Lauren Rucinski is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2016 and practices in the environmental law and intellectual property groups.
Lauren helps clients navigate environmental regulatory applicability for new and existing facilities and expansion projects. Her practice spans permitting, compliance, enforcement, litigation, and transactional issues, as well as rulemaking efforts at both the state (Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality) and federal (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) level. Lauren also advises clients on the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers/Clean Water Act Section 404 dredge and fill permitting process. She has experience in the National Environmental Protection Act (“NEPA”) program and similar state level programs, as well as in environmental justice issues and renewable energy opportunities. She advises a wide range of clients including petrochemical facilities, oil refineries, natural gas terminals, solar farms, and commodity processing plants.
Lauren helps clients protect and maximize the value of their businesses' intellectual property by advising them on all aspects of patent, trade secret, copyright, trademark, and unfair competition law. She is a registered Patent Attorney. Her practice includes patent prosecution, opinions, licensing, and counseling services. Her work spans a wide range of technical areas, including mechanical inventions, computer software, construction materials, and other compositions of matter.
Lauren combines her legal experience with her background in Aerospace Engineering and Ocean Engineering to further the Intellectual Property interests of her clients. She is licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers as a Rising Star from 2022-2024 and The Best Lawyers in America as a One to Watch for 2024 and 2025.
- Representation of a chemical and plastic products company regarding their compliance with Louisiana state and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations
- Prepare comments to EPA rulemaking on behalf of Louisiana industry groups
- Representation of oil refinery regarding compliance with environmental laws and defense in administrative enforcement proceeding
- Perform environmental due diligence for Louisiana chemical company merger and acquisition
- Provide environmental permitting advise for solar farm development in Louisiana
- Representation of an international oilfield services provider in defense of allegations of patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and various business torts
- Management of a Louisiana University's patent portfolio, including prosecution, maintenance, and USPTO Examiner negotiations
Lauren earned her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Ocean Engineering with a minor in Green Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2013. She earned her J.D./D.C.L., magna cum laude, from the LSU Law Center in 2016, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif, the Louisiana Law Review, and the Civil Mediation Clinic. Lauren also served as the President of the Public Interest Law Society and received the Louisiana State Bar Association's 2016 Law Student Pro Bono Award.
- Admitted, Louisiana, 2016; United States Federal Court for the Eastern, Western and Middle Districts of Louisiana; United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Baton Rouge Bar Association (Young Lawyers Section Council Member, 2019; Law Day Co-Chair, 2020, 2019; Committee, 2018); Louisiana Air & Waste Management Association (Secretary 2020-2022; Newsletter Committee, 2019); Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Pathfinder
- Pro Bono Powerhouses: Big Law Jobs with a Big Impact on Communities, LSU Law Public Interest Law Week, October 23, 2024
- Preparing for an EPA Inspection Workshop with BWON Audit Case Study, Air and Waste Management Association SWLA Chapter Luncheon, September 10, 2024
- RIP Chevron Deference: 1984-2024, Louisiana Law Blog, July 8, 2024
- New Federal Rule Expands Exemption for Solar Farms from Certain Environmental Permitting Requirements, Louisiana Law Blog, April 30, 2024
- USPTO Issues Inventorship Guidance For AI-Assisted Inventions, Intellectual Property Law Blog, March 11, 2024
- Panelist, RSR/EMACT/MON/HON, Air & Waste Management Association 2024 Spring Conference, March 7, 2024
- Legal Update, Air & Waste Management Association 2024 Spring Conference, March 7, 2024
- Court Finds that Addressing Cumulative Impacts of Air Toxics Required for Air Permitting in Louisiana, Louisiana Law Blog, September 21, 2022
- Addressing Cumulative Impacts of Air Toxins in Air Permitting, Air & Waste Management Association's Annual Conference & Exhibition, June 28, 2022
- Emergency Use Authorizations for Coastal Use and Dredge/Fill Permits to Address Impact of Hurricane Ida, Louisiana Law Blog, August 31, 2021
- Chemical Manufactures Agree to $50M Settlement for PFAS Remediation, Louisiana Law Blog, July 15, 2021
- Environmental Self-Audit Legislation Passes the House and Senate, Louisiana Law Blog, June 9, 2021
- $2.175 Billion - With A "B" - Verdict In Patent Infringement Case, Intellectual Property Law Blog, March 4,2021
- Patent Law 101, Baton Rouge Bar Association CLE By the Hour, December 14, 2020
- Hold On To Your Boilers: The Tenth Circuit May Have Re-Defined Covered Processes Under PSM Regulation, Louisiana Law Blog, November 3, 2020
- Release Reporting, AWMA Louisiana Section Webinar, September 1, 2020
- Louisiana Special Hurricane Reporting Requirements for Hazardous Materials, Louisiana Law Blog, August 25, 2020
- Bookings.com: Supreme Court Rejects Bright-Line Rule on Generic Terms, Louisiana Law Blog, July 9, 2020
- Sellers and Distributors of Disinfectants Beware: The Virus Causing COVID-19 Is a "Pest" Under FIFRA, Louisiana Law Blog, May 7, 2020
- U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Makes it Illegal to Hoard Certain PPE, Ventilators and Sanitizing/Disinfecting Products, Louisiana Law Blog, March 30, 2020
- Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Issues COVID-19 Order, Louisiana Law Blog, March 19, 2020
- Chemical Safety Board's New Release Reporting Rules in Effect March 2020, Louisiana Law Blog, March 11, 2020
- The New Wave, EPA and ACE Release the Proposed Definition of "Waters of the United States", Louisiana Law Blog, December 18, 2018
- Pipeline Permitting and Litigation Roundup, Kean Miller Environmental CLE, Houston, Texas, September 14, 2018
- Much Ado About Patents, Baton Rouge Lawyer Magazine, June 2018
- How to Avoid Losing Your Rights to the "Work for Hire Doctrine", New Orleans Canvas Magazine, January 1, 2018
- Net Neutrality Repealed: What it Means for Business, Louisiana Law Blog, December 15, 2017
- EPA Approves Emergency Fuel Waiver for Areas in Louisiana in Response to Hurricane Harvey, Louisiana Law Blog, August 30, 2017
- Offensive Trademarks and Protected Under the First Amendment, IntellectualProperty.Law, June 23, 2017
- Supreme Court Restricts Patent Infringement Venue, Upsets Eastern District of Texas "Rocket Docket", IntellectualProperty.law, June 13, 2017
- A Plethora of Cases Could Affect WOTUS Rulemaking, Louisiana Law Blog, June 1, 2017
- Federal Circuit Clarifies, Bolsters On-Sale Bar, Louisiana Law Blog, May 23, 2017
- Silicone Facility to Pay $1.5M in Fines for Monitoring and Reporting Violations, Louisiana Law Blog, May 16, 2017
- Supreme Court Reverses and Remands on Award of $399 Million to Apple, Intellectual Property Law Blog, December 7, 2016
- Putting the House Back Together Again: The Scope of Copyright Protection for Architectural Works, 76 La. L. Rev. (2015)
- Board Member, Public & Industry Relations Director: Lafayette & Baton Rouge, Women's Energy Network South Louisiana Chapter, 2019
- Board of Trustees, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Baton Rouge, 2020-2021
- Parish Advisory Council, Boys & Girls Club of Metro Louisiana, 2022-2023
- Boys and Girls Club of Metro Louisiana, Annual Baton Rouge Fundraising Dinner Chair, 2021, 2022, 2023
- Board Member, We Produce Grads, 2018-2021
- Co-Chair, Baton Rouge Bar Association, Law Day