ROI Influencers: Environment 2023 — Why Dennis Toft is our No. 1 pick

Dennis Toft
Chair, Environmental Law Group
Cheisa, Shahinian & Giantomasi

It would be easy to call this a lifetime achievement award. Toft, of course, has been recognized as one of the top environmental lawyers for decades — one whose impact on the state goes far beyond legal proceedings, into the shaping of policy and regulations that have helped both the environmental and business community.

Doing so, however, would overlook the present and the future. Toft is as impactful and influential now as he has ever been — a go-to source for environmentalists, government officials and business leaders.

It’s for these reasons and more that Toft is No. 1 on the inaugural ROI Influencers: Environment list.

Of course, this doesn’t surprise anyone who has worked with Toft over an extraordinary career.

With an undergraduate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a law degree from Columbia Law School, Toft seemingly has been a thought leader from Day One on the job. It’s why he has worked with every governor and administration the past three decades on policy issues and environmental concerns.

An expert in all aspects of environmental law with a nod toward his work regarding brownfield redevelopment, Toft regularly appears before the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, municipal land use boards and the Office of Administrative Law, and in state and federal courts.

He played a key role in the adoption of the New Jersey Brownfields and Contaminated Site Remediation Act — and in the development and adoption of the New Jersey Site Remediation Reform Act, which establishes a Licensed Site Remediation Professional program in New Jersey.

Today, when environmental issues have never been more important, Toft remains the go-to expert. A career of excellence: Absolutely. But a book of business today that remains as strong as ever.

Read all of our honorees: