Practice areas
Bar & Court Admissions
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1976
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, B.S. (economics), magna cum laude, 1971
- Beta Gamma Sigma honor society
Professional & Community Activities
PENJERDEL Council
- Board of Directors and Executive Committee, since 1998
- Chair of Environmental Committee, since 1998
Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey
- Chair of Environment Committee, since 1999
- Board of Directors (1999-2004) and Executive Committee (2004)
Greater Philadelphia Green Business Program
- Organizing Committee, 2009-2010
New Jersey State Bar Association
- Environmental Law Section
Builders League of South Jersey
- Action Committee, 1996-2008
New Jersey Builders Association
- Environment Committee, since 1996
New Jersey Business and Industry Association
- Environmental Network, since 1995
New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association
- Associate Member, since 2009
Governor-Elect Chris Christie’s Transition Team
- Environment Committee, 2009-2010
Previous service:
- Environmental Commission for Voorhees Township, NJ, 2004-2005
- Board of Governors, Jewish Geriatric Home, Cherry Hill, NJ, 1997-2000
- Leadership Committee, American Heart Association Heart Walk, 2002-2003
- Rules Committee, Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board, 1990-1996
“Identifying cost-effective regulatory outcomes for clients’ complex projects requires experience, creativity and sensitivity to the clients’ needs.”
A cofounder of the firm and its first managing partner, Bruce has over thirty years of experience in the practice of environmental law. He is the partner in charge of the firm's New Jersey practice and also continues to counsel Pennsylvania clients.
Bruce’s practice includes all of the key environmental regulatory programs, however he gains the most satisfaction from assisting his industrial and real estate clients to solve complex regulatory issues under the web of state and federal water, solid waste and site remediation laws. His clients include one of the world’s largest waste management companies, the developer of one of the largest fully LEED-certified mixed-use brownfield redevelopment projects in New Jersey and numerous industrial companies addressing legacy site cleanups. Clients also look to Bruce for creative approaches to due diligence and liability management in a wide variety of real estate and corporate transactions and a new area of interest is the firm’s sustainability practice. Bruce has testified on major revisions to the New Jersey site remediation laws and served on former New Jersey Governor Christie’s environmental transition team, which made recommendations that resulted in significant reforms to a variety of state environmental programs.
Outside the office, Bruce is a proud husband and father to two grown children. He also includes grandfather in his list of accomplishments. He enjoys an occasional round of weekend golf and recreational biking, reads voraciously, listens to indie, country and classic rock music and is a long-time subscriber to the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Bruce has represented industrial, real estate, and municipal clients in the following types of matters:
- Brownfields Redevelopment - working with commercial and residential real estate clients in developing and implementing creative brownfields reuse strategies under state voluntary cleanup programs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and the federal land revitalization initiative and helping clients secure state and federal financial assistance for such projects;
- Waste Management and Recycling - advising waste management industry clients concerning landfill and transfer station siting, permitting, operations compliance, landfill closure and redevelopment opportunities, and recycling activities;
- Site Remediation - developing cleanup compliance strategies for industrial clients for operating facilities, plant closures and off-site waste disposal sites to address historic contamination under state (New Jersey and Pennsylvania) and federal (Superfund, RCRA and TSCA-PCB) cleanup programs;
- New Jersey LSRP Program - advising multiple New Jersey clients regarding the use of licensed site remediation professionals to oversee the cleanup of contaminated sites under New Jersey’s Site Remediation Reform Act;
- Natural Resource Damages - assisting clients to cost-effectively resolve natural resource damages claims under New Jersey’s natural resource damage initiative for groundwater, wetlands, and other affected resources utilizing both monetary and resource-to-resource settlements;
- Sustainability - counseling clients concerning legal requirements regarding renewable energy, energy conservation, green building and other sustainability initiatives, including federal and state financial assistance and tax incentives;
- Real Estate Development - obtaining regulatory approvals for real estate development and industrial projects under applicable New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and federal environmental programs, including coastal and waterfront development permits, wetlands permits, National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits, and water supply permits;
- Transactions - advising buyers, sellers, and financial institutions concerning environmental issues affecting the purchase, sale, and financing of real estate or businesses and negotiating and documenting the parties’ understandings in purchase agreements, loan documents, and escrow and indemnity agreements;
- Leasing - negotiating and documenting lease terms for lessors and lessees to allocate responsibility for environmental conditions arising prior to and during the leasehold;
- Insurance - helping clients obtain and negotiate the terms of environmental insurance policies including pollution legal liability and cost-cap insurance;
- ISRA - counseling parties to New Jersey transactions that trigger the requirements of New Jersey’s Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA), developing creative strategies to facilitate closing and compliance with ISRA and assisting in the implementation of cleanups where necessary;
- Regulatory Compliance - counseling clients on regulatory compliance, including environmental auditing and compliance management system development, addressing spill reporting requirements and recordkeeping obligations, and responding to agency information requests.
- Enforcement - negotiating consent orders and consent decrees to resolve enforcement cases and address regulatory compliance and site remediation issues under federal and state laws.
Bruce has lectured and written extensively on various environmental law subjects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He has also served as an adjunct Lecturer-in-Law at Temple University Law School and authored the chapter on solid waste management in the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's treatise, Pennsylvania Environmental Law and Practice.
Before founding Manko, Gold, Katcher and Fox LLP, Bruce was a founder and partner in the Environmental Law Department of Wolf Block. Between college and law school, he worked for the Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Treasury Department for two years.
Honors & Awards
- Chambers USA - America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (environmental law) 2005, 2007-2009. The Chambers list is issued by Chambers and Partners. Click here to view the selection methodology.
Best Lawyers® 2021 Environmental Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Cherry Hill, NJ. Best Lawyers® in America listings (environmental law), since 1995. The Best Lawyers list is issued by Woodward/White Inc. Click here to view the selection methodology. - Pennsylvania’s and New Jersey’s Super Lawyers listings (environmental law), since 2005 and 2006, respectively. The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. Click here to view the selection methodology.
- AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated through Martindale Hubbell®. Click here to view the selection methodology.
- No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey or any other jurisdiction.
Press Releases
- November 5, 2020
- Bruce Katcher Named the Best Lawyers® 2021 Environmental Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Cherry Hill, NJAugust 20, 202016 Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox Attorneys Included in Best Lawyers 2021 and Four Named to Inaugural Ones to Watch List
- June 8, 2020Gotanda, McCabe, Moshang and Schiller Included in Top 50 Women Pennsylvania Listing
- April 22, 2020
- April 21, 2020
- September 26, 2019
- August 19, 201915 MANKO, GOLD, KATCHER & FOX ATTORNEYS INCLUDED IN BEST LAWYERS 2020
- May 23, 2019Fox and McCabe Included on Top 100 List for Philadelphia; McCabe and Moshang Included in Top 50 Women Pennsylvania
- March 5, 2019
- August 15, 201814 Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox Attorneys Included in Best Lawyers 2019
- May 21, 2018McCabe, Moshang and Schiller Included in Top 50: 2018 Women Pennsylvania Super Lawyers; McCabe Included on Top 100 List for Philadelphia
- May 14, 2018
- April 23, 2018Region-Wide Search Spearheaded by Wawa, 6abc and Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP
- November 28, 2017
- October 12, 2017
- August 15, 2017
- May 31, 2017
- May 22, 201770 Percent of the Firm Included in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Listing
- November 28, 2016Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey’s “Meet the Policymakers" Program Co-Sponsored by MGKF
- November 10, 2016Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey’s “Meet the Policymakers" Program
- October 27, 2016Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox Signs on as the Benefactor Sponsor
- August 18, 2016
- May 31, 2016
- April 26, 2016Region-Wide Search Spearheaded by Wawa, 6abc and Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP
- April 21, 2016
- March 1, 2016$10,000 in Honorariums to be Awarded in 2016
- December 14, 2015
- August 24, 2015
- May 19, 2015
- March 24, 2015
- November 4, 2014
- May 28, 2014
- May 27, 2014
- May 13, 2014
- November 4, 2013
- August 22, 2013
- July 8, 2013
- May 20, 2013
- May 15, 2013
- September 4, 2012
- May 29, 2012
- September 27, 2011
- September 22, 2011
- May 23, 2011
- September 15, 2010
- May 10, 2010
- July 20, 2009
- June 17, 2009
- January 21, 2009
Seminars & Speaking Engagements
"New Jersey Environmental Update: Regulations, Remediations & Responsibilities" presented by MGKF and Roux, Cherry Hill, NJ, November 14, 2018
MGKF Webinar "New Jersey Remedial Investigations: New Extended Deadline Explained," February 10, 2014
"Sustainability Is Good Business," sponsored by MGKF for the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey in Voorhees, NJ, October 5, 2012
