Lawrence F. Jacobs

Lawrence F. Jacobs is a shareholder at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. and chair of the Environmental Group. He advises private and public clients in all phases of regulatory compliance with environmental laws, brownfields redevelopment and land use permitting.

Results achieved in prior matters are not meant to be a guarantee of success as the facts and legal circumstances vary from matter to matter. Mr. Jacobs has extensive experience negotiating with federal, state and local authorities on permit applications and enforcement proceedings. He has secured multi-million dollar recoveries for environmental remediation, served as lead counsel on the redevelopment of one of New Jersey's most notorious Superfund sites, and has supervised the permitting and land acquisition for both conventional and renewable energy facilities.

Mr. Jacobs is the co-author of a chapter in the two-volume treatise “Commercial Real Estate Transactions in New Jersey” and the author of several articles regarding brownfields development, liability protection and renewable energy. Mr. Jacobs is also a frequent lecturer on environmental and redevelopment issues for planning organizations and for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

Mr. Jacobs has served in various leadership capacities for the New Jersey District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the international education and research institute that represents the spectrum of land use and real estate development disciplines in private enterprise and public service. He currently serves on ULI’s Technical Advisory Panel and previously served as its Chair from 2007-2010 and as its Vice Chair and Programs Chair. Under Mr. Jacobs' leadership, ULI-NJ tackled the difficult land use and economic policies confronting the real estate and development community, and convened the important decision-makers to foster responsible land use policies and to promote best practices in land development. 

Mr. Jacobs serves as the Mayor of Bedminster Township. He has served as a member of the Bedminster Township Committee since 2012 and the Bedminster Township Land Use Board since 2011. He previously served on the Bedminster Township Environmental Commission, the Bedminster Hills Housing Corporation (Bedminster's affordable housing agency), the Bedminster Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Clarence Dillon Library Board, and the Recreation Committee. In 2018, he created and managed the introduction of the Bedminster Farmers Market, and continues to serve on the Farmers Market Committee.

Mr. Jacobs has been distinguished with a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating. Mr. Jacobs has been ranked in Chambers USA since 2015, as well as selected for inclusion in the New Jersey Super Lawyers list in 2005, 2006, and since 2010. He has also been selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America list since 2012 for Environmental Law and Litigation - Environmental, including as "Lawyer of the Year" for Environmental Law in 2019.

Chambers USA® (https://chambers.com/about-us/methodology) is published by Chambers and Partners.

Super Lawyers® (http://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process_detail.html) is published by Thomson Reuters.

Best Lawyers in America® (https://www.bestlawyers.com/methodology) is published by Best Lawyers.

Martindale-Hubbell® (https://www.martindale.com/ratings-and-reviews/) is published by Internet Brands, Inc.

A description of the selection processes may be accessed via the above links. The aforementioned organizations are private peer review organizations, not court-specific, public certification vehicles. No aspect of this advertisement has been submitted to or approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.