George W. House

When I graduated from UVA Law in 1972, there were no courses in environmental law, and the first true environmental law, the Clean Water Act, was passed. After four years on active duty as an Army Judge Advocate, mostly in Germany, I returned to North Carolina and this firm in 1976.  One of the senior partners handed me one of the very first water discharge permits ever issued for a textile plant and asked me if I understood the basic chemistry involved. Thirty-nine years later, I am still dealing with issues related to water permits, air permits, hazardous waste permits and solid waste permits. I guess you could say environmental law just grew around me and the nine other lawyers with whom I share an outstanding environmental practice.  
I believe our world is made better by the pursuit of good science. I served for 16 years on the Advisory Commission for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh and for 12 years as the chair of the Commission during which time this institution undertook over $100 million in capital improvements and achieved national recognition as one of the top five such museums and research facilities in America. Leaving that Commission in 2013, I joined the board of the Greensboro Science Center which is fast becoming “the” major tourist attraction in the Triad, blending fun and learning with the only co-located museum, aquarium, and zoo in North Carolina.