Buck Dixon

Counsel / Atlanta

Buck Dixon is Counsel at Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP and has deep knowledge and experience with respect to environmental issues in a multitude of areas of law.

  • Full Bio

    Mr. Dixon counsels clients on a wide range of environmental and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on helping financial institutions, real estate developers, electric utilities, and industrial/manufacturing companies manage and mitigate environmental risks in complex transactions and operations. He has extensive experience conducting environmental due diligence in large loan and M&A transactions and crafting unique remediation and mitigation strategies tailored to address the particular concerns at hand. Mr. Dixon also has extensive experience advising clients on compliance and enforcement matters concerning environmental laws, including RCRA, CERCLA, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and their state counterparts.

    Before joining Smith Gambrell, Mr. Dixon practiced at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP in Atlanta. Mr. Dixon also previously served as a staffer for the Georgia House of Representatives where he specialized in natural resources and environmental policy, as well as higher education budgetary matters.

  • Representative Experience

    • Represented major financial institution in performing environmental due diligence and developed transaction-specific remediation and mitigation strategies for nine-figure securitized and balance sheet loans for commercial real estate assets
    • Successfully navigated environmental remediation process in numerous states and obtained commercial real estate entity client millions of dollars in the form of Brownfield reimbursement
    • Represented insurance company in performing environmental, health, and safety due diligence and provided counsel during underwriting process for representations and warranties insurance policies
    • Represented large industrial manufacturer in negotiating environmental provisions of merger agreement and performed environmental due diligence to ensure potential risks were adequately mitigated
    • Represented manufacturing and industrial companies in providing guidance regarding day-to-day compliance issues arising under a broad range of local, state, and federal regulatory schemes
    • Represented auto parts and tire wholesaler, working with in-house counsel and company personnel to obtain necessary local and state approvals for roll-out of nationwide tire recycling program; provided counsel with respect to the program’s implementation
    • Represented a local government in coordinating on-the-ground response to petroleum release and prepared case-closure documentation that led to issuance of No Further Action (NFA) determination

  • Bar Admissions

    Georgia

  • Education

    Undergraduate
    • University of Georgia

    Law School
    • Georgia State University College of Law

  • Recognitions


    Best Lawyers in America® Ones to Watch: Environmental Law (2024, 2026)
    The Legal 500 (US) for Environment: Transactional (2022, 2024)

  • Publications and Speaking Engagements


    • Speaker, Freedom to Farm Act: An Overview of Practical Implications, 2022 GA Farm Bureau State Commodity Conference (2022)
    • Co-presenter, Real Estate Transactions in Current Economic Situation, Lorman Webinar (2022)
    • Speaker, “Challenges Continue for Pipeline Construction at the State Level,” Perspectives on Georgia’s Environment, State Bar of Georgia, Environmental Law Section (2017)