Madelyn M. VanDorpe

Madelyn M. VanDorpe is an associate on the firm's Environment & Energy and Renewable Energy practice teams. Her practice focuses on emergency environmental response, environmental insurance and risk management, and renewable energy permitting and due diligence. In representing renewable energy developers and purchasers, she advises clients on clean energy and energy transition matters, assisting with due diligence, permitting, land use, zoning, and real estate issues for solar, wind, and other renewable energy projects. 

Ms. VanDorpe also assists clients with environmental emergency response.  She counsels clients through environmental incidents, including spills, releases, and contamination events, advising on regulatory notification requirements, agency coordination, and remediation strategies. Her emergency response work includes guiding clients through interactions with federal and state environmental agencies and helping them manage potential enforcement exposure.  

On the environmental risk-management side of her practice, Ms. VanDorpe reviews projects prior to their commencement, identifies potential environmental risks associated with the projects, and reviews and negotiates the transactional documents. Her understanding of the regulatory landscape-including permitting, agency coordination, and administrative law-enables her to identify environmental risk at all phases of project development and develop practical risk management strategies.  

On the environmental risk-management side of her practice, Ms. VanDorpe conducts pre-construction environmental due diligence for a wide range of construction and infrastructure projects. She evaluates potential environmental liabilities, reviews Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, and negotiates environmental representations, warranties, and indemnities in transactional documents. Her comprehensive understanding of the regulatory landscape—including permitting requirements, agency coordination, and administrative law—enables her to identify environmental risk at all phases of project development and structure practical risk allocation and mitigation strategies. 

While attending law school, Ms. VanDorpe interned for the Honorable Juan R. Sánchez, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. VanDorpe has an academic background in environmental law, having been published as a Staff Writer during her time on the Villanova Environmental Law Journal (the “Journal”). She also served on the Journal's executive board as the Production Editor.