Skip to content

Axel Buchwalter

Member

Axel Buchwalter helps public and private clients solve complex, high-stakes problems at the intersection of water, real estate, energy, environmental permitting and compliance, and infrastructure delivery.  He takes a practical, business-minded approach to transactions, regulatory strategy, and litigation, particularly where project success depends on aligning natural resources, land rights, permitting requirements, and public processes.

Axel represents municipalities and special districts, developers, utilities, industrial and manufacturing clients, agricultural operations, and tribal nations on a broad range of water matters.  His work includes water-supply strategy and due diligence; acquisition, leasing, and transfer of surface water and groundwater rights; and advising on the permitting, accounting, and compliance obligations associated with storage, recovery, exchanges, and water-supply portfolios.  He regularly drafts and negotiates sophisticated water agreements, including purchases and sales, leases, option arrangements, exchanges, assignments, and recovery and wheeling arrangements, along with other agreements needed to implement unique water-supply strategies.  Axel also counsels clients on conservation and drought planning and represents them in complex water disputes and litigation.

Complementing his natural resources practice, Axel maintains an active real estate practice representing buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and project sponsors in complex commercial transactions and development matters.  He guides clients through the full lifecycle of a deal, from structuring and negotiating definitive agreements through due diligence, title, and survey review, and closing, with a focus on aligning legal terms with the client’s business objectives and risk tolerance.  Axel regularly negotiates purchase and sale agreements, leases, and ancillary documents addressing key commercial terms, including representations and warranties, covenants, indemnities, conditions precedent, allocation of costs and liabilities, and post-closing rights and obligations.  He also prepares the real property instruments and project agreements needed to support development and ongoing operations, including easements and access, utility, and other use arrangements, as well as development, construction, and operating agreements for commercial, industrial, and infrastructure assets.  He is frequently brought in to manage issues that drive schedule and risk, including utility constraints, permitting and diligence conditions, construction, and seller’s work obligations, and closing deliverables tied to third-party and governmental approvals.  Clients rely on Axel to translate project realities into clear, enforceable agreements that create practical paths to closing and long-term operational certainty.

Axel also represents public entities and project sponsors in condemnation and right-of-way acquisition matters for public improvements.  He handles eminent domain matters from early acquisition strategy through litigation, coordinating closely with project teams, appraisers, and experts to manage discovery and disclosures, develop valuation themes, and position cases for efficient resolution or trial.  His condemnation work is informed by his broader natural resources, real estate, and infrastructure experience, allowing him to address not only valuation issues, but also access, construction impacts, and other project-delivery realities.

Axel advises energy and industrial clients on matters that require careful coordination between commercial contracting and regulatory regimes.  His work includes negotiating complex supply and service arrangements, including power supply and natural-gas supply and asset-management frameworks; and representing stakeholders in utility regulatory proceedings involving rates, cost recovery, prudence and reasonableness issues, and accounting treatment.  He is known for developing clear, persuasive records and presenting technical and economic issues in a way that decision-makers can act on.

Axel also supports clients navigating environmental diligence, permitting strategy, and compliance risk for complex projects where federal, state, and local requirements overlap.  He works closely with engineers, hydrologists, environmental consultants, and client business teams to translate technical detail into actionable legal strategies, with an emphasis on clear drafting, disciplined issue-spotting, and practical implementation.

Clients value Axel for pragmatic counsel, meticulous execution, and advocacy that is rigorous, practical, and tailored to how projects are built and operated.

Education

J.D., University of Alabama School of Law, 2016
M.B.A., Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 2022
B.A., University of Washington, 2012

Memberships

American Bar Association, Section on Environmental, Energy and Resources Law

State Bar of Arizona, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section

State Bar Licenses

Arizona, Washington, New Mexico

Court Admissions

U.S. District Ct., District of Arizona

Organizations

  • Arizonans for Children – Mentor
  • Phoenix Premier League – Manager

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

  • “Water for Construction Lawyers: Is There Enough?,” Presenter, Arizona State Bar Construction Law Section (February 7, 2023)

