In my career as an environmental lawyer, I have focused on bringing people together to achieve cleanups, revitalize sites, resolve disputes. I concentrate on finding solutions and common ground. Outside of the legal world, I've found that the same bottom line applies: In the end, it's always the people who matter.
Mr. Farer concentrates his practice on the impact of environmental laws on transactions and real property in New Jersey and around the nation. A nationally renowned environmental lawyer, he has been on the cutting edge of developments in the environmental sector since the 1980s. He is a Past President of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, where he is currently Co-Chair of the International Pro Bono Committee. Among his speeches in international settings were presentations at Oxford University's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, and at the XI International Convention on Environment and Development in Havana, Cuba. Most recently, he led a delegation of American environmental lawyers who participated in a February 2023 symposium in Havana with Cuban counterparts on the topic “USA-Cuba Key Environmental Issues: Lessons Learned – Lessons Shared.”
Mr. Farer has extensive experience related to the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties including brownfields, environmental compliance and insurance issues, institutional and engineering controls, assessing and negotiating liability under federal and state Superfund laws, resolution of environmental issues in bankruptcy proceedings, litigation and dispute resolution arising from those issues, and the field of sustainable development and green building. He advises clients on environmental contractual protection techniques, due diligence, transaction-triggered environmental laws, funding options for brownfields redevelopment, state and federal cleanup liabilities, deed notices and use restrictions, and environmental disclosures. He also has substantial experience as special environmental counsel in bankruptcy proceedings, dealing with state and federal environmental authorities in the process of estimating and resolving environmental liabilities of bankrupt entities.
Mr. Farer has served as Special Master in environmental lawsuits in New Jersey, having been appointed to those positions by Judges of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division. He regularly mediates environmental disputes, and is a qualified mediator under New Jersey court rules. He has also been selected by the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, to serve on the District’s Panel of Mediators, and continues to be appointed to successive terms on the panel.
Prior to joining the firm in January 2012 as chair of its newly established Environmental Department, Mr. Farer chaired the Environmental & Brownfields practice group at Farer Fersko, where he established that firm's environmental practice in 1984.
For over thirty years, Mr. Farer has written and lectured extensively on environmental issues in New Jersey and nationally. He developed and chaired two long-standing American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE, formerly ALI-ABA) national courses of study: "The Impact of Environmental Law on Real Estate and Business Transactions: Brownfields and Beyond," presented since 1987, and "Environmental Insurance." Since the mid-1980s, he has developed and presented numerous seminars for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), including his longstanding series of lectures, programs and associated manuals on New Jersey’s Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA, formerly ECRA) and New Jersey’s Brownfield Law. His most recent NJICLE programs focused on New Jersey's Site Remediation Reform Act and its Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) program.
Having completed his service as President of the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL), Mr. Farer’s recent work as co-chair of the International Pro Bono Committee has focused on his role in leading ACOEL’s efforts in developing pro bono projects in Cuba. In addition to the Cuba projects mentioned above, in February 2021, during the pandemic, he participated in a webinar, co-sponsored by Columbia University, ACOEL, a Cuban NGO and the Environmental Defense Fund, on the topic of reinvigorating and expanding U.S./Cuba environmental cooperation.
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Honors & Awards
- American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL) Fellow: President (2015-2016); first New Jersey attorney appointed to fellowship; Executive Committee; International Pro Bono Committee Co-Chair; ACOEL Cuba Working Group, Chair; Program and Education Committee (past co-Chair); regular contributor to ACOEL’s blog on environmental law topics
- American Bar Foundation Fellow
- Listed in The Lawdragon Green 500: The 2024 Leaders in Environmental Law (a publication of Lawdragon Inc.)
- Listed in Chambers USA (a publication of Chambers and Partners) in the Environment practice area (2005 – present)
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© (a trademark of Woodward/White, Inc.) in the Environmental Law practice area (2007 – present)
- Selected by Best Lawyers® (a trademark of Woodward/White, Inc.) as 2015 Woodbridge "Lawyer of the Year" in Environmental Law
- Listed in New Jersey Super Lawyers (a Thomson Reuters business) in the Environmental and Environmental Litigation practice areas (2005 – present)
- Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent (a trademark of Internet Brands, Inc.) (1990 – present)
- Selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Legal – Environment (a publication of Law Business Research Ltd.) (2010 – present)
- Selected for inclusion in the Who’s Who Legal 2017 - Compendium Edition (a publication of Law Business Research Ltd.)
