Gibbons Director David J. Freeman Receives Distinguished Service Award From New York City Brownfield Partnership
David J. Freeman, a Director in the Environmental Group of Gibbons P.C., has been honored by the New York City Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP) as the 2021 recipient of the organization’s Distinguished Service Award. The Award promotes excellence in brownfield redevelopment each year by honoring an individual who has made a significant impact on brownfield redevelopment in New York City.
As a founding Board member of the NYCBP, Mr. Freeman was responsible for much of the initial organizational nonprofit structure and served as NYCBP Board President during a critical period, helping to pave the way to the Partnership’s current success. He has served on multiple committees and chaired the Legislative/Policy Committee, which has maintained a close and interactive watch over the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program. He continues to serve the NYCBP as an Emeritus Board Member and participant in the Redevelopment Roundtables, and he remains active in advising on regulatory policy.
“Those of us who work with David at Gibbons are delighted he is being recognized for his career-long achievements in the areas of environmental law and brownfield redevelopment in New York City,” said Camille V. Otero, Chair of the firm’s Environmental Group. “His invaluable contributions to our New York based environmental practice and clients further demonstrate his commitment to excellence.”
Mr. Freeman has over 40 years of experience representing buyers, sellers, and developers of contaminated properties, as well as both plaintiffs and defendants in Superfund and other litigation regarding the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. He was involved with the formation of the New York State Bar Association Environmental & Energy Law Section’s Future of Federal Environmental Policy Task Force. Mr. Freeman’s extensive professional and pro bono activities also include service as Vice Chair of the New York State League of Conservation Voters Education Fund; Co-Chair of the New York State Bar Association Environmental & Energy Law Section’s Brownfield Task Force and its Committee on Hazardous Waste/Site Remediation; and Special Legal Counsel to the United Nations Environment Programme for North American Environmental Affairs. A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School, Mr. Freeman started his career in Washington, D.C. at the office of Senator Frank E. Moss, United States Senate, then at the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission. He earned a 2012 Burton Award as “an outstanding law firm author” and the 2001 New York State Bar Association Environmental & Energy Law Section’s Distinguished Service Award. He is a frequent speaker and writer on environmental law topics.
About the Environmental Group at Gibbons P.C.
The Gibbons Environmental Group is recognized among the region’s top-tier environmental practices, with talented attorneys who have decades of environmental experience in both the public and private sectors, some of whom are former environmental scientists and engineers possessing strong working ties to regulatory agencies. Group members handle all areas of environmental law, most recently playing leading roles in various multi-party remediation matters that have arisen in large and complex sediment remediation sites in New Jersey and New York. The team also focuses on environmental litigation, regulatory compliance and permitting matters, redevelopment (including brownfields projects), and the environmental components of real estate and corporate transactions.
About Gibbons P.C.
With 200 attorneys, Gibbons is a leading law firm in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, DC, and Florida, recognized nationally for its work – for example, as one of only 20 law firms on the National Law Journal’s inaugural “Midsize Hot List” – as well as regionally. The New Jersey Law Journal has awarded Gibbons a “Litigation Practice of the Year” designation four times in recent years, in the class actions, products liability, and commercial litigation categories and with the overall “General Litigation Practice of the Year” honor. Law360 has highlighted the firm’s multidisciplinary litigation strength, and its contributions to several high-profile corporate and real estate transactions in the public and private sectors, in its “Regional Powerhouse” series. For the past four years, Gibbons was selected one of the top three law firms and lobbying firms in New Jersey in the NJBIZ Reader Ranking Awards. The firm has been certified as a great workplace by the independent analysts at the Great Place to Work® organization. For more information about Gibbons, visit gibbonslaw.com.