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Prior to practicing law, Erich was an engineer in the petrochemical industry. He worked
for thirteen years with Monsanto Chemical Company serving in various roles including
project engineer, design engineer, field engineer and as manager of the design group.
Through this experience he gained hands-on familiarity with many types of
manufacturing equipment and process systems. Erich was also a specialist and
instructor of a logical problem solving technique and successfully facilitated many group
participatory problem identification and resolution sessions.

Erich received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1976,
and received a Law degree from the University of Houston in 1989. He is a Registered
Professional Engineer in Texas and is a member of the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the
Austin Bar Association, the State Bar's Law Practice Management Committee, the
American Arbitration Association, and he is a trained Mediator.

Erich is a frequent speaker on environmental and law practice management topics, and
a listing of his speaking engagements and published articles is available at the link
below. A complete history of Erich's educational background and work experience is
also available below.

Erich Birch is a professional engineer and attorney
with over seventeen years of legal experience
primarily in the areas of environmental,
administrative, and contract law. His practice is
focused on permitting and compliance issues
involving air quality, industrial and solid waste,
environmental audits, and Superfund. Erich's
experience spans the areas of private business,
public governmental service and private law
practice. He began his legal career in the public
sector as an attorney with the Texas Water
Commission, working in the Commission’s Legal
Division handling matters involving hazardous
waste, Superfund, petroleum storage tanks, and
contracts. He also served as the agency's Public
Interest Counsel prior to entering private law
practice with an Austin law firm.

November, 2009 - "Choosing the
Shoe that Fits - Entity Choice for the
Law Firm," Texas Bar CLE, Houston,
Texas

November, 2009 - "Beam Me Up
Scotty: Virtual Practice in the Real
World," Texas Bar CLE, Houston,
Texas

October, 2008 - "How Good Is Your
Environmental Program From A Legal
Perspective?" San Antonio
Manufacturers Association, San
Antonio, Texas

February, 2008, "Solo Practice:
Administrative Organization and
Development of Substantive
Systems," The University of Texas
School of Law and State Bar of
Texas, Austin, Texas

January, 2008, "FutureGen: The Next
Generation of Coal-Fueled Power -
Part II," Electric Utility Environmental
Conference, Tucson, Arizona

October, 2007 - "Law Practice
Management," Texsa Center for legal
Ethics, Austin, Texas

October, 2007 - "Hanging Out Your
Own Shingle," Texas Bar CLE,
Houston, Texas.

October, 2007 - "Environmental Land
Regulation" and "Ethical Issues for
Civil Engineers," Legal Issues for
Texas Civil Engineers Seminar, San
Antonio, Texas.

October, 2007 - "Environmental
Checklist," San Antonio
Manufacturers Association, San
Antonio, Texas.

October, 2007 - "Small Firm
Management," Texas Center for
Legal Ethics & Professionalism,
Austin, Texas.

September, 2007 - Moderator for
"Legal Staff Strategies, Hiring &
Firing," Texas Bar CLE, Austin,
Texas.

January, 2007 - "FutureGen, The
Next Generation of Coal-Fueled
Power," Electric Utility Environmental
Conference, Tucson, Arizona.

October, 2006 - "Environmental
Audits - How To Safely Evaluate
Your Regulatory Compliance," San
Antonio Manufacturers Association,
San Antonio, Texas.

June, 2006 - "Mercury in the
Environment: Health Concerns,
Sources, and Impact of New Electric
Utility Regulations," Dauphin Island
Sea Lab, Mobile, Alabama.