Michael J. Hecker

Michael J. Hecker is a Partner at Hodgson Russ LLP in the firm’s Environmental & Energy Practices. He leads the firm's Real Estate, Environment, Energy, and Finance Practice Area — one of the firm's fastest-growing groups — and is also a member of the firm's Board of Directors.

Consistently ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA for Environment, Mike advises regional, national, and international clients on the full range of environmental and energy matters, from complex business transactions and regulatory compliance to criminal defense and large-scale remediation projects.

Mike regularly counsels corporate and facility leadership on operational compliance, permitting regime, and remediation programs and requirements under Federal and State frameworks, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, and other relevant State environmental statutes. He also oversees small to large-scale remedial projects under CERCLA, RCRA, the New York State Spills Program, the NYS Brownfields Program, and the NYS Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Site Remedial Program. 

Mike regularly represents clients in State and Federal administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement proceedings involving alleged violations of environmental law. His enforcement work includes directing internal investigations and audits, overseeing third-party environmental professionals, and managing agency interactions at both the state and federal level. He has negotiated consent orders and decrees with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and various other State agencies across the United States.

In transactional matters, Mike advises strategic and financial clients on due diligence, legacy environmental liabilities, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements, and the negotiation of sophisticated environmental agreements and related provisions, including in acquisition, distributor and supplier agreements, and leases. He also advises on environmental insurance and risk transfer products, State transfer act programs, and tax-credit-driven redevelopment under the Federal and State Brownfield program regimes.

Mike is also active in the renewable energy sector, guiding project developers through siting, permitting, regulatory compliance, and risk assessment — including the increasingly common challenge of developing projects on former landfill and Superfund sites and navigating Potentially Responsible Party group dynamics.

Services

Education

State University of New York at Geneseo, B.A., cum laude

University at Buffalo School of Law, J.D., cum laude

Admissions

• New York
• U.S. District Court, Western District of New York