Practice Areas:
Jeff focuses his practice on complex regulatory matters, climate change, environmental disputes, solid and hazardous waste, environmentally sensitive projects and transactions, brownfields and contaminated site redevelopment, and environmental insurance coverage. He represents public and privately-held companies, real estate developers, financial institutions, REITs, and private equity funds. He has significant experience representing non-US clients in cross-border transactions.

Education:

• Columbia Law School (1985; Charles Evans Hughes Fellow);
• Columbia College (1981).

Clerkship:

• Hon. Myron H. Thompson, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, M.D. Alabama.

Recognitions:

• Chambers & Partners (2007-2009);
• Best Lawyers in America (2007-2009);
• Law Business Research, International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (2006-2009);
• Practical Law Company, Cross-Border Environmental Handbook (2006-2009);
• New York Super Lawyers (2006-2009).

Representative Experience:

• Advice regarding climate change laws and regulations;
• Advice regarding proposed disposal facility for dredged materials;
• Litigation establishing eligibility for brownfield tax credits in New York State;
• AAA arbitration involving project delays arising from solvent contamination;
• Advice regarding proposed Superfund listing of Gowanus Canal;
• Remediation of former oil refinery for residential and waterfront use;
• Remediation of former manufactured gas plant for residential and commercial use;
• Remediation of former mining property for residential and hotel use;
• Cross-border transactions involving solid waste, mining, pulp and paper, energy, and industrial companies;
• Representation of lenders, REITS and private equity investors in environmentally sensitive transactions;
• Resolution of Superfund, hazardous waste, toxic tort, and environmental indemnity claims;
• Advice regarding legal issues arising from waste sent to the United States from other countries.

Bar Association Activities:

• Vice Chair, American Bar Association, Committee on Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Ecosystems;
• Vice Chair, American Bar Association, Committee on Environmental Disclosure.

Publications:

• Lender Beware: Navigating the Superfund Safe Harbor During Workouts and Foreclosures, New York Law Journal (2008);
• Climate Change Litigation: Could It Take Root Outside of the United States, Environmental Claims Journal (2008);
• Cross-Border Litigation Gains Traction in U.S. and Canadian Courts, Environmental Claims Journal (2008) (with Dennis Mahony and Tyson Dyck of Torys LLP);
• State and Regional Carbon Reduction Markets in the United States, Environmental Claims Journal (2007);
• Pragmatic Environmental Diligence Needed to Stay Competitive in Acquisition Race, Wiley, Natural Gas & Electricity (2007);

Personal:
Mr. Gracer was previously a staff attorney for the ACLU, did human rights work in Argentina, and is active in pro bono matters. He has secured political asylum for clients fleeing persecution in Latin America and Africa, represents the Rainforest Alliance in connection with incentives for sustainable business practices, was co-counsel in a class action that reformed a state foster care system, and defended a non-profit organization in an environmental dispute. He serves on the advisory board of the New York City Bar’s Vance Center for International Justice Initiatives, which promotes international pro bono work.