Please visit our Award Methodology page for a description of the standard or methodology on which these accolades are based. Attorney Advertising: No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Activities & Experience
- Led a February 2023 delegation of Fellows of the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL) at a two day symposium in Havana, “USA-Cuba Key Environmental Issues: Lessons Learned – Lessons Shared.” Topics covered included the latest developments in the structure of environmental laws and regulations in Cuba and the community enforcement of those laws. Read our press release for more details.
- Moderated a November 2021 national course on “Environmental Insurance: Latest Developments and Emerging Issues,” presented by American Law Institute CLE.
- Participated in a February 2021 webinar, co-sponsored by Columbia University, ACOEL, a Cuban NGO and the Environmental Defense Fund, on the topic of reinvigorating and expanding U.S./Cuba environmental cooperation.
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Delivered a presentation on “Lessons Learned: Effective Environmental Regulation of Critical Infrastructure Development & Operation” as a member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers’ delegation to the XI Annual International Convention on Environment and Development, which was held in Havana, Cuba in July 2017
- Presented a talk at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford in March 2015. Mr. Farer spoke on the topic of "Real estate & business transactions as prime drivers of environmental compliance activities in the U.S. - Sources/Developments/Latest Trends."
- American Bar Association; Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources; Section of Dispute Resolution
- Interviewed David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, at the October 2012 annual meeting of the American College of Environmental Lawyers in Washington, D.C. In 2009, Mr. Farer had the honor of interviewing Mr. Hayes for a special ACOEL presentation on the Obama administration’s environmental initiatives and priorities.
- Interviewed for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) website on the legislative and regulatory impacts of Superstorm Sandy, vapor intrusion and other environmental issues in the workplace (March 2013); on the regulation of environmentally sustainable building (March 2012); on brownfield redevelopment opportunities (March 2011)
- Argued successfully before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in U.S. v CDMG Realty Co., where the court held that an interim property owner cannot be held responsible under the federal Superfund law for “passive migration” of pre-existing contamination. Click here to read the Court's opinion.
- Lectured in London on U.S. environmental law issues. The three-day, April 2002 international law symposium was co-sponsored by the U.K. Law Society, the European Company Lawyers Association and ALI-ABA. Faculty members included former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, senior judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals and other noted U.S. teachers and practitioners.
More Activities & Experience
- Jazz musician, performing on alto and soprano saxophone. Released his first album – Netanya's Dream – in June 2017 on CD Baby and iTunes. Comprised of eight of his own compositions, the album features the David Farer Quartet.
- Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival Board President
Presentations & Speaking Engagements
- Moderator/Panelist, Environmental Insurance: Latest Developments and Emerging IssuesSponsor: American Law Institute CLE, November 3, 2021
- Sponsor: American College of Environmental Lawyers, Columbia University, Environmental Defense Fund, and Foundation Antonio Nunez Jimenez of Nature and Humanity, February 22, 2021
- Sponsor: The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law, March 12, 2019
- Planning Chair and Faculty Member, The Impact of Environmental Law on Real Estate and Business Transactions: Brownfields and BeyondSponsor: ALI CLE (formerly ALI-ABA) National Course of Study, 1987- forward
- Planning Chair and Faculty Member, ISRA ComplianceSponsor: New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 1985 - forward
- Planning Chair and Faculty Member, Environmental Insurance: Emerging Issues and Latest Developments on the New Coverage and Insurance Cost RecoverySponsor: ALI CLE National Course of Study, 2000 – forward
- Sponsor: Justice Marie L. Garibaldi American Inn of Court for Alternative Dispute Resolution, May 7, 2015
- Moderator/Presenter, The Changing Face of Site Remediation & Development in New Jersey: The Impact of Sandy, LSRPs and Other Critical IssuesSponsor: New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, November 21, 2013
- Planning Chair and Faculty Member, Allocating Environmental Risk in Transactions: Case Law and Drafting TipsSponsor: ALI CLE Audio Webinar, June 25, 2014
- Sponsor: PlanSmart NJ, September 12, 2013
- Discussion Leader, Environmental Hazards in the WorkplaceSponsor: NAREIT REITWise 2013 Law, Accounting & Finance Conference, March 20, 2013
- It's Not Just About OSHA!Sponsor: New Jersey Corporate Counsel Association 10th Annual Full Day CLE Conference, September 12, 2012
- Presenter, Allocation of Environmental Risks in TransactionsSponsor: American College of Environmental Lawyers Annual Meeting, September 2011
