Attorney Profile

STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS

The Sherman Law Firm LLC
92 Park Street
Montclair, New Jersey 07042
Telephone 973-783-0284
Facsimile 973-783-0285
Email
www.theshermanlawfirm.com

James Sherman has practiced environmental law for the past 13 years. His work is now concentrated on advising buyers and sellers of contaminated property on compliance with federal and state “good faith purchaser” due diligence investigation requirements. Mr. Sherman also advises property owners on site clean up and redevelopment matters at industrial plants, shopping centers, and dry cleaner sites. The firm defends clients against governmental and private party enforcement proceedings and environmental cost recovery litigation.

From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Sherman was Assistant Counsel of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) where he advised the Commissioners, General Counsel, and senior staff of the operating units on compliance with federal and state environmental law. The NYCDEP has 4,000 employees, a capital budget in excess of $1 billion dollars/year, and delivers all the drinking water and manages all the sewerage for the City of New York. While at the NYCDEP, Mr. Sherman also advised the Bureau of Air, Noise, and Hazardous Materials on the development, implementation, and enforcement of multiple stationary and mobile source air pollution control programs. Mr. Sherman also served as New York City’s representative on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s air toxics advisory committee. While at the NYCDEP, Mr. Sherman wrote the New York City Dry Cleaner rule.

After leaving government service, Mr. Sherman worked at Lowenstein Sandler in Roseland, New Jersey from 1998 – 2001 where he advised clients on compliance with environmental law and regulations, the defense of private party cleanup cost recovery litigation, and represented policyholders in environmental insurance coverage litigation. In 2002 Mr. Sherman worked for General Electric helping to prepare for the successful defense of the $4 billion dollar natural resource damages (NRD) litigation brought against GE relating to the South Valley Superfund Site in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Thereafter, he was the senior associate at Scarinci & Hollenbeck in Lyndhurst, New Jersey where he was primarily engaged in several different brownfield redevelopment projects including the redevelopment of the former Curtiss-Wright aircraft engine plant in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey into a mixed-use transit village.

In 2004 he founded the Sherman Law Firm. The Sherman Law Firm is engaged in all aspects of environmental law including site remediation, ISRA, brownfields redevelopment, and the defense of governmental enforcement proceedings and private party cost recovery litigation. The firm also represents policyholders in environmental insurance coverage actions. Mr. Sherman has served as the Chairman of the Montclair Environmental Commission since 2003 and as a trustee of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) since 2006.

EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

Brooklyn Law School

J.D. 1991

Articles Editor, Brooklyn Law Review

Penzick Memorial Prize in Administrative Law

New York University Real Estate Institute

Diploma in real estate investment and analysis, 1987

QueensCollege, City University of New York

B.A. cum laude in Urban Studies, 1986

Research Assistant to Principal Research Scientist, Center for the Biology of Natural Systems

PUBLICATIONS

Overview of PERC Soil and Groundwater Remediation for Dry Cleaners and Property Owners (available at www.theshermanlawfirm.com) (2005)

How to Use Public Money to Finance Brownfield Redevelopment Projects

(available at www.theshermanlawfirm.com) (2005)

Energy Audits of Municipal Government Facilities: Lessons Learned

Bulletin of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (2005)

It’s Time to Dig and Haul: Ground-breaking Court-Ordered Cleanup of Contaminated Jersey City Site marks Potentially Fertile Ground for RCRA Citizen Suits, New Jersey Law Journal (July 14, 2003)

Know Your Data and Monitor Compliance: Because Just About Anything Can Be Credible Evidence of Compliance with, or Violation of the Clean Air Act, New Jersey Law Journal (February 19, 2001)

Transition Game: NJDEP’s Air Pollution Control Program, New Jersey Law Journal (October 23, 2000)

9 Steps to Redeveloping Brownfields, New Jersey Municipalities (May, 2000)

February 1, 2000 Public Meeting Deadline for 112r Risk Management Plan Off-Site Consequences Analysis under the 1999 Chemical Safety Information, Site Security, and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act, Lowenstein Sandler Environmental Law Alert (December, 1999)

Sustainable Montclair Planning Guide (April, 2003) (www.mtcenv.com)

SPEECHES

“Environmental Safeguards: Don’t Let Environmental Issues Kill Your Deal,” Small Cap Commercial Real Estate Lending, The Mortgage Broker’s Forum II. Orlando, Florida (April, 2006)

