What SL Environmental Law Group does

SL Environmental Law Group, P.C. is a plaintiffs' law firm founded in 2003 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, with a second office in Concord, New Hampshire. The firm is narrowly focused on water contamination litigation, representing public water systems, municipalities, states, wastewater utilities, airports, and school districts in cost-recovery actions against chemical manufacturers responsible for PFAS, TCP, perchlorate, MTBE, and 1,4-Dioxane contamination. The firm's service offering spans core litigation representation alongside advisory modules including PFAS settlement claim administration, contaminant source identification, regulatory updates, and treatment options advisory. The firm operates on an exclusive contingency fee basis with no upfront costs or retainers, with compensation tied to a percentage of settlement or verdict recoveries.

The firm's go-to-market relies on educational content (PFAS Resource Hub, 1,4-Dioxane Resource Hub, PFAS Playbook, case studies, blog), conference speaking, and referrals from a base of 400+ client representations. Since inception, the firm has reported over $2 billion in client recoveries, anchored by participation in the 2023 AFFF multi-district litigation producing $13B+ in aggregate settlements from 3M, DuPont, Tyco Fire Products, and BASF, a $104 million New York City jury verdict against ExxonMobil, and a $48 million Pomona verdict against SQM North America recognized as a 2021 Top Verdict of California. The firm is a member of the PFAS Legal Consortium with four peer firms and has developed co-counsel relationships with firms such as Irell & Manella LLP for high-stakes trials.

SL Environmental Law Group is a privately held professional corporation with 11-50 employees, no institutional investment, no parent company, and no public revenue disclosure. Its competitive position is built on 20+ years of accumulated case evidence, regulatory expertise in PFAS and related contaminant litigation, and a referral network among public-entity clients navigating increasingly stringent EPA maximum contaminant levels and CERCLA hazardous substance designations. Revenue is inherently lumpy, driven by the timing of large settlements and verdicts rather than recurring fees, with the 2023 AFFF MDL representing a peak concentration of recent cash flows.

Name

SL Environmental Law Group

Legal name

SL Environmental Law Group, P.C.

Website

https://slenvironment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SL Environmental Law Group is a plaintiffs' law firm that represents public water systems, municipalities, and states on a contingency fee basis to recover treatment costs from chemical manufacturers responsible for PFAS, TCP, perchlorate, and other water contamination.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Fees - Contingency Based: The firm operates exclusively on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay no upfront costs or retainer fees. The firm's compensation is a percentage of the recovery achieved through settlements or trial verdicts. This aligns the firm's incentives with clients and eliminates financial barriers for water systems pursuing contamination cost recovery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SL Environmental Law Group provides contingency-fee legal representation to public water systems, municipalities, and states in lawsuits against chemical manufacturers responsible for drinking water contamination. The firm pursues cost recovery for treatment of PFAS, TCP, perchlorate, MTBE, and other contaminants through litigation, settlements, and participation in multi-district litigation (MDL). Ancillary support includes regulatory tracking, contaminant source identification, treatment-options advisory, and assistance filing PFAS settlement claims.

Product overview

SL Environmental Law Group offers a suite of legal services focused exclusively on water contamination litigation. The core offering is legal representation to help water systems, municipalities, and states recover treatment costs from polluters. This is supported by service modules including PFAS settlements guidance, contaminant source identification, regulatory compliance advisory, and treatment options advisory. The firm operates on a contingency fee basis with no upfront costs for clients. Since 2003, the firm has helped 400+ clients recover over $2 billion in settlements and trials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Contamination Litigation Services

Quantifiable outcome

• $2 billion+ recovered for clients in settlements and trials
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Irell & Manella LLPminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSL Environmental Law Group worked with attorneys Jason Sheasby and Lisa Glasser of Irell & Manella LLP as co-counsel representing the City of Pomona in its perchlorate contamination case resulting in a $48 million jury verdict.
• PFAS Legal ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSL Environmental Law Group is part of a PFAS legal consortium with four other firms, providing exclusive access to evidence from PFAS manufacturers and combined resources for multi-district litigation. The consortium enables coordinated litigation strategy and resource sharing for PFAS cases.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Simmons Hanly Conroy: National plaintiff firm with an environmental and mass tort practice that has handled contamination litigation at scale. Comparable in contingency-fee pursuit of corporate polluters.
• Weitz & Luxenberg: National plaintiff firm with a large environmental and mass tort practice, including PFAS drinking water litigation. Directly comparable to SL Environmental in targeting chemical manufacturers for water contamination cost recovery on a contingency basis.
• Baron & Budd: Plaintiff firm with a long-standing environmental contamination practice (including water and groundwater cases) and deep MDL involvement. Comparable in contingency-fee model and focus on environmental health litigation.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: Plaintiff firm with significant environmental and mass tort work, including representation of public entities in contamination matters. Comparable in representing large institutional clients in complex, high-value environmental litigation.
• Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll: Plaintiff firm with a dedicated environmental and public interest practice that has handled major contamination and toxic tort matters. Comparable in serving governmental and public-entity clients in environmental cost-recovery cases.
• Napoli Shkolnik: Plaintiff firm with an active environmental and water contamination practice, including PFAS and municipal water cases. Comparable in contingency representation of water systems against chemical manufacturers.
• Robins Kaplan: Plaintiff firm with an environmental and toxic tort practice representing public entities in contamination cases. Comparable in targeting industrial defendants for water and environmental cost recovery.
• Levin Papantonio: Plaintiff firm with environmental and mass tort capabilities, including chemical contamination cases. Comparable in contingency-fee representation of injured or impacted public and private clients.
• The Lanier Law Firm: Plaintiff firm with environmental and mass tort experience and a track record of large verdicts. Comparable in pursuit of corporate defendants for contamination and toxic exposure claims.

Broad incumbents

• Morgan & Morgan: Largest U.S. plaintiff firm with broad mass tort, environmental, and consumer practices. Comparable as a contingency-fee platform, but operates across many practice areas rather than specializing exclusively in water contamination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sl-environmental-law-group-pc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SL Environmental Law Group