Timothy W. Hardy

Timothy W. Hardy is a Partner in the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P. His area of concentration is Environmental Law. He serves as part of the firm's Environmental Law Practice Group. He previously served as the top advisor on environmental affairs for a former Louisiana governor, as Assistant Secretary for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and as a Division Director for the Louisiana Department of Justice. He was formerly a Partner of the Roedel Parsons Koch Blache Balhoff & McCollister law firm.

Prior to attending law school, he held several technical laboratory and research positions. He was employed in the laboratory at a water purification and a wastewater treatment facilitiy in Shreveport, Louisiana where his primary duty was quality control. He was employed by Pennzoil Research where he performed research on the stabilization of transformer oils. He was employed as a laboratory technician for Allied Chemical where he performed quality control for the manufacture of high density polyethylene.

He currently serves on the Board of Supervisors for the Louisiana Community & Technical College System, having served on the Board since 2010. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), an education organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community and technical colleges in the United States. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Southern University Law Center, teaching Environmental Law for more than 20 years. His professional career also includes, in 2003, being named as an Executive Vice President of the Shaw Group, one of only two Fortune 500 Companies based in Louisiana at that time.

He holds a B.S. Degree in Chemistry and was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the Southern University Department of Chemistry in 2008. He was also named a Distinguished Alumnus by the Southern University Law Center in 2009 and was named to the Southern University Law Center Hall of Fame in 2012.

He is an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review rated attorney by Martindale Hubbell. He has been designated by “Chambers USA” as one of Louisiana's leading lawyers for business in the area of Environment and is listed in “Louisiana Super Lawyers” in the area of environmental.

In 2020, he was appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards to serve as a member of the Governor's Climate Initiatives Task Force. He was also named as co-chair of the Manufacturing and Industry Committee, and as a member of the Legal Advisory Group, both established by the Task Force.

He regularly represents clients in regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters, including: 

Regulatory

• Assisting clients in securing air, water, and waste permits for all facilities and representing  them through any appeals that may result after permit issuance or denial.

• Negotiating and assisting in the preparation of permit modifications for all media.

• Preparing clients for inspections by government agencies, including the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Occupational, Safety and Health Administration, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Department of Justice.

• Overseeing environmental audits and structuring same to provide for confidentiality.

• Retaining skilled environmental consultants to perform waste site cleanups, including proper cost and procedural documentation for National Contingency Plan consistency and private cost recovery actions.

• Assisting in the drafting of Federal Environmental Assessments, Federal Environmental Impact Statements and Louisiana Environmental Assessment Statements. 

• Representing clients on Potentially Responsible Party Steering Committees for Superfund sites.

• Drafting proposals for environmental legislation and regulations.

• Assisting clients in achieving corporate compliance with state and federal reporting and record-keeping requirements, including Emergency Release Reporting and Emergency Planning/Community Right-to-Know laws.

Litigation

• Representing clients in appeals of permits.

• Representing clients in enforcement actions brought by state and/or federal government.

• Working with firm’s white collar criminal defense lawyers in representing clients in environmental criminal prosecutions.

Practice Areas

• Environmental, Energy, and Natural Resources
• Civil Rights Litigation and Governmental Entity Defense

Education

Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, J.D., 1981

Southern University, B.S Chemistry , 1978

Admissions

Louisiana

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana

Professional Associations

Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors, Past Board Member (2011-2023)

American Gateway Bank, Board of Directors, Past Board Member (2005 - 2015)

Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission, Past President and Board Member (2008 – 2016)

Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Member

Louisiana Chemical Association, Member

Louisiana Independent Development Executives Association, Member

Louisiana State Bar Association, Environmental Law Section, Member

Baton Rouge Bar Association

National Bar Association

American Bar Association, Environmental Values Committee, Member (Adjunct)

United States Western, Middle and Eastern District Courts, Member

National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, Member

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (social), Member

Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, commonly referred to as the Boulé (social), Member

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity (Law), Member

Senate President Page Cortez’s designee to Gov. Edwards’ Climate Initiatives Task Force

Community Involvement

Association of Community College Trustees, Past Board Member, also served on the Executive Committee as Vice Chair (2017-2023)

The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana Board of Trustees, Past Board Member

Mid City Redevelopment Alliance Board of Directors, Past Vice President and Board Member (1994 – 1998)

American Heart Association, East Baton Rouge Division Board of Directors, Past President and Board Member (1995 – 1997)

Public Affairs Research Council, Past Board Member

AMIkids, Past Board Member

Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce/Leadership Class of 1992, Graduate

Council for a Better Louisiana/Louisiana Leadership Class of 1994, Graduate

Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, Member

Executive Leadership Council, Member

Honors and Awards

Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® (Since 2024)

AV^® Preeminent^TM Peer Review Rated.

Listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers in the area of Environmental

Ranked by Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers for Louisiana in the area of Environment (2010, 2011 and 2012)

Louisiana Community and Technical College System Foundation Board - Recognition for Three Years of Service, Dedication and work with the LCTCS Foundation (2010)

Southern University Law Center- 2009 named Distinguished Alumnus

Southern University, Department of Chemistry - 2008 named Distinguished Alumnus

Inducted into the Southern University Law Center Hall of Fame - April 2012

Presentations