David B. Farer, Chair of the Environmental Department of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP, has been named President-Elect of the American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL), a national professional association of distinguished environmental lawyers.

Mr. Farer, who in 2008 became the first New Jersey attorney invited to fellowship in ACOEL, was voted President-Elect by the group’s Board of Regents.  He previously served as the organization’s Secretary, and for five years as co-chair of its Program & Education Committee. 

As President-Elect, Mr. Farer will oversee the coordination and planning of next year’s Annual Meeting in New York City.  He will then begin a one-year term as President to run through Autumn 2016, during which time he will oversee operations and projects of the College, and focus on furthering goals that are set at the 2015 meeting.

Mr. Farer is a nationally renowned environmental lawyer with over three decades of experience concentrated on the impact of environmental laws on transactions and real property in New Jersey and around the nation. His work encompasses 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 arising from those issues, and the emerging field of sustainable development and green building.  Mr. Farer serves as a court-appointed Special Master in environmental lawsuits in New Jersey. He is a qualified mediator under New Jersey court rules, and has also been selected by the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, to serve on the District’s Panel of Mediators.

Prior to joining Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis 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. He has written and lectured extensively on environmental issues.   

The American College of Environmental Lawyers is dedicated to maintaining and improving the ethical practice of environmental law, the administration of justice, and the development of environmental law at both the state and federal level.  Membership is by invitation, and members are recognized by their peers as preeminent in their field.