Best Best & Krieger News Feed

BB&K Welcomes Four New Partners; Two Of Counsel Attorneys

24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Jan. 24, 2012
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Best Best & Krieger LLP has promoted four attorneys across California to partner for 2012 and elevated two associates to of counsel, the law firm announced Tuesday.

“We feel we have a very strong group of new partners and we are excited to have them become part of BB&K’s future,” said Eric Garner, managing partner of the law firm, which has 200 attorneys working in eight offices across California and a ninth office in Washington, D.C.

The new partners are:

- Stacey N. Sheston, based in the Sacramento office and co-leader of the firm’s labor and employment practice group. As a litigator, Sheston represents public agency and private employers in mediations, arbitrations, administrative hearings and court proceedings involving wrongful termination, breach of contract, unpaid wages, harassment, discrimination and retaliation. She also provides legal advice on day-to-day employment matters such as discipline and termination, requests for disability accommodations as well as leave of absence, and wage and hour issues. Prior to joining BB&K in 2010, she was a shareholder at McDonough Holland & Allen in Sacramento. She received her law degree from the University of California, Davis, in 1996.

- Jason M. Ackerman, who is a Riverside-based member of the environmental and natural resources practice group. His practice focuses on assisting renewable energy clients with site control, securing water rights and project permitting, and helping them to comply with state and federal environmental laws. In addition, Ackerman provides general and special counsel services to several of the firm’s public agency clients. He received his law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 2001.

- Peggy Hosking, a Riverside-based business attorney whose practice focuses on mergers & acquisitions and commercial real estate transactions, such as the recent acquisition of a film and television editing studio and the sale of a minor league baseball team. In addition, she serves as general counsel for various corporations such as iHerb.com in Moreno Valley. Hosking serves on the board of the Commercial Real Estate Women-Inland Empire Chapter. She graduated from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1997.

- Tyree K. Dorward, who is based in San Diego where he is a member of the firm’s school law, special districts and municipal law practice groups. Dorward’s practice focuses primarily on school business and facilities issues, public works purchasing, bidding, construction and environmental issues. He received his law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2000.

The attorneys who were promoted to of counsel are:

- Joseph T. Ortiz in Riverside who is part of the firm’s labor and employment practice. An experienced trial lawyer, Ortiz has successfully tried employment matters before state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and arbitration tribunals on claims of all types. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 2001.

- Matthew L. Green, based in the San Diego office and whose practice focuses on civil litigation where he represents both public entities and private clients in state and federal court. Prior to joining BB&K in 2004, Green served as a judicial law clerk to the late U.S. District Judge Napoleon A. Jones, Jr. in the Southern District of California. Green received his law degree from California Western School of Law in 2003.

BB&K Names New Managing Partner for Law Firm’s Sacramento Office

17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Jan. 17, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Edward J. Quinn, Jr., a BB&K partner who is well-known in Northern California for economic development, land use and redevelopment law, has been named managing partner of Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Sacramento office.

Quinn will oversee the day-to-day operations and long-term planning for the Sacramento office, the third largest of nine BB&K offices across California and in Washington D.C.

Attorneys working in the Sacramento office, 32 in all, focus on municipal, environmental, health care, business and redevelopment law. They include Harriet Steiner, who serves as city attorney for Davis, Iris P. Yang, who is the city attorney for Paso Robles and T. Brent Hawkins, general counsel to the California Redevelopment Association.

“It is an honor to be chosen to head up this office and to lead a great group of attorneys who are highly respected in their practices,” Quinn said.

Quinn replaces Gene Tanaka, an environmental litigator who was elected to the firm’s executive committee and will remain office managing partner in Walnut Creek, where he is based.

Quinn joined BB&K in 2010 from McDonough Holland & Allen where he was chief executive officer. Quinn has been named to highly respected “The Best Lawyers in America” for land use and zoning law every year since 2007, and for municipal law for the past three years. He holds the Martindale-Hubbell AV rating and is a co-author of Redevelopment in California (Solano Press, 2d ed. 1995).

In the Sacramento community, Quinn served as president of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization and chairman of the organization’s Pacific Rim committee; ex-officio director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; chairman of the International Trade Committee of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and trustee of the Sacramento Country Day School.

Quinn received his law degree at the University of Michigan, where he served on the editorial board of the Michigan Law Review; and at Harvard Law School, where he earned an LL.M. in International Law.

