Joe is a founding partner of Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP with more than 40 years of experience advising clients on environmental matters involving real estate transactions and development, regulatory permitting and compliance, environmental reporting and alternative dispute resolution.

Joe’s experience as the EPA Region III’s general counsel, after almost 10 years as a corporate practitioner, gave him the ability to see and therefore provide counsel on environmental issues in real life situations.

He spent 18 years teaching environmental law courses at the University of Pennsylvania and Vermont Law Schools.  Prior to founding the firm in 1989, Joe founded and chaired the Environmental Department at Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen.  Manko served for 27 years as an elected commissioner and officer on the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners, giving him insight into municipal issues.

He is the past chair of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, former vice chair of the State Water Law Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and past chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association. 

Appointed by Governor Tom Ridge in July 1997, Joe served on Pennsylvania's 21st Century Environment Commission and served as Governor Rendell’s designee to chair the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) from 2003-2012. He co-chaired Mayor Nutter’s Sustainability Advisory Board from 2008-2015. 

Away from work, Joe serves as the Vice President and Development Co-Chair of the Fairmount Park Conservancy and as an Executive Committee member and Co-Chair of the Development Committee for the Philadelphia Orchestra.  He formerly served on the Fairmount Park Commission board and serves on the Advisory Boards of the Philadelphia Film Society and the Community Partnership School.

He has received numerous awards from environmental and conservation organizations and served as a co-chair of several councils for the Urban Land Institute.  Joe was a member of various task force committees for governmental agencies, including co-chair of the Philadelphia Sustainability Board and a member of the Philadelphia Zoning Board under former Mayor Nutter.

Joe and his late wife of 55 years, Lynn, have 3 children and 6 grandchildren.  His avocations are golf, tennis and traveling.

Representative experience includes the following:

• negotiating and drafting the environmental provisions included in transactional documents involving the sale, purchase, leasing, and financing of real estate;
• counseling with respect to the development and redevelopment of brownfield properties, including attainment of governmental cleanup liability protection under Pennsylvania and New Jersey brownfield programs and the federal Superfund program;
• negotiating documents to effect the settlement of violations of permits or government laws alleged by the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Departments of Environmental Protection ("DEPs") and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA");
• obtaining regulatory approvals for real estate developments from the Pennsylvania and New Jersey DEPs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other federal and state regulatory agencies and municipalities;
• representing clients before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board and state and federal administrative agencies and courts;
• serving as a mediator or arbitrator in numerous environmental cases, including the allocation of costs to be incurred by responsible parties in several Superfund disputes involving tens of millions of dollars; and
• advising clients and formulating policy on emerging issues related to the emission of greenhouse gases and other aspects of climate change.

• Chambers USA - America's Leading Lawyers for Business (environmental law) since inception in 2003. The Chambers list is issued by Chambers and Partners. Click here to view the selection methodology.
• The Best Lawyers® in America listings (environmental law, arbitration and mediation), since 1991. The Best Lawyers list is issued by Woodward/White Inc. Click here to view the selection methodology.
• Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers listings (environmental law, energy and natural resources, and alternative dispute resolution), since 2004 ; Top 100 Philadelphia Super Lawyers listing (2005; 2007; and 2012-2013); and Top 100 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer listing (2004; 2006-2007). 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. 
• Compass Award 2015, Philadelphia Outward Bound
• Lifetime Achievement Award 2015, The Legal Intelligencer
  
  Civic Leadership in the Philadelphia area (2012), Fairmount Park Conservancy
• "Regional Leader of the Year" (2010), Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
• Winsor Award (2007), Pennsylvania Environmental Council
• Lower Merion Conservancy's Annual Award (2002)
• The Pennsylvania Bar Association's Environmental, Mineral and Natural Resources Law Section's Annual Award (2001)
• Conservation Professional of the Year (2000)
• Pennsylvania Wildlife Federation Montgomery County Democrat of the Year (2000)
• No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey or any other jurisdiction.