"Stormwater Regulations & Enforcement in the Real Estate Development Industry: The D.R. Horn Settlement," presented for the Builders League of South Jersey Business Management Series, September 22, 2011
"Taking the Mystery Out of Opting-In to NJDEP's LSRP Program," sponsored by MGKF and Environ in Edison, NJ, February 25, 2011
"Taking the Mystery Out of Opting-In to NJDEP's LSRP Program," sponsored by MGKF and Environ in Cherry Hill, NJ, February 15, 2011
"Business Opportunities for Companies that Focus on Renewable Energy and Infrastructure," sponsored by Select Greater Philadelphia, May 10, 2010
"Untangling the Web of LSRP Regulations," sponsored by MGKF in Cherry Hill, NJ, December 15, 2009
New Jersey's New Site Remediation Reform Act," sponsored by the Builders League of South Jersey in Cherry Hill, NJ, August 5, 2009
"Green Power: Harnessing the Potential of Alternate Energy Sources," as part of "South Jersey: The People, Power & Politics," presented by the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey in Voorhees, NJ, February 6, 2009
Media Coverage
- September 24, 2019The Legal Intelligencer
- August 27, 2019NJBIZ
- May 23, 2019MontCo.Today
- May 23, 2014Main Line Times
- March 26, 2012Litigation Counsel of America Firm Spotlight
- February 15, 2009The Philadelphia Inquirer
Special Alerts
- NJDEP Holds January 20, 2021 Stakeholder Meetings on Environmental Justice Law Implementation IssuesJanuary 25, 2021
- January 12, 2021
- January 11, 2021
- January 11, 2021
- October 22, 2020
- October 6, 2020
- September 21, 2020
- September 10, 2020COVID-19 Update
- August 20, 2020COVID-19 Update
- July 6, 2020COVID-19 Update
- July 1, 2020COVID-19 Update
- June 2, 2020
- May 18, 2020COVID-19 Update
- May 12, 2020COVID-19 Update
- May 4, 2020COVID-19 Update
- April 27, 2020COVID-19 Update
- April 23, 2020COVID-19 Update
- April 22, 2020COVID-19 Update
- April 20, 2020COVID-19 Update
- April 10, 2020COVID-19 Update
- April 8, 2020
- March 27, 2020COVID-19 Update
- January 28, 2020
- January 21, 2020
- January 21, 2020
- August 29, 2019
- August 26, 2019
- July 11, 2019
- June 27, 2019
- June 21, 2019
- January 14, 2019
- January 14, 2019
- January 14, 2019
- January 14, 2019
- September 6, 2018
- September 4, 2018
- January 18, 2018
- January 18, 2018
- January 18, 2018
- January 18, 2018
- November 27, 2017
- November 9, 2017
- February 10, 2017
- January 23, 2017
- January 22, 2017
- January 22, 2017
- January 22, 2017
- September 1, 2016
- July 5, 2016
- June 23, 2016Critiques NJDEP Delay in Ranking of Hazardous Discharge Sites
- February 15, 2016
- January 25, 2016
- January 25, 2016
- June 18, 2015
- June 18, 2015
- February 3, 2015
- January 6, 2015
- March 27, 2014
- January 21, 2014
- August 1, 2013
- June 26, 2013
- February 7, 2013
- January 17, 2013
- November 16, 2012
- July 23, 2012
- June 14, 2012
- May 31, 2012
- February 9, 2012
- November 7, 2011New Jersey LSRP and Site Remediation Reform
- August 5, 2011
- June 13, 2011
- October 6, 2010
- August 8, 2010
- May 8, 2010
- January 25, 2010
- January 8, 2010
- November 12, 2009
- November 5, 2009
- September 8, 2009
- July 6, 2009
- May 12, 2009
- May 8, 2009
- March 18, 2009
- February 10, 2009
- December 22, 2008
- November 24, 2008
- November 16, 2008
- November 9, 2008
- September 11, 2008
- August 16, 2008
- August 16, 2008
- August 16, 2008
- August 16, 2008
- June 5, 2008
- May 16, 2008
- May 16, 2008
- May 16, 2008
- May 16, 2008
- May 16, 2008
- May 16, 2008
- April 21, 2008
- April 16, 2008
- January 16, 2008
- January 16, 2008
- November 16, 2007
- November 16, 2007
- September 26, 2007
- August 16, 2007
- August 16, 2007
- August 16, 2007
- June 13, 2007
- May 16, 2007
- May 16, 2007
- May 16, 2007
- May 16, 2007
- May 11, 2007
- January 16, 2007
- January 16, 2007
- October 19, 2006
- January 16, 2006
- January 16, 2006
- January 16, 2006
- January 16, 2006
- January 16, 2006
- January 16, 2006
Articles
- November 21, 2018New Jersey Law Journal
- July 11, 2014The Legal Intelligencer
- August 10, 2012The Legal Intelligencer
- July 1, 2011Association of Corporate Counsel's "Green-house Counsel" - Top Ten
- June 12, 2009Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
- February 13, 2009The Legal Intelligencer
- June 27, 2008Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
- July 27, 2007NJPA Real Estate Journal