BB&K Adds Two Attorneys to Riverside Office

22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Dec. 22, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Two attorneys raised in Inland Southern California recently joined Best Best & Krieger LLP in Riverside where they became members of the environmental law and natural resources practice.

Attorneys in the practice, one of BB&K’s largest and oldest firm-wide, focus on water rights, the California Environmental Quality Act, stormwater regulations, renewable energy and land use law, among other environmental issues.

Its most recent additions are Stephanie R. Straka and Lucas I. Quass.

“We are happy to be welcoming such stellar young attorneys to the practice,” said Steven Anderson, the Riverside-based attorney who leads the practice across eight offices in California and one in Washington, D.C.

Straka, a graduate of Norte Vista High School in Riverside, was a summer associate at BB&K in 2010. She graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco in 2011.

During law school, Straka interned at the Chief Counsel’s Office of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Francisco. She also served as a judicial extern with Justice Thomas Hollenhorst of the California Court of Appeal in Riverside, where she conducted research and drafted tentative opinions, among other things.

Quass, who grew up in Hinkley, Calif., a San Bernardino County town near Barstow, graduated from the University of Southern California Law School in 2011. He was inducted into the Order of the Coif, a national law school honorary society, for ranking in the top 10 percent of his graduating class.

During law school, Quass was a summer law clerk at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, where he helped the region’s largest urban water supplier with matters concerning ongoing litigation. He also served as a judicial extern to U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton in Sacramento.

Both attorneys passed the California Bar earlier this year and are considered associates at the firm.

BB&K’s Jeffrey Dunn Named Among Top 25 Municipal Attorneys in California for 2011

08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Dec. 8, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

IRVINE, Calif. _ The Daily Journal has named Jeffrey Dunn, a public agency litigator at Best Best & Krieger LLP, as one of the Top 25 municipal lawyers in California for 2011.

Dunn was singled out for court wins where he fought for a city’s right to use its land use authority to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. Most recently, the 4th District Court of Appeal issued a published opinion on Nov. 9 that upheld Riverside’s ban of storefront medical marijuana dispensaries.

The ruling, Dunn said, was the first published opinion to address an outright ban.

"Marijuana dispensaries have become a significant concern for many of the cities BB&K represents, and we are glad that Jeff Dunn's success in representing them on this issue has been recognized," said Jeff Ballinger, an Ontario-based attorney who leads BB&K's municipal law practice group across eight offices in California and a ninth office in Washington D.C.

The Daily Journal Corp., publisher of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals, issued its list of the top 25 municipal law attorneys in a special supplement to Wednesday’s editions.

“This is an honor I share with the rest of the firm’s municipal attorneys as these cases are truly a collaborative effort,” said Dunn, who has been with BB&K since 1987 and is based in Irvine.

In addition to Riverside, Dunn secured published appellate opinions in the last couple of years that sided with Corona and Claremont on similar issues involving medical marijuana dispensaries.

BB&K Re-Elects Eric Garner as Managing Partner for Fourth Term

29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Nov. 29, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Partners at Best Best & Krieger LLP elected Eric Garner to another two-year term as managing partner and Gene Tanaka, a toxics and land use litigator, as a new member of the executive committee tasked with making key decisions for the firm. The appointments are effective immediately.

It marks the fourth term as managing partner for Garner, a water rights attorney who since 2005 has sat at the helm of California’s 27^th largest law firm with nearly 200 attorneys working at eight offices across the state and a ninth office in Washington D.C.

“Eric's re-appointment is a true testament to his leadership skills and the confidence our partners have in his ability to chart a course for the firm's long-term success,” said James Gilpin, a San Diego-based attorney who has been on the firm’s executive committee for 10 years.

Under Garner’s leadership, the firm nearly tripled the number of attorneys in its Sacramento office and acquired a telecommunications law firm in Washington D.C., the first out-of-state office in BB&K’s 120-year history.

"The recent growth at BB&K has sparked several new opportunities and I am excited to help the firm pursue them," Garner said.

At BB&K since 1987, Garner has litigated cases and negotiated key agreements involving major water bodies across the state, including the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the Mojave River, the Santa Ana River, and groundwater basins beneath Santa Maria, Chino, Monterey and the Antelope Valley.

Garner also co-wrote “California Water” and its updated 2007 edition, “California Water II,” widely considered to be the leading text on historical, legal and policy issues surrounding the state’s more precious resource.

He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1987.

Tanaka, who has been with the firm since 1985 and is based in Walnut Creek, was elected to his first, two-year term on BB&K’s executive committee, comprised of four partners and the firm’s managing partner.

Tanaka is best known for his litigation work in federal court on cases such as the BAC site in Merced involving over 2000 toxic tort plaintiffs, the Montrose case involving the cleanup of contaminants in the Pacific Ocean and the perchlorate contamination in the Rialto-Colton groundwater basin in Inland Southern California.

“I have been at the firm for a long time and it has been a great place to work so being selected to sit on the executive committee is a great honor and a tremendous responsibility,” Tanaka said.

Tanaka, who graduated from Columbia Law School in 1981, replaces George Reyes, a business attorney who sat on the executive committee for four years and helped craft the firm’s five-year strategic plan that was completed in 2010.

“George’s strong business acumen became very helpful as we determined the focus of the firm’s future,” Garner said.

BB&K Hires Former Police Chief To Join Law Enforcement Team

24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Oct. 24, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Bob Miller, former Colton police chief and one-time head of Cal State San Bernardino’s campus police department, has joined Best Best & Krieger LLP as a law enforcement and public integrity specialist.

A 25-year veteran of the Colton Police Department, Miller will be working with a team of attorneys from the firm’s nine offices across California and in Washington D.C. who focus on law enforcement and public integrity issues.

“Bob’s depth of experience as a police veteran brings a unique perspective to the police issues that we handle,” said Dean Derleth, a partner with BB&K who is a city attorney and a leader of the firm’s municipal and redevelopment law practice.

“We have successfully represented police departments for many years, and Bob’s credibility as a law enforcement leader is a terrific addition to our team,” Derleth said.

BB&K serves as city attorney for more than 30 cities across the state and is special counsel to hundreds more public agencies across the state and around the country. BB&K’s law enforcement specialists routinely work on police issues for cities, including officer-involved shootings, excessive force, public safety communications, and other police issues. Miller will assist with those cases as well as independent investigations involving public integrity and labor issues, and law enforcement internal affairs reviews. His expertise will also serve other public agencies, such as school districts, with campus and other security-related issues.

Miller, who lives in Yucaipa, Calif., began his law enforcement career in the U.S. Army, and was first hired as a Colton police officer in 1987. He worked his way up to corporal, detective, sergeant, lieutenant and captain before leaving in 2006 to become chief of Cal State San Bernardino's campus police force. He was rehired as Colton’s police chief in 2007, and spent a brief stint as interim city manager in 2009. He retired as Colton’s police chief earlier this year.

“I have worked with several attorneys at BB&K and have always had a lot of respect for them and the firm,” Miller said. “After retirement I sought this opportunity because I thought this firm would be a great fit for me. I have been in public service all of my life, and I could sense that BB&K’s culture is largely identified by its integrity and service to so many cities and other public agencies.”

Miller holds a master’s degree in management from the University of Redlands, and graduated from the FBI Academy’s 12-week leadership course for police commanders.

BB&K Attorney Eric Garner To Take Part in Key International Water Conference

19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Eds Note: Much of the water conference in Thailand was canceled (after this press release was issued) due to massive flooding in Bangkok. The conference will be rescheduled. The IBA conference in Dubai went on as scheduled.

For Immediate Release: Oct. 19, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

LOS ANGELES _ Eric Garner, a well-known water attorney in California and member of the International Bar Association group that tackles legal challenges to water resources globally, will attend a United Nations-sponsored conference in Thailand next week designed to examine solutions to worldwide water challenges. *

Garner, of Best Best & Krieger LLP, is the only practicing attorney on his panel and one of only two Americans taking part in the First International Environment Forum for Basin Organizations, starting Oct. 26 in Bangkok. He will be among officials from Asia, Africa and Latin America who are examining ways to improve ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, abate climate change impacts and ensure adequate enforcement of sustainable regulations of transboundary water resources.

In all, there are more than 260 freshwater river systems and more than 270 groundwater basins shared by two or more countries that face increasing pressure from a growing human population to supply drinking water, irrigation, power and recreation while at the same time provide habitat to fish, plants and wildlife.

The Bangkok conference is being convened by the United Nations Environment Programme, widely known as UNEP, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations, or UNESCO, as well as the Thai government.

Garner hopes the conference will be a first step in implementing a memo of understanding that he signed on behalf of the IBA Water Law Committee in April with UNEP officials. The agreement for the first time launched a collaboration between the International Bar Association’s Water Law Committee and UNEP to conserve, protect and work toward the sustainable use of water bodies worldwide.

“The agreement aims to bring the experience of legal experts around the globe to support and advance the goals of UNEP to improve our most vital natural resource," said Garner, former chair of the associations’ Water Law Committee and current council member of the association’s Section on Energy, Environmental, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law.

The memo of understanding, Garner said, also responds to a call from the International Bar Association leadership that its committees and attorneys respond to requests for help from non-governmental organizations such as UNEP.

In Bangkok, Garner will be joining representatives from UNEP and watershed managers and stakeholders for the three-day conference. Garner will speak on a panel examining environmental laws and regulations of transboundary river systems. Among the panelists will be Arnold Kreilhuber, UNEP’s legal officer of the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions.

A prominent water rights attorney in California and managing partner of BB&K, Garner is also the co-author of California Water and the 2nd edition, California Water II – widely considered to be the leading text on the history, law and policy of the state’s most precious natural resource.

After Bangkok, Garner will travel to Dubai where he will attend the International Bar Association’s annual conference and update the committee on progress made in Bangkok.

Also attending the conference of more than 4,000 lawyers and legal professionals, the world’s largest gathering of attorneys, will be BB&K attorneys Michelle Ouellette and Jill Willis.

Ouellette is the treasurer for the association’s Environment, Health and Safety Law Committee, and Willis is an officer of the Water Law Committee.

BB&K’s Gerard Lavery Lederer Receives Prestigious Award from NATOA

03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Oct. 3, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. _ Gerard Lavery Lederer, a Best Best & Krieger LLP attorney who focuses on telecommunications law and advocacy, received the prestigious Member of the Year Award from the National Association of Telecommunication Officers and Advisors.

“NATOA is proud that Gerry is our member of the year,” said NATOA’s Immediate Past President Ken Fellman. “He has given tirelessly to our organization and its members, and has been a strong, consistent and effective advocate for local government interests in communications.”

The award was presented on Sept. 21 to Lederer as a surprise during NATOA’s 31st Annual Conference in San Francisco.

"I am humbled by board's recognition and warmed by the embrace of the NATOA membership in affirming the board's action," said Lederer, who is based in BB&K’s Washington, D.C. office.

“NATOA has long been at the tip of the spear of local government's efforts to protect their constituents and to ensure a community obtains fair compensation for the use of public assets, “ he said.

Lederer is among the BB&K attorneys filing comments with the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of NATOA and its national local government partners, including the United States Conference of Mayors, International Municipal Lawyers Association and the National League of Cities, making the case that local government right-of-way policies and procedures do not hinder or delay broadband deployment.

Lederer has been associated with NATOA since 1985 and a member since 1999.

BB&K's Gregory Wilkinson Named Among Top 100 Lawyers in California

21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Sept. 27, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ The Daily Journal today named Gregory K. Wilkinson, an environmental and water attorney at Best Best & Krieger LLP for the last 25 years, as one of the Top 100 lawyers in California for 2011.

Wilkinson was singled out for successfully arguing before U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno that the federal government must fairly and honestly address the water needs of humans before reducing deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California’s largest water source, to cities and farmland in order to protect species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

“This is a tremendous honor and I feel extremely privileged to be selected among such distinguished company,” Wilkinson said.

The Daily Journal Corp., publisher of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals, issued its list of the top 100 attorneys in a special supplement to today’s editions. According to the State Bar of California, there are more than 225,000 attorneys statewide.

Wilkinson was representing the State Water Contractors and, through them, the 25 million Californians who rely on the State Water Project to deliver water to their homes and businesses during two key arguments before U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno.

The arguments were won last year during ongoing cases involving the Delta smelt and various species of salmon that are protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

In a ruling on May 18, 2010 in the so-called Consolidated Salmonid Cases, Wanger agreed with Wilkinson when he wrote: “Federal Defendants have acted arbitrarily and capriciously in formulating [Reasonable and Prudent Alternative] Actions to protect threatened species under the ESA that lack factual and scientific justification, while effectively ignoring the irreparable harm those RPA actions have inflicted on humans and the human environment.”