- Planning Chair and Faculty Member, Environmental Insurance: Market Update and the Latest on Negotiation and Claim StrategiesSponsor: ALI-ABA Video Webcast, May 1, 2011
- Planning Chair and Faculty Member, Allocating Environmental Risk in Transactions: Case Law and Drafting TipsSponsor: ALI-ABA Audio Webinar, March 2011
- Discussion Leader, Green Issues RoundtableSponsor: NAREIT REITWise 2011 Law, Accounting & Finance Conference, March 2011
- Faculty, Environmental Law Update: Hot Topics for In-House CounselSponsor: New Jersey Law Journal In-House Counsel CLE Seminar, November 2010
- Planning Chair and Faculty Member, Site Remediation Reform and the New LSRP System: Transactional, Technical and Brownfield ImpactsSponsor: New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, March 2010
- Moderator, Climate Change Legislation and RegulationSponsor: American College of Environmental Lawyers Annual Meeting, October 2009
- Planning Chair and Faculty Member, ISRA 2009: Environmental Issues in Transactions & Brownfield Redevelopment & the New Site Remediation Reform ActSponsor: NJICLE, May 2009
- Discussion Leader, Green Leases RoundtableSponsor: NAREIT REITwise 2009 Law, Accounting & Finance Conference, March 2009
- Presenter, A Brownfield Redevelopment Case Study: K. Hovnanian’s Tides at Seaboard PointSponsor: Pace University Law School, May 2008
Publications & Alerts
- American College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, March 2023
- Chapter Author, Cuba-US Strategies on Furthering Environmental CooperationUS - Cuba Working Together Again: Lessons from Environmental Cooperation, Columbia University Cuba Program, 2021
- American College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, October 2021
- Author, ACOEL Posts Video of ACOEL-Columbia Univ-EDF-FANJ Joint Webinar on US-Cuba Environmental CooperationAmerican College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, August, 2021
- Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Client Alert, March 29, 2021
- American College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, April 2019
- Commerce Magazine (Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey), November 2018
- Author, Von Humboldt's GiftsAmerican College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, August 2018
- Commerce Magazine (Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey), April 2018
- American College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, September 2017
- American College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, October 2016
- Quoted, Environmental BusinessCommerce Magazine, November 2015
- Commerce Magazine, April 2015
- American College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, January 2015
- American College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, September 2014
- Commerce Magazine (Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey), April 2014
- American College of Environmental Lawyers Blog, April 2014
- NYC Follows with Executive Order on Flood Elevation StandardsGreenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Client Alert, February 2013
- ALI CLE Course of Study Materials, 2013 (updated since 1987)
- ALI CLE Course of Study Materials, 2013 (updated since 1987)
- ALI CLE Course of Study Materials, 2013 (updated since 1987)
- ALI CLE Course of Study Materials, 2013 (updated since 1987)
- ALI CLE Course of Study Materials, 2013 (updated since 1987)
- Author, ISRA Compliance: Environmental Issues in Transactions, Brownfield Redevelopment and the Site Remediation Reform ActNJICLE, 8th Edition 2013
- October 2012
- Commerce Magazine, (September 2012 – Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey)
- Author, Contractual Allocation of Environmental Risk in Transactions: Recent Case Law Developments under CERCLA and Selected Contract Excerpts From Synopsized Cases on Contractual Allocation of RiskALI-ABA Webinar Materials, March 2011
- Contributing Author, Environmental Aspects of Real Estate & Commercial Transactions: From Brownfields to Green Buildings – Chapter: "Transaction-Triggered Environmental Laws"American Bar Association, 4th Edition, 2011
- New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education Seminar Materials, 7th Edition, 2010
- Profiled in “Meet the Lawyers” as one of New Jersey’s leading real estate lawyers byReal Estate New Jersey Magazine, (2007, 2008)
News
- August 15, 2024
- June 6, 2024
- March 26, 2024
- September 19, 2023
- August 17, 2023
- March 14, 2023
- September 9, 2022
- August 18, 2022
Departments
Practice Groups
Education
Boston University School of Law, J.D., 1978
Lafayette College, B.A., 1975
Bar Admissions
- Massachusetts, 1978
- New Jersey, 1979
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1986
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1995
- Chambers USA 2024 -
(a publication of Chambers and Partners)
Editorial Excerpt: "Exceedingly broad practice which encompasses environmental litigation, regulatory compliance, transactional issues and redevelopment work."
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Please visit our Award Methodology page for a description of the standard or methodology on which these accolades are based. Attorney Advertising: No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.