Mary Ellen Ternes, a shareholder with the law firm of McAfee & Taft and leader of the firm’s environmental practice, has been appointed co-chair of the Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Ecosystems Committee of the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. She was appointed by incoming Section Chair John C. Cruden, deputy assistant attorney general in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In her new role, Ternes will be leading the ABA's efforts to develop, educate and inform this rapidly growing area of law and policy.
A senior member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Ternes has also recently been appointed co-chair of the Climate Change Section for the AICHE's Environmental Division, serving with Dr. Gregory R. Carmichael with the University of Iowa, known for his landmark work regarding the role of black carbon in climate change. Due to her work in both the legal and chemical engineering aspects of climate change policy and industry response, Ms. Ternes has been asked by the AICHE Government Relations Committee to participate in revising AICHE’s Climate Change Position Paper, originally released in 1996. The revised AICHE Climate Change Position Paper will serve as the basis for AICHE’s future direction and response to new climate change policy in the areas of research, implementation and participation in policy development. Consistent with these efforts, Ternes just formed a new AICHE Forum, Chemical Engineering and the Law, for chemical engineers, lawyers and members who are both. The goal of the forum is to promote the synergies between science, law and policy.
Ternes’ achievements in the area of environmental law have earned her recognition by The Best Lawyers in America, American College of Environmental Lawyers and the International Who's Who of Environment Lawyers.
About McAfee & TaftMcAfee & Taft is one of the largest, most experienced law firms in the region, serving clients nationally and internationally in the areas of aviation, business law, business restructuring and bankruptcy, corporate and securities, employee benefits, entertainment law, environmental law, healthcare, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, oil and gas, real estate and tax and family wealth. The firm employs nearly 300 Oklahomans, including more than 145 attorneys, and has offices in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa.