Matthew Richardson

Partner

Matthew E. "Mal" Richardson has dedicated his entire career to municipal law, with a focus on municipal government, land use and environmental law. A partner in Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Municipal Law practice group, Mal is the city attorney for the cities of Lake Forest and Stanton.

Since beginning his practice, he has served as deputy, assistant or city attorney continuously to numerous cities throughout California, including Laguna Beach, Duarte, Azusa, Claremont and Mammoth Lakes. Mal also serves as associate counsel to the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission. Cities and public agencies rely on Mal for his counsel on the legal issues that regularly confront them, including the California Environmental Quality Act, the Planning and Zoning Law, the Subdivision Map Act, civil rights laws, the Political Reform Act, the Brown Act, development agreements and more.

While Mal is a skilled general counsel, successfully navigating the interplay between law and policy, he also has vast experience in complex land use issues. Since 2010, Mal has served as lead counsel for the Opportunities Study Project, a large-scale commercial, residential and mixed-use project in Lake Forest, involving the rezoning and development of more than 900 acres. Mal’s work on this project has included acquisition of land for construction of an 80-plus acre sports park, a civic center and community center, major arterials, and the financing and construction of more $200 million in public facilities.

In 2013 and 2014, Mal was named to the Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for his work in government law. For the past two years, Mal has served on the League of California Cities’ Housing, Community and Economic Development Policy Committee. Mal has also served as general counsel for the Association of California Cities since 2012.

Mal received his law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. Prior to attending UCLA, Mal received graduate and undergraduate degrees in comparative literature from Brigham Young University.

Mal has presented papers, lectures and training to the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the California Chapter of the American Planning Association and the Association of California Cities Orange County. He has also served as a land use instructor for the University of California, Irvine Extension. Mal regularly provides ethics training to clients and non-clients.

Mal is married with four daughters and one son.

Education

• University of California, Los Angeles, J.D.
• Brigham Young University, M.A.
• Brigham Young University, B.A.

Bar Admissions

• California

Awards

• Super Lawyers “Southern California Rising Star,” Government (2013-2015)