John F. Calkin

John Calkin works on a wide range of environmental and related administrative matters on behalf of clients, including state and federally mandated remediation and facilities and corporate compliance. Prior to joining Wilson Elser, John was a law clerk to the Honorable Deanne M. Wilson, Presiding Judge, General Equity, New Jersey Superior Court, Morris/Sussex Vicinage. John also served as Attorney at the Delaware River Basin Commission, where he restarted compliance/enforcement programs and drafted sections of the Draft Natural Gas Development Regulations.

Before choosing a career in the law, John served as a long-time corporate environmental manager for a $4 billion manufacturing corporation. In that capacity, he was responsible for several aspects of the environmental performance of the corporation, including, among others, the environmental aspects of transactional due diligence, facilities compliance and incident responses at multiple operating and closed facilities nationwide. John regularly worked with and guided facility operations personnel and consultants to obtain favorable terms and conditions for initial permits as well as permit renewals and modifications. He also worked with numerous regulatory and administrative bodies to resolve issues. John likewise managed operations at remedial sites and worked with in-house and local counsel to negotiate formal settlements and consent decrees.

In addition, John served many years as an environmental consultant addressing numerous clients' remedial and compliance needs.

Committed to service and community, John was an organizing committee member for a major Human Trafficking Conference held at Drew University and helped organize weekly trips over several months to rebuild homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy in Monmouth County. He served as a volunteer fireman and chaired a church committee advocating ecumenical and interfaith understanding and cooperation. Prior to attending law school, John was an event committee member and served as Roads and Tracks Steward for the Gladstone Equestrian Association. In addition to assisting with numerous national championships, John helped stage the first equestrian world championships in North America.