Overview
Ben Criswell helps clients with the acquisition, financing, development, leasing, conservation, and disposition of land throughout the United States. He advises clients across industries and sectors, with a focus on representing renewable energy developers in real estate and business transactions. He regularly handles matters involving agricultural land, timberlands, industrial sites, and commercial real estate. His experience includes “greenfield” development and “brownfield” redevelopment.
Prior to law school, Ben co‑founded and scaled multiple ventures, including a company he ultimately sold after building a team and multiplying revenue year over year. Drawing on firsthand experience as an entrepreneur and owner/operator, he brings a practical approach to complex transactions and land-based projects.
Education
Lewis & Clark Law School, J.D., Certificate in Energy, Innovation, and Sustainability Law, 2022, cum laude
Colorado College, B.A., Environmental Policy, 2016, cum laude with Distinction
Admissions
Oregon
Experience
- Helped wind energy developer client with title review, contract drafting, and general support regarding leasehold, easement, and contractual rights across hundreds of thousands of acres of land throughout more than a dozen states (in coordination with various local counsel).
- Conducted site control, title, and survey due diligence for a client acquiring a portfolio of dozens of ground-mount, carport, and rooftop solar facilities, with locations including landfills, schools, and commercial and industrial buildings.
- Provided a client with advice on potential environmental liability and risk mitigation strategies regarding the development of a reclaimed coal mine site, based on a comprehensive review of consultants’ reports including a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment.
- Assisted developer client in a complex adjudication regarding the permitting of a utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage project.
- Prepared memoranda regarding title and survey issues for a client acquiring multiple parcels of farmland and forestland.
- Drafted and negotiated a real estate purchase agreement for a client, and helped the client obtain title insurance and water rights for the acquired property.
Client Successes
Insights
Insights & Presentations
- “Ecology Meets Economics: Conservation and Mitigation Banks,” (co-author), Daily Journal of Commerce, June 2, 2026
- “Lease of Mind: Why Developers Should Consider Lease Options in Real Estate Agreements,” (co-author)” Daily Journal of Commerce, May 27, 2025
- “Drafting Real Estate Documents With Project Permitting in Mind,” (co-author), Daily Journal of Commerce, April 19, 2024
- “Contract Drafting Tips for Rooftop Solar and Carport Solar Leases” (co-author), Daily Journal of Commerce, December 5, 2023
- “Deal Sweeteners for Clean Energy Development on Brownfield Sites,” (co-author), Daily Journal of Commerce, February 28, 2023
- “Waste Not, Want Not: Divergent Energy Storage Markets in California and Oregon,” 52 ENV’T L., September 2022
- “Zap the Sleeping Giant: Revamping FERC Order 1000 to Facilitate Decarbonization Across the Western United States,” 51 ENV’T L., December 2021
Publications
Recognition
Stoel Rives LLP 2023 Portland Office Mentor of the Year
Lewis & Clark Law School Bernard F. O’Rourke Award and Pro Bono Honors Award
Colorado College Public Interest Fellow and Trustee Scholar
Affiliations
Professional
- Oregon State Bar, Real Estate and Land Use Section, Member
- Executive Committee, Member, 2025
- Oregon State Bar, Environmental and Natural Resources Section, Member
- Multnomah Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section, Pro Bono Committee Member
- Cornelius Honor Society Member