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Arata E. Kaku-McGowan

Associate

Arata E. Kaku-McGowan

Associate

Arata Kaku-McGowan is an associate in the Commercial Litigation Practice Group, where he has helped handle complex cases ranging from antitrust and consumer class actions to FCRA cases, contract disputes, and insurance and reinsurance cases. As a secondary member of the Environmental Group, Arata also has assisted clients with a breadth of environmental issues from cradle to grave: analyzing emissions compliance issues for product development; supporting permit application for energy projects; contending against unrelenting national environmental NGOs in administrative proceedings related to factories, solar and natural gas power plants, and pipeline infrastructure; defending Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements; and litigating RCRA and CERCLA issues.

April 23, 2026 Energy Current

Defense Production Act Determinations Could Reshape Domestic Energy and Infrastructure Strategy

On April 20, 2026, the White House issued several presidential determinations under Section 303 of the Defense Production Act (DPA) aimed...
April 22, 2026 Energy Current

EPA’s Revised National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives: One Year Later

On March 12, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) issued a...
April 6, 2026 Foley Viewpoints

EPR Litigation Expands to Colorado as Industry Targets Program Design

Colorado has become the newest battleground state in the growing battle over Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws.  A national...
March 20, 2026 Energy Current

D.C. Circuit Finds FERC Erred in Declining to Consider Section 206 Relief in 2024/25 PJM Capacity Auction Re-Run Case

On January 13, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its decision in Maryland Office of...
March 17, 2026 Foley Viewpoints

Oregon DEQ Issues Enforcement Letters and Vows Not to Refund Fees Following Temporary Injunction that Questions Constitutionality of EPR Law

In early February, a federal district court held that Oregon’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) recycling law is likely...
A bronze sign reads “United States Environmental Protection Agency” mounted on the exterior of a government building, much like those seen at a corporate law office or among chicago lawyers specializing in environmental and intellectual property law.
April 24, 2024 Energy Current

U.S. EPA Finalizes Designation of Two PFAS Chemicals as Hazardous Substances Under CERCLA

On April 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its long-awaited final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, including their salts and structural isomers, as “hazardous substances” under Section 102(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.