Office Profile

Farley & Partners LLP

The Woodlands Office

Current View

USA

Profile

Provided by Farley & Partners LLP

Firm Details:

Chairman: Mark L. Farley

Number of partners: 3

Number of lawyers: 5

Languages: English

Firm Overview:

Farley & Partners is a boutique law firm in Houston, Texas with a nationally recognised workplace safety and major accident practice. The firm has helped some of the most sophisticated companies in the world successfully navigate the many legal issues implicated in the aftermath of workplace fatalities and catastrophic incidents, including evidence preservation, internal investigations, stakeholder engagement, liability management, and regulatory agency enforcement. Farley & Partners counsels companies on a broad range of release prevention regulations and workplace health and safety issues. The firm also routinely advises boards of directors, and senior executives on issues related to safety performance, leadership, and organisational culture. Founded in 2019, Farley & Partners’ attorneys bring decades of experience in working with clients across a wide range of industries, including energy (on-shore and off-shore), chemicals, general manufacturing, semiconductors, pulp and paper, and utilities.

Main Areas of Practice:

Incident Response:

Farley & Partners are preeminent incident response lawyers. Many of the largest global energy companies and chemical manufacturers designate Farley & Partners as their crisis response counsel in the United States. The firm’s lawyers have served in lead counsel roles for some of the most significant industrial and transportation accidents in the last 20 years. Partner Mark Farley has directed the response to more U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigations than any other US lawyer. Farley & Partners has developed a new standard for how companies respond to the legal perfect storm created by a workplace or environmental disaster.

• Representation of a chemical manufacturer in connection with NTSB investigation into major train derailment in Ohio.

Partners: Mark Farley, Devon Downs

• Representation of a chemical manufacturer in connection with OSHA enforcement after chemical releases injuring multiple employees in Louisiana.

Partners: Devon Downs

• Representation of an independent refinery in connection with OSHA enforcement after refinery fire that involved employee fatality and serious injuries in Oklahoma.

Partners: Mark Farley, Jeff Haffner

• Representation of an independent refinery in connection with OSHA enforcement after employee fatality in Kansas.

Partners: Mark Farley, Devon Downs

• Representation of a pipeline operator in connection with CalFire investigation into large crude oil release in California.

Partners: Mark Farley, Jeff Haffner

• Representation of a silica metal foundry in connection with OSHA enforcement after contractor fatality resulting from control of hazardous energy.

Partners: Mark Farley

• Representation of a pipeline company in connection with NTSB investigation into strike on 16" liquid propane pipeline that resulted in multiple fatalities.

Partners: Mark Farley, Devon Downs

• Representation of a chemical manufacturer in connection with investigations by CSB, OSHA, US EPA and other agencies resulting from a vapor cloud explosion and fire that resulted in mandatory community evacuation.

Partners: Mark Farley, Devon Downs, Jeff Haffner

• Representation of an independent refiner in connection with investigations by ATF, CSB, OSHA, US EPA and other agencies resulting from an explosion and fire in a hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit in major metropolitan area.

Partners: Mark Farley, Devon Downs, Jeff Haffner

• Representation of the largest independent refiner in connection with a refinery fire and subsequent investigation by Cal/OSHA.

Partners: Devon Downs

• Representation of a pulp and paper manufacturer in connection with investigations by the CSB, OSHA, US EPA and other agencies into a three-fatality accident resulting from the explosion of a storage tank during hot work.

Partners: Mark Farley, Devon Downs

• Representation of a multi-national chemical manufacturer in connection with investigations by the CSB, OSHA, US EPA and other agencies into a four-fatality accident resulting from the release of toxic chemicals.

Partners: Mark Farley

• Representation of a multi-national integrated energy company in investigations by the CSB, Cal/OSHA and US EPA into a refinery explosion.

Partners: Mark Farley, Devon Downs

• Representation of independent refiner in an investigation by CSB, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, and US EPA into a seven-fatality accident resulting from the catastrophic failure of a heat exchanger.

Partners: Mark Farley and Jeff Haffner

Labour:

Farley & Partners routinely counsels clients on a broad range of workplace safety and release prevention regulations, including OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard, the US EPA’s Risk Management Program regulation, BSSE’s safety management systems, and more traditional OSHA health and safety standards such as fall protection, control of hazardous energy, confined space entry, and emergency response. The firm provides day-to-day compliance counselling, inspection support, and enforcement defense. Farley & Partners’ attorneys have strong relationships with regulators, including senior managers at BSSE, OSHA, US EPA, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, and other state plans. The firm also helps clients evaluate their safety performance and whether safety management systems are functioning as intended. Partner Mark Farley was one of the lead attorneys supporting the work of the BP US Refineries Independent Safety Review Panel, which investigated the corporate safety culture and oversight at BP's North American refineries on behalf of an independent panel of experts chaired by former US Secretary of State James A. Baker III.

• Advise multiple employers in essential industries to minimize potential impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on their operations while safeguarding the health of employees and contractors.

Partners: Devon Downs

• California regulatory counselling and CalOSHA inspection support to the two largest US independent refining companies.

Partners: Devon Downs

• Representation of semiconductor manufacturer in connection workplace safety issues, including US EPA RMP inspection and enforcement.

Partners: Mark Farley and Devon Downs

• Advise specialty chemical manufacturer with respect to PSM-implementation.

Partners: Mark Farley and Devon Downs

• Special investigation for multi-national vehicle manufacturer in aftermath of multiple employee fatalities at different operating sites that culminated in a global review of safety performance.

Partners: Mark Farley and Devon Downs

• Representation of a pulp and paper manufacturer in connection with PSM-boundary determinations at the company’s mills.

Partners: Devon Downs

• Special investigation into site safety management systems and performance at silica metal foundry after contractor fatality.

Partners: Mark Farley, Devon Downs

• Advise major utility with respect to implementation of process safety management at multibillion-dollar coal gasification project.

Partners: Mark Farley

Offices

This content is provided by Farley & Partners LLP. Learn more about our methodology

USA - Head office
1725 Hughes Landing Blvd., 11th Floor, The Woodlands, Texas, USA, TX 77380

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 832.653.8700

Fax: +1 832.653.8724