Bridget is a Partner with The Zoghlin Group, PLLC, a boutique environmental, energy, land use, and municipal law firm in Rochester, New York. She focuses primarily on environmental, energy and land use litigation: representing individuals, businesses and community groups in New York State and Federal Courts and before various administrative bodies and municipal boards. Bridget’s experience also includes appellate practice.

Bridget is admitted to practice in New York, the United States District Courts of the Western and Northern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

A Rochester native, Bridget obtained her juris doctorate from Albany Law School and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the State University of New York, University at Albany. She is also an alumna of Nazareth Academy.

Outside of the office, Bridget volunteers with the Rochester Teen Court as an attorney mediator and serves on the Empire State Development Finger Lakes Region’s Environmental Justice Task Force. In 2016, she was recognized by the Daily Record as an Up & Coming Attorney. In 2018, she was granted the Emerging bar Leader Award by the Monroe County Bar Association.

• Admissions
  • New York State
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Western District of New York
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of New York
• Education
  • Bachelor of Arts in History, University at Albany, State University of New York
  • Juris Doctorate, Albany Law School
• Professional Associations
  • Board Member of the Foundation of the Monroe County Bar Association
  • Former Co-Chair of the Monroe County Bar Association Environmental Law Committee
  • Former Treasurer of the Monroe County Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Section
  • Member of the Greater Rochester Association of Women Attorneys
  • Member of the Monroe County, New York State, and American Bar Associations
  • Affiliate Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Served on the Monroe County Bar Association’s Academy of Law
• Reported Cases
  • Chart v. Town of Parma, 2014 WL 4923166 (WDNY 2014)(Court found that pesticide contaminated topsoil relocated from a former apple orchard to town park was solid waste under RCRA).
  • Peelle v. Town of Irondequoit, 148 A.D.3d 1761 (4th Dep’t 2017) (Court found that whether owner’s action for inverse condemnation by Town via intermittent flooding by stormwater could not be resolved on motion to dismiss).
• Publications
  • Bridget O’Toole, Regulation of Pesticide Residue as Solid Waste under RCRA, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources: The Year in Review 2015 at 95 (2016).
• Seminars
  • 2020 New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting, Local and State Government Law Section Meeting, Lead in Drinking Water: Its Environmental and Social Impacts (1.0 Credit in Areas of Professional Practice), Jan. 30, 2020.
  • 2020 New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting, Local and State Government Law Section Meeting, Local Issues Regarding the Development and Siting of Wind and Solar Energy Projects (1.0 Credit in Areas of Professional Practice), Jan. 30, 2020.
  • 2020 Monroe County Bar Association, Ethics, Environmental Law and Client Interests: Dilemmas for Practitioners, Jan. 23, 2020
  • 2019 Monroe County Planning Land Use Decision-Making Training Program, Solar Development in Monroe County, Oct. 8, 2019
  • 2019 Landmark Society of Western New York, 2019 New York Statewide Preservation Conference, Making Sense of SEQRA: Recent Amendments and Their Impacts on Municipal Review of Historic and Cultural Resources, Apr. 25, 2019
  • 2018 NYSBA Basics of Environmental Law (Buffalo). Moderator and Local Program Chair.
  • 2018 Local Government Law from Start to Finish. Topic: “Navigating Nuisance Ordinance Legal Liabilities.”
  • 2017 Hot Water: Topics in Water Law. Topic: “Stormwater Management”
  • 2016 Albany Law School Hot Topics in Law – Rochester Edition. Topic: “Using Social Media Ethically.”
  • 2015 Learning from Environmental Horror Stories. Moderator: “Perils & Pitfalls of Environmental Practice.”
  • 2015 Environmental Law for Non-Environmental Lawyers. Topic: “What is SEQRA & Who Does What?”
• Blog Articles
  • September 14, 2022: Alfred Oaks Solar
  • August 26, 2022: Flat Creek Solar II
  • August 26, 2022: Harvest Hill Solar 2
  • August 26, 2022: Mill Point Solar 2
  • August 26, 2022: Two Rivers Solar
  • August 26, 2022: Columbia Solar
  • August 26, 2022: Fort Covington Solar
  • August 11, 2022: New York State Siting Board Issues First Denial of Certificate for 180 MW North Side Energy Center
  • February 3, 2021: Proposed State Budget Legislation Exempts Large Renewable Energy Projects from Environmental Review Pursuant to SEQRA
  • January 13, 2021: Office or Renewable Energy Siting Begins Processing Applications – Without Regulations in Place
  • June 4, 2020: Who’s Eligible for Intervenor Funds? More Entities Than You Think.
  • April 2, 2020: New York State DEC Division of Environmental Remediation Issues Guidance on Essential Activities
  • March 30, 2020: New York’s Stop-Work order on Non-Essential Construction Leaves Questions for Municipalities, Developers and Contractors
  • February 26, 2020: Proposed Changes Will Slow Down Renewable Energy Siting Process and Harm Local Governments
  • February 13, 2020: Siting Board Approves Emergency Changes to Article 10 Regulations
  • January 23, 2020: Governor Cuomo Proposes Faster Article 10 Process
  • November 7, 2019: Green Innovation Grant Program
  • November 7, 2019: Empire State Development Grant
  • November 7, 2019: New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative
  • September 19, 2019: 449 MW Wind Project Bull Run Energy LLC Planned for Clinton County, New York
  • July 22, 2019: Local Wind and Solar Laws—No Recommended Template
  • June 24, 2019: Who has the burden of proof in an Article 10 proceeding?
  • May 28, 2019: So Your Property is Flooding, Now What?