, Regulation Under the State Water Code: Recent Developments
• Co-Chair, The Seminar Group, Hawaii’s 100% Renewable Energy Vision: Developments in Law and Policy
• Presenter, The Seminar Group, Rising Tides: Climate Change and the Economic and Business Impact on Hawaii, Regulatory and Litigation Update
• Presenter, Tsinghua University Law School (Beijing, China), Clean Energy Law and Policy in Hawaii and the Asia Pacific Region 
• Moderator, Inter-Pacific Bar Association Annual Conference (Hong Kong), Trade and Environmental Regulation 
• Affiliate Faculty, Keio University Global Environmental Systems Leadership Program, Tokyo, Japan
• Co-Chair and Presenter, The Seminar Group, Hawaii Clean Energy: Future Directions in Law, Policy and Finance
• Commentator, Hawaii State Bar Association, International Law Section, Briefing Workshop on New Developments in East Asian Commercial Law
• Presenter, Hawaii Office of Planning Coastal Data Exchange, Climate Change Adaptation Law in Hawaii: Regulatory Takings and Sea-Level Rise Policy Tools
• Presenter, Hawaii Agriculture Law Seminar, A Brief Overview of Hawaii Law and Policy on Renewable Energy and Agriculture
• Presenter and Contributing Organizer, Korea Smart Grid Law and Policy Conference, Seoul National University School of Law, Seoul, Korea
• Presenter, Hawaii State Bar Association Annual Convention, Climate Change Litigation and Policy in Hawaii
• Presenter, Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit, Clean Energy Law and Policy in Japan and Hawaii: A Comparative Analysis
• Presenter, Inter-Pacific Bar Association Annual Conference (Seoul, Korea), Liquefied Natural Gas and Renewable Energy
• Introduction to Lecture by Scott Hempling, Esq. on Renewable Energy Policy, University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law
• Co-Chair and Presenter, Climate Change Impacts in Hawaii: Emerging Law and Policy Seminar, Act 234: Hawaii’s Climate Change Law
• Presenter, Inter-Pacific Bar Association Annual Conference (New Delhi, India), U.S. Nuclear Policy and Clean Tech After Fukushima Daiichi: A Brief Overview
• Moderator, Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit, Foundation for Clean Energy – Policies, Strategies, and Frameworks that Transform the Energy Market
• Visiting Professor, Shinshu University (Japan), Climate Change and Clean Energy Law and Policy in Hawaii and the Asia Pacific Region
• Guest lectures, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Law School and Renmin Law School (Shanghai, China), Clean Energy Law and Policy in Hawaii and the Asia Pacific Region
• Presenter, Inter-Pacific Bar Association Annual Conference (Singapore), Innovative Clean Tech Policies in the Asia Pacific Region
• Presenter, Hawaii State Bar Association International Law Section, Climate Change Law and Policy: What Every Lawyer Should Know
• Presenter, University of Hawaii Environmental Law Program Colloquium Series, Hawaii Clean Energy Law and Policy: Recent Developments
• Moderator, Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit and Expo, Commercialization of New Energy Technologies
• Moderator and presenter, Hawaii Conservation Alliance Conference,  Act 234: Hawaii’s Climate Change Law
• Presenter, Urban Land Institute, Climate Change Law in Hawaii
• Adjunct Professor, Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii (International Environmental Law; Wildlife and Natural Resources Law)
• Instructor, U.S. Department of Defense, Marine Mammal Protection Act
• Instructor, Fundamentals of Hawaii Environmental Law

Publications and Videos

• Codiga, D. “Climate Change Litigation in Hawaii,” Hawaii Bar Journal (March 2017)
• Video, ThinkTech Hawaii, “Hawaii and Climate Litigation”
• Codiga, D. “The Evolution of Smart Grid Law and Policy in Korea and Hawaii” (forthcoming)
• Codiga, D. “Hot Topics in Hawaii Solar Energy Law,” Hawaii Bar Journal (May 2013)
• Codiga, D. (co-author with K. Wager), “Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Land Use in Hawai’i: A Policy Tool Kit” (2011)
• Video, Harvard Alumni Association, Hawaii Clean Energy Law and Policy: Recent Developments
• Codiga, D. (co-author with M. Slavin and J. Zeller), “Honolulu’s Clean Energy Future,” in Sustainability Principles, Practice, and Perspective in America’s Cities (Island Press)
• Video, ThinkTech Hawaii, Hawaii Supreme Court’s Ala Loop Decision
• Codiga, D. (co-author with M. Burkett and D. Hwang), “Climate Change and Regulatory Takings in Coastal Hawaii,” University of Hawaii Sea Grant and Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy
• Codiga, D. “The Greening of Hawaii Building and Construction Law,” Hawaii Bar Journal (August 2010)
• Video, ThinkTech Hawaii, Hawaii Clean Energy Law and Policy
• Codiga, D. “Hawaii Clean Energy Law and Policy,” Hawaii Bar Journal (Sept. 2009)
• Codiga, D. “Act 234: Hawaii’s Climate Change Law,” Hawaii Bar Journal (May 2008)
• Codiga, D. (co-author with C. Jarman), “Hawaii Environmental Law,” Matthew Bender Environmental Law Practice Guide (2002)
• Codiga, D. (co-author with L. Munger and N. Conroy), Hawaii Environmental Law Handbook, 2nd ed., 1996