Robert I. Fassbender
ROBERT I. FASSBENDER joined The Hamilton Consulting Group in 1997, which at that time was named Hough, Fassbender, Osborne & Associates, Inc.
From 1992 to 1997, Bob was with the Wisconsin law firm of Godfrey & Kahn, SC (“G&K”). He was a shareholder and headed up the government relations practice out of their Madison office. His legal practice focused on environmental and energy matters.
From 1989 to 1992, Bob was Director of Environmental Policy with Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC). As a WMC lawyer and lobbyist, he was often the lead industry negotiator on complex and controversial initiatives before the state legislature and regulatory agencies.
From 1983 to 1989, Bob was in-house environmental counsel with the U.S. Air Force and then McDonnell Douglas Corporation in California. In those capacities, he was the lead attorney on several major Superfund suits, enforcement actions, air and water permitting, and rule development efforts.
Bob received his law degree from the University of San Diego, and a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Bar, the American Bar Association, and the State Bar of California. Bob is a licensed Wisconsin lobbyist.
Bob has had a significant role in developing Wisconsin legislation, including Clean Air Act enabling legislation, revisions to the Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund, and brownfields reform. He played a lead role in developing, drafting and negotiating statutory provisions in the Jobs Creation Act of 2003 (2003 Wis. Act 118) that reformed DNR’s air program (Chap. 285) and agency rulemaking procedures (Chap. 227). In 2011, Bob helped draft additional changes in Chap. 227. Bob is the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council, which was formed in 2009 to represent Wisconsin business interests on civil litigation legislation before the Wisconsin Legislature.
Bob also represents clients on numerous regulatory initiatives, including state rules implementing the federal Clean Air Act. He had a lead role in the seven-year effort to rewrite the state’s air toxics program (NR 445), as well as the state’s mercury emissions rule. Bob has written and spoken extensively on policy trends affecting Wisconsin business.
Bob was instrumental in effecting changes in Wisconsin's regulatory process, and was co-author of the article, “Changing Wisconsin’s Regulatory Climate,” published in the September 2004 issue of Wisconsin Lawyer, the official publication of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Contact Bob: fassbender@hamilton-consulting.com