John H.

John T. Hansen is a former environmental law practice leader with more than four decades of experience advising clients on complex regulatory, transactional, and risk-related matters. He began his legal career at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro, and continued with the firm through its evolution into Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. He spent his entire career at the firm. During his early years, he practiced business law, including in the areas of secured and unsecured financing, business formation and restructuring, general business transactions, contracts, land use, and real estate. He then practiced environmental law until his retirement from the firm over four decades later. Over the course of several decades, John advised a wide range of clients — including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Valero, Tesoro Corporation, Duke Energy, General Motors, PACCAR Inc., Western States Petroleum Association, FMC Corporation, United Airlines, and Procter & Gamble — on environmental compliance, regulatory strategy, and risk management across business operations and transactions. His work frequently involved helping clients navigate complex environmental frameworks, assess potential liabilities, and structure deals with a clear understanding of legal and regulatory exposure. In addition to his client work, John led the firm’s national environmental law practice for some 30 years, overseeing legal strategy, mentoring attorneys, and guiding clients through high-stakes matters involving environmental risk and compliance. His experience spans both the legal and practical dimensions of business and environmental issues, giving him a well-rounded perspective on how these risks impact real-world decisions. As a senior partner, he also chaired a number of the firm's standing committees, including the Partner Compensation Committee, the Business Practices Committee, the Lateral Partner Screening Committee, and the Billings and Collections Committee. Following his retirement from Pillsbury, John provided several years of legal advice, as an independent contractor, to the Western States Petroleum. WSPA is a non-profit trade association that represents companies that account for the bulk of petroleum exploration, production, refining, and marketing in the five western states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. His legal work for WSPA consisted of contract preparation, review, and analysis; environmental law advice; administrative law advice; review and analysis of proposed legislation and regulations; and antitrust law compliance. Today, John, as an inactive member of the California State Bar, works on a consulting basis, helping businesses and individuals better understand contracts, environmental considerations, business transactions, and risk factors before making important decisions. While he does not provide legal advice, he offers practical, experience-driven insight grounded in decades of work at the highest levels of the legal profession.