NBL HOF Flipbook - Flipbook - Page 16
ABOUT
BENJAMIN F. WILSON
Benjamin F. Wilson hails from Jackson, Mississippi. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School,
Ben first worked as an attorney at King & Spalding, focusing on litigation and tax matters. In 1979, he joined the
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division, where he represented the government throughout the country and
received multiple Special Achievement Awards for his trial expertise in commercial
litigation. Ben then became an associate and partner at Rose, Schmidt, Chapman, Duff,
and Hasley.In 1986, he joined Beveridge and Diamond (B&D).
Over the next 35 years, Ben became a national environmental law expert while
significantly increasing B&D’s attorney diversity and serving multiple terms as firm
Chairman. He was lead counsel in numerous complex environmental litigation and
regulatory matters for major consumer product corporations, retailers, oil and gas
companies, municipalities, and developers. He served as Court-Appointed Monitor for
the Duke Energy coal ash spill remediation project (the largest US electric power
holding company) and Deputy Monitor for Emissions & Environmental for DOJ in
Volkswagen AG’s emissions-cheating criminal plea agreement. He served as lead counsel at the largest chromium
site in the U.S. and also represented many municipal government agencies on Clean Water Act enforcement,
litigation, and project development, including City of New Orleans, DC Water and Sewer Authority, Metropolitan
Water District of Greater Chicago, San Antonio Water System, and Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority. He also
counseled clients on environmental justice representations.
Ben also is a recognized leader on diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. In 2008, he founded Diverse
Partners Network and, in 2021, established African American General Counsel and Managing Partner Networks.
He has been lauded for his expertise and leadership by countless organizations and publications, most recently The
Environmental Law Institute’s (ELI) Environmental Achievement Award (October 2022), The American Lawyer’s
Lifetime Achievement Award (December 2021) and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (2022).
Ben serves as Chair of ELI, Secretary of Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and on the Boards of APCO
Worldwide, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, PG&E Corporation, DC Bar Foundation, and DC
Judicial Nomination Commission. Previously, he also served on the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College and
Chairman of DC Board of Elections and Ethics (1990-2004). For the past 30 years, he has chaired National Bar
Association’s Environmental, Energy, and Public Utilities Law Section, and for over 17 years, he has taught at
Howard University Law School.
