KELP
Knoxville Environmental Law Partners
800 N 4th Ave. Suite 3, Knoxville TN 37917
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We are lawyers working for the earth!
We are lawyers working for the earth!
Douglas Finnan Attorney
Douglas Finnan Attorney
Everyone has the right to clean water and a healthy environment.
Carbon Responsibility
Our firm has taken steps to address the carbon impacts associated with our operations.
We have purchased and retired verified carbon credits through Earthly. Each credit represents one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) reduced or removed from the atmosphere through independently verified projects.
These credits support ecosystem-based climate initiatives, including peatland protection and forest conservation, which are designed to prevent the release of stored carbon and maintain critical environmental systems.
Our purchase reflects a portion of our estimated operational carbon footprint. We view this as one component of a broader approach that prioritizes reducing emissions at the source while supporting credible, third-party verified climate projects.
Receipt #2617-1955
These credits represent approximately 5 tonnes of CO₂e.
This is one step in our broader effort to reduce our environmental impact.
Benedicto:
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you -- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls.”
― Edward Abbey
We are treehugger lawyers whose practice includes helping anyone fight strip mines, polluters, and incinerators. If you are in a fight against a larger opponent who is polluting Appalachia we want to be in your corner.
Corporations need not apply.
Certification as an Environmental Law specialist is not currently available in Tennessee.
KELP Law attorney Chris Irwin participated in appellate briefing for the published Sixth Circuit decision in Energy & Policy Institute v. Tennessee Valley Authority, issued May 8, 2026.
The Sixth Circuit reversed portions of the district court’s ruling and remanded multiple issues involving FOIA Exemptions 4 and 6, segregability, and attorney-fee eligibility under the Freedom of Information Act.
The opinion includes a substantial discussion of:
public access to government records,
confidential commercial information,
voluntary agency disclosures during litigation,
and attorney-fee recovery in FOIA cases.
The decision is recommended for publication and serves as precedential authority within the Sixth Circuit.
Chris Irwin Attorney
If you are fighting a developer, someone polluting your air, an industry pumping mud into your nearby stream--you are our people.
FEDERALLY LICENSED TO PRACTICE IN THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AND THE 6TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS
Federal Trial Skills Academy Portland Oregon, 2022
NITA Building Trial Skills: North Carolina 2019
Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College 2017
NCDC Trial Skills Academy Macon Georgia 2015
NCDC Trial Skills Academy Macon Georgia 2012
Federal Trial Skills Academy San Diego CA 2010
Water Stewardship
Our firm has taken steps to address the water impacts associated with our operations, including our use of technologies.
We have purchased Water Restoration Certificates® (WRCs) through Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a third-party verified program in which 1 WRC represents 1,000 gallons of water restored to critically dewatered ecosystems.
These certificates support projects that improve freshwater systems—such as restoring river flows, enhancing wetlands, and increasing irrigation efficiency—helping return water to ecosystems where it is most needed.
Our purchase contributes to water restoration at a scale comparable to our estimated annual water footprint. We view this as one part of a broader effort that prioritizes reducing resource use while supporting meaningful environmental restoration.
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