Lee Vail is of counsel to the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2010 and practices in the environmental regulatory, Process Safety Management, emergency response, and intellectual property groups. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Louisiana and holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering. Prior to joining Kean Miller, Lee served as Manager of Environmental Affairs for a worldwide oil and gas company.
Lee brings more than 30 years of process engineering, project management, process safety management, and environmental regulatory experience in the petroleum refining industry to the representation of industry clients. His expertise includes sophisticated interaction on behalf of industry clients in connection with regulatory compliance and permitting, Process Safety Management (PSM), Risk Management Program (RMP), RAGAGEP, Process Safety Information (PSI), OSHA, EPA, and CSB investigations, release reporting, incident management, and litigation avoidance. Lee also represents clients in connection with pipeline regulatory and safety issues under PHMSA and Louisiana Department of Natural Resources programs, including jurisdictional determinations, registration requirements, compliance and due diligence associated with mergers/acquisitions of pipeline facilities or financing of projects including pipelines.
Lee is also a registered Patent Attorney and is licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- Environmental Law
- Intellectual Property
- Energy, Oil & Gas Law
- Louisiana
- Texas
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- English: Spoken, Written
- Partner
- Kean Miller LLP
- - Current
- Loyola University New Orleans
- J.D. (2010)
- Tulane University
- Ph.D. (1990) | Environmental Engineering
- Louisiana State University - University of New Orleans
- MBA (1987)
- Tulane University
- M.S. (1983) | Petroleum Engineering
- Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge
- B.S. (1978) | Chemical Engineering
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- Current
- State Bar of Texas
- Current
- 2017 RMP Amendments Now in Effect December 3, 2018
- Louisiana Law Blog
- RMP Reconsidered (Proposal) - What are the Takeaways?
- Louisiana Law Blog
- Consider RMP Reconsidered!
- Louisiana Law Blog
- EPA Administrator Signs Rule Delaying the Effective Date of RMP Rule
- Louisiana Law Blog
- Risk Management Program Rule Delay Decided?
- Louisiana Law Blog
- Sequestering of Greenhouse Gases: California Is Considering a Legal Process (How Does That Affect the Rest of Us?)
- Louisiana Law Blog
- Awaiting EPA's Decision on RMP Delay
- Louisiana Law Blog
- Impact of Delek Refining Decision on EPA's RMP Penalty Policy
- Louisiana Law Blog
- Statute of Limitations Applies to Old PHA Recommendations
- Louisiana Law Blog
- Common PSM/RMP Problems and Suggested Solutions, Kean Miller Environmental CLE, Houston, TX
- Website
- R. Lee Vail's Website Profile
- Website
- Kean Miller LLP Website
- Blog
- Louisiana Law Blog
- RMP Amendment Rule At Odds with OSHA Review Commission BP Husky Decision
6 August 2019 - 2019 Legislative Session and Other Tax Updates
26 July 2019 - Texas Supreme Court: Appraisal Awards Not a Bar to TPPCA Delay Damages
25 July 2019 - Social Media and Employment Issues Intersect
24 July 2019 - A Way to Earn More? The Risks in Earnout Provisions
9 July 2019 - Louisiana Legalizes Certain Uses of CBD
1 July 2019 - Update: Supreme Court Rejects Punitive Damages for Unseaworthiness Claims
24 June 2019 - Recent United States Supreme Court Decision Tackles Question of What Happens When Bankruptcy Meets Intellectual Property
19 June 2019 - Sixth Circuit Opinion Highlights the Importance of Indemnity Clauses and Consequential Damages Waivers in Data Vendor Agreements
17 June 2019