This attorney has been selected for the recognitions mentioned herein, which have been conferred by the corresponding publications and/or organizations noted. An overview of the award selection methodologies for these recognitions can be found at https://www.gibbonslaw.com/awards. Links to certain specific methodologies are embedded in individual entries. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Mr. Sinkman represents plaintiffs and defendants in Superfund and other litigation matters regarding the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. He also represents buyers, sellers, and developers of contaminated properties.
Mr. Sinkman is a former Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Office of the Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau. In that role, he represented New York State agencies and handled Superfund cost recovery and natural resource damages litigation; litigation against manufacturers of firefighting foam, suppliers of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and the federal government, seeking in excess of $50 million for PFAS contamination at 69 sites in New York; leadership and coordination with other states on discovery and strategy regarding firefighting foam litigation; the creation of a multistate coalition regarding PFAS; litigation against an international organization seeking more than $40 million in flooding damages; and other environmental enforcement matters.
Prior to joining the Environmental Protection Bureau, Mr. Sinkman was in private practice in New York City. He also served as law clerk to the Honorable Richard Owen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition, Mr. Sinkman is a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Environmental & Energy Law Section and Co-Chair of the Section’s Enforcement and Compliance Committee, and he has served on environmental law panels for programs hosted by both the NYSBA and the New York City Bar Association.
Credentials
Education
Boston University School of Law (J.D.)
- Selected for the Sutherland Cup Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition in Washington, DC
- Edward C. Stone Moot Court
- President of the Jewish Law Students Association, 2006-2007
University of Michigan (B.A.)
Professional Admissions
State of New York
State of New Jersey
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
United States District Court for the Northern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Western District of New York
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Professional Activities
New York State Bar Association
Executive Committee, Environmental & Energy Law Section, 2019 – Present
Co-Chair, Enforcement and Compliance Committee, Environmental & Energy Law Section, 2019 – Present
Member, Global Climate Change Committee, Environmental & Energy Law Section
Member, Hazardous Waste/Site Remediation Committee, Environmental & Energy Law Section
Co-Chair and Principal Organizer, Earth Day Climate Change Symposia
April 22, 2020 and April 22, 2021 (now annual), sponsored by the New York State Bar Association and New York City Bar Association
New York City Bar Association
Member, International Human Rights Committee, 2016 – 2019
Member, New York Brownfield Partnership Board of Directors
Judicial Clerkship(s)
Judicial clerk to the Honorable Richard Owen, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, New York, NY, 2008 – 2010
Civic/Charitable Activities
Mr. Sinkman has regularly provided pro bono legal services while working in the private sector. His pro bono work has included representing an applicant for refugee asylum status based on religious and political persecution and representing clients in landlord-tenant matters.
Legal Employment
New York State Office of the Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau
Assistant Attorney General, 2016 – 2021