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David B. Farer
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As a leader of the firm’s environmental practice, David focuses his representation of clients 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 remained on the cutting edge of developments in the environmental sector since the 1980s. He 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 sustainable building initiatives.

David 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 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.

David has served as a court-appointed Special Master in environmental lawsuits in New Jersey.   He regularly mediates environmental disputes and is a qualified mediator under New Jersey court rules, with a specialized focus on matters involving environmental laws and issues, including insurance-related claims. He has been selected by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to serve on the District’s Panel of Mediators and has continued to be appointed to successive terms on the panel.

David is a past President of the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL), where he currently co-chairs the International Pro Bono Committee with a focus on leading and continuing ACOEL’s efforts in developing pro bono projects in Cuba. Among his speeches in international settings have been 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.  Since 2015, he has led and participated in several multi-day symposia in Havana with Cuban counterparts and ACOEL colleagues on reinvigorating and expanding U.S./Cuba environmental cooperation, as has also participated in related webinars.

Prior to joining the firm, David chaired the environmental practice at Farer Fersko, where he established that firm's environmental practice in 1984. For over forty years, he has written and lectured extensively on environmental issues in New Jersey, nationally, and internationally. He developed and chaired longstanding national courses of study and related publications on environmental law topics for the American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education, and longstanding programs and associated manuals on ISRA, brownfield and other New Jersey laws, and environmental insurance for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts, 1978
  • New Jersey, 1979
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1986
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1995

Education

  • Boston University School of Law, J.D., 1978
  • Lafayette College, B.A., 1975

  • Led a March 2025 delegation of Fellows of the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL) at a four-day series of environmental workshops and related events in Havana, Cuba that included approximately forty Cuban participants, including participants from two Cuban Non-Governmental Organizations, the Cuban Environment Agency known as AMA, faculty from the University of Havana law school and others.  Also participated, virtually, in a July 2025 panel at the biennial international environmental convention in Havana, on the topic of “Women, Youth and Older Adults in the Face of the Climate Emergency
  • 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.
  • 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. David 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, David 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.
  • 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

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