SPR Associate Additions Since Fall 2022: Ahlia Bethea, Amy Cassidy, Daniel Goldberg-Gradess, Jack Nelson

SPR has expanded our associate ranks since November 2022 with new colleagues Ahlia Bethea, Amy Cassidy, Daniel Goldberg-Gradess, and Jack Nelson.

Ahlia Bethea joins the SPR team after earning a joint JD/MPH from Columbia Law School and Columbia University’s Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health. She has experience with renewable energy development projects, brownfield redevelopments, environmental regulatory compliance, litigation, and environmental reviews under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. Prior to joining SPR, Ahlia worked for a Michigan-based firm to assist plaintiffs in the Flint Water Crisis Class Action, served as a summer clerk for Earthjustice, and was a judicial intern in the Superior Court of New Jersey.  

Amy Cassidy, joining us from her previous role as Senior Counsel in the Environmental Law Division of the New York City Law Department, brings a strong background in environmental and land use litigation, regulatory compliance counseling, and municipal law. Amy has experience involving the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the City Environmental Quality Review process (CEQR), and the New York City Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).  

Daniel Goldberg-Gradess, with experience in environmental litigation, due diligence on development projects, and construction disputes, brings litigation expertise to SPR. Daniel previously worked at Dechert LLP in the product liability and mass tort practice group. He also represented a conservation group in multiple appeals of state agency action in New Jersey and filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of international public health organizations.  

Jack Nelson is joining us from his previous experience as an Attorney at the Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. Jack has expertise in environmental and land use litigation, regulatory compliance counseling, renewable energy development, and environmental due diligence of development projects. Following a federal clerkship, Jack spent five years as an associate in the New York office of Covington & Burling LLP, where his practice focused on government and internal investigations, as well as pro bono impact litigation on subjects including voting rights and redistricting, immigration, and criminal justice reform.