Legal Team

Experience

Sonali specializes in environmental and energy regulation and compliance, clean technology development, and international trade, focusing on advising U.S. companies entering emerging markets, particularly in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Her practice includes assisting companies with project finance, political and insurance risk, and renewable energy credits and carbon credits. Sonali also specializes in researching and drafting policy on sustainable development, climate change, carbon finance, and oceans and law of the sea on behalf of governments and NGOs.

Before joining Cleantech Law Partners, Sonali founded Priyamvada Sustainability Consulting LLC. She has also worked for the United Nations, The Green Impresario, The Carbon War Room, Islands First, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Clean Water Action, in addition to undertaking projects for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Sonali holds a J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law, where she served as the Notes and Comments Editor for the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal, and a B.A. degree from American University.

Sonali is admitted to the New York Bar and is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association (International Section; Environment Section), the New York City Bar Association (Committee on International Environmental Law, the South Asian Bar Association of New York, the New York Women’s Bar Association, as well as the Indus Entrepreneurs and the New York Academy of Sciences.

Representative Work

• Facilitating pilot project in Jordan for energy efficient automotive technology
• Counseling investment firms on building public private partnerships to deploy green technologies and build green infrastructure abroad and in U.S. municipalities
• Identifying and procuring development financing for Bio-Clean Natural Gas project in India
• Assisting development of solar, wind, and other renewable technologies in Jordan
• Developing high temperature conversion of waste projects in the Philippines

Publications

• Vicki-Ann Assevero & Sonali P. Chitre, “Hurricane Sandy: Urban Governance Challenged by Climate Change,” Outreach, COP-18 Doha, Qatar (Dec. 5, 2012).
• Sonali Chitre, “Cleaning Up Bankruptcy: Limiting the Dischargeability of Environmental Cleanup Costs.” Part I, 6 Jnl. of Bankr. L. 530 (Sept. 2010); Part II, 6 Jnl. of Bankr. L. 642 (Oct. 2010).
• Sonali Chitre, “Technology and Copyright Law-Illuminating the NFL’s ‘Blackout’ Rule in Game Broadcasting,” 33 Hastings Comm. & Ent. L. J. 97 (Fall 2010).