BLOGS:

City of Margate, New Jersey
December 3, 2014 
American College of Environmental Lawyers

Doin' the Dunes:  What Will They Cost? - Part III
December 2, 2013
American College of Environmental Lawyers

Doin' the Dunes:  What Will They Cost? - Part II
July 19, 2013
American College of Environmental Lawyers

Doin' the Dunes:  What Will They Cost?
June 11, 2013
American College of Environmental Lawyers

Preserving and Protecting Philadelphia's Water and Park Systems
June 7, 2013
World Class Greater Philadelphia

"Federal and State Environmental Issues," presented at the PBI Environmental Law Forum in Harrisburg, PA, April 10, 2024

"Federal and State Issues 2023", moderator at the PBI Environmental Law Forum, Harrisburg, PA, March 15, 2023

"Federal and State Issues" presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Environmental Law Forum in Harrisburg, April 6, 2017.

"Disruptive Technology, Ten Million People, and a Warmer Planet" a program of the Urban Land Institute Philadelphia, September 27, 2016

"Managing Environmental Risks to Get the Deal Done” presented at the 2016 Temple Real Estate Institute, April 14 and May 3, 2016 

"Environmental Issues Update for Real Estate Lawyers," presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's A Day on Real Estate in Philadelphia, PA, August 5, 2015

"Environmental Issues Update for Real Estate Lawyers," presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's 18th Annual Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia, PA, December 5, 2014

"Practical Tips for Buying and Selling Contaminated Property," presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's 17th Annual Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia, PA, December 5, 2013

“Green Infrastructure – Rethinking Roads, Bridges and Waterways,” presented at the Delaware Valley Green Building Council’s (DVGBCs) 3rd Annual PA/NJ Sustainability Symposium in Philadelphia, March 12, 2013

"New Requirements for Benchmarking and Reporting Energy and Water Usage in Commercial Buildings in Philadelphia -- What Real Estate Lawyers Need to Know," presented by the Pennsylvania Bar Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia, PA, December 5, 2012

"Sustainability Legal Issues & Risk Management Strategies for Existing Buildings," presented at the Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA, May 1, 2012

"Greening Your Real Estate Deals: Opportunities and Risks in Sustainable Development" presented by the Temple Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia, PA, April 16 and May 10, 2012

"Making Sense of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy," presented by the Pennsylvania Bar Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2011

"Water, Water ... Everywhere? Anywhere? Who's Going to Pay?" presented by the Urban Land Institute for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission ("DVRPC"), Philadelphia, PA, August 11, 2011

"Builder Developer Summit," presented by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Conshohocken, PA, April 27, 2011

"It Takes A Village, So Build It - Citizenship and Getting Involved," presented at the Main Line Chamber of Commerce Leadership Main Line Class of 2011 program, April 13, 2011

"Adapting to Climate Change in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed," presented by the Chesapeake Bay Program's Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee in Philadelphia,  March 15, 2011

"Green Building & Sustainability:  Managing the New Risks," presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia, PA, December 2, 2010

"Green Project Financing: How to Get the Green Elements of Your Construction Project Funded," presented by MGKF and the Delaware Valley Green Building Council in Philadelphia, November 8, 2010

"Funding in Infrastructure Driving Economic Prosperity - 2010," presented at the Third Annual Pennsylvania Infrastructure Summit in Philadelphia, May 20, 2010

"Business Opportunities for Companies that Focus on Renewable Energy and Infrastructure," sponsored by Select Greater Philadelphia, May 10, 2010

"Federal and State Issues," presented at the annual Environmental Law Forum sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute in Hershey, PA, April 22, 2010

"Green Building Update - Managing the New Risks," presented by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's at the 13th Annual Law Institute in Philadelphia, PA, December 3, 2009

"Impact of the Federal Stimulus Package on Clean Water Infrastructure," presented at the Montgomery County Planning Commission in Norristown, PA, April 16, 2009

"Environment & Energy Funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," sponsored by MGKF in Philadelphia, PA, March 17, 2009

"Liquid Assets: A Philadelphia Perspective," presented by the Fairmount Water Works' Schuylkill Soundings at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center in Philadelphia, February 2, 2009

"Environmental Impacts on Real Estate: New Developments and Emerging Trends," presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia, December 4, 2008

"Current Environmental Issues for Commerical and Industrial Real Estate Professionals," presented by the Temple University Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia, April 22, 2008

"The Impact of Climate Change on Real Estate Development," presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia,  December 5, 2007

"Federal and State Issues" presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's 22nd Annual Environmental Law Forum, April 6, 2017