New Environmental and Energy Law Chair Steven Russo: Supporting President Taa Grays’ Agenda
7.9.2026
As the new chair of the Environmental and Energy Law Section, Steven Russo will be working with President Taa Grays on her clean and renewable energy initiative.
“Taa reached out to me when she was just president-elect,” said Russo. “It’s clear that – and it’s great for our section – that she is so interested in this policy area.”
The plan is to update relevant reports and work with other sections to create a climate agenda for New York State.
Russo also plans on continuing the section’s robust and varied programming, both virtual and in-person.
“A few years ago, our section broadened our scope from just environmental to also environmental and energy,” said Russo. “I want to continue to build on that. We’ve enhanced our energy programming and the amount of work we’re doing… to also make the section a welcoming place for energy regulatory lawyers [and] lawyers who practice in front of the Public Service Commission and do more energy-focused work, as opposed to environmental that touches on energy projects.”
The free seminar in Albany on the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act last month was especially successful, he said.
Russo also plans on continuing the Environmental and Energy Law Section’s activities in commenting on legislation and regulations.
“We have very active committees who have recently commented on things like the state’s solid waste regulations and freshwater wetlands regulations,” Russo said. “We expect there to be a redraft of the freshwater regulations, which we will definitely be commenting on.”
Russo is the co-chair of the Environmental Practice group and chair of the New York Environmental Practice Group at Greenberg Traurig in New York City. He is also the co-chair of the firm’s Global Environmental Practice. His specialty is environmental review and environmental impact statements. He has worked on projects including the UBS Arena on Long Island, the Micron project in Syracuse, and the reconstruction of the Belmont racetrack for the New York Racing Authority.
“My practice is extremely varied,” Russo said. “It runs the gamut from litigation to regulatory work to supporting environmental supportive transactional practice, and it’s been that way for a very long time.”
Russo was previously general counsel for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
“The environment obviously touches on everybody,” said Russo. “These issues are in the news; people care about them. So we think we are a good second section for attorneys who might want to get into it or are just interested in it. One of our focuses is to make sure that our programming is… not just nuts and bolts for people who practice in this. We want to strike a balance between programming that is interesting to people who know a lot about the field… so that our experienced practitioners can learn about the latest developments in policy, but other people who just care about these issues – such as climate and renewable energy – can also be interested in what’s happening in the state. Just to broaden their policy horizons.”