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Advises municipalities, special districts, utilities, developers, industrial and manufacturing clients, agricultural operations, and tribal nations on high-stakes water-supply strategy, water rights due diligence, and long-term portfolio planning.
  • Counsels clients on the acquisition, leasing, and transfer of surface water and groundwater rights, including deal structuring and risk allocation tied to permitting, accounting, and operational constraints.
  • Represents clients in administrative proceedings before the Arizona Department of Water Resources involving surface water and groundwater rights, permitting determinations, and compliance and reporting issues.
  • Represented an applicant in an administrative appeal challenging ADWR’s denial of a water-rights application, including record development and briefing under applicable statutory and regulatory standards.
  • Assists developers and project sponsors with Arizona assured and adequate water supply matters and related approvals supporting master-planned communities and residential development.
  • Advises on water storage, recovery, and exchange strategies, including permitting, water accounting, program compliance, and implementation documentation.
  • Structures, drafts, and negotiates complex water agreements and project documents, including purchase and sale agreements, leases, option arrangements, exchanges, assignments, and recovery and wheeling arrangements.
  • Develops master agreement and purchase order frameworks for recurring water-credit and water-supply transactions, including option structures and pricing mechanisms aligned with project phasing.
  • Prepared and negotiated water exchange and accounting agreements between water providers, including detailed volume calculations, reporting standards, dispute resolution provisions, and permit-related disclaimers.
  • Represents clients in the Gila River and Little Colorado River general stream adjudications and advises on related federal, state, and tribal water-rights issues.
  • Represented an Indian tribe in complex proceedings involving federal reserved water rights for Arizona reservations, coordinating legal strategy and technical support.
  • Counsels water providers and groundwater users on compliance with Arizona’s Groundwater Code, conservation requirements, and operational and reporting obligations.
  • Advised special districts and water providers on groundwater savings facility program compliance, including permit interpretation, annual reporting, water accounting, and plan of operation development and renewal.
  • Maintains an active commercial real estate practice representing buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and project sponsors in acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and development matters, including negotiation of definitive agreements and closing documentation.
  • Negotiated commercial leasing and guaranty documentation, including triple net leasing arrangements for retail and other commercial assets.
  • Drafts and negotiates easements and real property instruments supporting project development and operations, including access, utility, pipeline, and irrigation-related instruments and related operational arrangements.
  • Advised clients on title and survey strategy and curative work in transactions involving numerous parcels and right-of-way interests, including coordination with title agencies and litigation guarantees.
  • Supported acquisition and operation of linear infrastructure assets, including fiber optic network projects and related property rights, easements, and diligence issues.
  • Represents public entities and project sponsors in condemnation and right-of-way acquisition matters for roadway and other public improvements, coordinating with project teams, appraisers, and experts through valuation, discovery, disclosures, and resolution strategy.
  • Managed multi-parcel right-of-way programs and coordinated expert access, inspection, and surveying in contested matters.
  • Represents energy and industrial clients and stakeholders in utility regulatory proceedings and rate matters before state and federal regulators, including cost recovery, prudence and reasonableness issues, contingency mechanisms, and regulatory accounting treatment.
  • Prepared comprehensive briefing and evidentiary strategy in contested power supply cost recovery matters, including issues involving regulatory asset accounting and prudence.
  • Served as in-house counsel for a leading Southwest water and power utility, advising on regulatory compliance, contracting, disputes, and policy matters affecting enterprise operations.
  • Served as in-house counsel for the water services department of the fifth-largest city in the United States, supporting utility operations, procurement, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder matters.
  • Advises municipalities, utilities, and private companies on environmental compliance and permitting, including drinking water, stormwater, wastewater treatment and reuse, and treatment plant operations.
  • Counsels clients on obtaining, amending, and transferring key water-quality permits, including Aquifer Protection Permits and AZPDES permits, and on compliance strategies under state and federal law.
  • Prosecuted violations of a municipal industrial pretreatment program, enforcing Clean Water Act driven pollution control requirements against non-compliant industrial and commercial facilities.
  • Served as environmental counsel for one of the nation’s largest and busiest airports, managing compliance, risk assessment, and litigation matters tied to major facilities and operations.
  • Advised on PFAS and other emerging contaminant issues, including regulatory developments, compliance planning, and risk management strategy.
  • Counseled clients on Underground Storage Tank compliance and administrative enforcement matters, including corrective action and prevention-focused programs.
  • Advised a municipality on investigation and cleanup issues involving volatile organic compounds associated with the Motorola 52nd Street Superfund site.
  • Represented a municipality in a multi-party CERCLA cost-recovery action seeking significant response costs tied to groundwater contamination in metropolitan Phoenix.
  • Developed governance and land-use documentation for residential and mixed-use projects, including comprehensive CC&Rs addressing operational standards, risk mitigation measures, and common-area management.
  • Advised on land-use entitlements and development approvals supported by water demand and economic impact analyses, including waiver and variance strategy tied to utility service constraints.

The Clark Hill approach is equally pragmatic and growth-minded, which is why we understand our clients’ toughest business challenges. Our multidisciplinary, global team of advisors focuses on smart legal solutions, delivered simply.

© 2026 Clark Hill PLC.