“The Emerging Hydrogen Economy,” Inauguration of the New Jersey Hydrogen Learning Center, Center for Energy, Economic, and Environmental Policy, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning, Rutgers University (2005)

“Kyoto Protocol Update,” Chemistry Council of New Jersey (February, 2002)

“Sustainable Communities” 2003 Mid-Atlantic Sustainability Conference

Pace Law School Energy Project ReCharge Energy Expo & Conference (2003)

“Sustainable Communities” with INFORM at Linklaters, New York City (2005)

TEACHING

2005 Rutgers University – Cook College Environmental Law and Regulation “Short Course”

POSITIONS

Chairman, Montclair Environmental Commission, 2003 – present

Trustee, Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, 2005 - present

BAR ADMISSIONS

New York (1992), Massachusetts (1994), New Jersey (1999)

United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York (1992); United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (1999)

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

National League of Cities

Representative Transactional, Litigation, and Compliance Counseling Matters

1. Transactional
   • Representation of Purchaser of Fairmount Chemical Co., Newark, NJ
     
     
   • Representation of Purchaser of West Penetone Chemical Co., Tenafly, NJ
     
     
   • USEPA Audit Policy disclosure, Novartis acquisition of Invamed, Dayton, NJ
     
     
   • Representation of Purchaser of Curtiss-Wright Plant, Wood-Ridge, NJ
     
     
   • ISRA compliance for Purchaser of Continental Can Co. Plant, Paterson, NJ
2. Litigation
   • Defense of Ciba-Geigy (mass toxic tort groundwater contamination)
     Toms River, NJ
     
     
   • Defense of Heterene Chemical Co. (parallel/concurrent USEPA, USDOJ, NJDEP, PVSC, and Passaic County criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement proceedings) Paterson, NJ
     
     
   • Defense of Napp Chemical (Stepan Chemical mass toxic tort case) Maywood, NJ
     
     
   • Defense of General Electric Aircraft Engines (natural resource damages)
     South Valley Superfund Site, Albuquerque, NM
     
     
   • Representation of BOC Group against Carbon/Graphite Group in corporate environmental indemnification claim at multiple sites in NY, PA, KY
3. Regulatory Compliance Counseling
   • VOC RACT Compliance, Infineum (Exxon Chemical Co.), Linden, NJ
     
     
   • Title V Permitting, PolyOne Corp. facility, Burlington, NJ
     
     
   • Title V Permitting/NSR Compliance, NYCDEP wastewater pollution control plants
     
     
   • Private Wastewater Treatment Services, Dupont Chambers’ Works, Deepwater, NJ
     
     
   • CAA 112(r) Risk Management Plan preparation and reporting, Heterene Chemical Co., Paterson, NJ
     
     
4. Representative Dry Cleaner Matters
   • Millburn Mall, Millburn, NJ shopping center (defense of private party cost recovery action);
     
     
   • Bergen Valet, Bergenfield, NJ stand-alone facility (preparation of environmental terms and conditions of sale of property);
     
     
   • Riverton, NJ stand-alone facility (defense of dry cleaner against NJDEP Administrative Consent Order (ACO) enforcement proceedings and site remediation management matters);
     
     
   • Plainsboro, NJ shopping center (defense of private cost recovery action and eviction proceeding);
     
     
   • Franklin Square, NJ shopping center (sale of business);
     
     
   • Red Bank, NJ stand- alone facility (sale of property)
     
     
   • Iselin, NJ shopping center (defense of private cost recovery action and negotiation of structured settlement);
     
     
   • Parsippany, NJ shopping center (representation of shopping center owner in site remediation issues and management, private cost recovery action, environmental insurance coverage, and landlord – tenant matters);
     
     
   • Cinnaminson, NJ shopping center (representation of dry cleaner in Zoning Board of Adjustment proceedings for (d)(1) use variance to install hydrocarbon technology at new regional shopping center);
     
     
   • Ridgewood, NJ commercial building (representation of landowner in environmental insurance recovery action against multiple insurers for costs of cleaning up dry cleaner contamination from business that ceased operations in 1976 and remediation management);
     
     
   • Voorhees, NJ shopping center (defense of private party cost recovery action)
     
     
   • New York, New York, multiple mixed-use high-rise residential apartment houses (representation of multiple dry cleaners in lease negotiations, commercial transactions, and new technology selection matters).