It was not the first time a court agreed with Wilkinson on this topic. In Bennett v. Spear, Wilkinson successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that those facing negative economic impacts because of protections stemming from the Endangered Species Act have standing to sue. The court issued its ruling in 1997.

Before joining BB&K in 1986, Wilkinson served nine years as a deputy attorney general in California specializing in water law matters and four years as the chief of land and water resources law for the Development Law Service of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy.

In 2000 and 2001 he led a team of United Nations and World Bank experts in rewriting the water law of Namibia to eliminate apartheid-era rules regarding water allocation.

A longtime resident of Redlands, Wilkinson has been involved with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Riverside and San Bernardino counties for a number of years and is currently the president of the organization's board. The food bank provides about 25 million pounds of food each year and is feeding more than 300,000 people every month _ many of them Inland Empire children _ through a variety of churches, shelters and other community-based organizations.

Wilkinson, who grew up in Garden Grove, is a 1969 graduate of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont. He received his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 1972.

Twelve Best Best & Krieger Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America for 2012

06 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0800

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Twelve lawyers from Best Best & Krieger LLP offices throughout California were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012. (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.).

BB&K attorneys who were ranked as leaders in their fields include Eric Garner, a water rights attorneys and managing partner of the nine-office law firm, for environmental litigation.

Best Lawyers, established in 1983, is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 39,000 attorneys cast almost 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed.

Other BB&K attorneys bestowed with the honor include the following from the Riverside office: Michelle Ouellette, for energy, environmental, environmental litigation and natural resources law; Gregory K. Wilkinson and Arthur L. Littleworth for energy, environmental litigation, natural resources and water law; and George M. Reyes for corporate law.

In the firm’s Ontario office, Stephen P. Deitsch, who serves as city attorney to Indian Wells, Arcadia, Big Bear Lake and Shafter, was named for municipal, land use and zoning law. Also named in the municipal law category was John E. Brown, who serves as city attorney to Ontario and as town attorney for Apple Valley.

The attorneys honored in the Sacramento office were Ed J. Quinn Jr. and Joseph E. Coomes, Jr. for municipal, land use and zoning law; Harriet Steiner, the city attorney for Davis, for municipal law and municipal litigation, and Iris P. Yang, city attorney for Paso Robles, for municipal litigation.

In Walnut Creek, Roderick E. Walston was named for natural resources and water law.

BB&K Adds Three New Attorneys in Southern California

10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: Aug. 10, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Three attorneys who work on construction litigation, school law and environmental law have joined Best Best & Krieger LLP in offices throughout Southern California.

Thomas J. Eastmond, of counsel, joined the firm’s Irvine office where he represents public and private property owners in real estate and construction litigation on a wide range of issues, including contracts, payments, financial disputes, delay and inefficiency claims, and claims of defective construction. He also represents public agencies in other litigation matters.

Eastmond’s legal work, both at the trial court and appellate levels, has centered around the construction of roadways, reservoirs, airports and other infrastructure projects, shopping centers and industrial facilities. He has particular expertise with the state and federal False Claims Acts and the Miller Act.

Eastmond, who was previously with Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP in Costa Mesa, was a member at-large in 2003-2004 for the Newport Beach Environmental Quality Affairs Committee, which reviewed and commented on environmental impact reports submitted to city agencies.

He graduated from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law in 2000.

Other attorneys who recently joined BB&K, which has eight offices across California and one in Washington D.C., are:

Yonit M. Kovnator, an associate based in Riverside who represents school districts in general school law matters, including special education, student rights and discipline, and litigation.

She received her law degree in 2010 from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento with a concentration in public law and policy. Prior to joining BB&K, Kovnator worked with a solo practitioner in Claremont and volunteered with the United Way of the Inland Valleys.

Wendy Wang, who joined the Los Angeles office as an associate and works with public and private clients on matters involving environmental and water law, eminent domain, municipal ordinances and business litigation. Previously, she worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in Los Angeles, where she represented clients in a variety of litigation matters in both state and federal courts. She also worked as an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Los Angeles, where she provided advice and drafted agreements to lenders and corporations regarding complex financial transactions.

Wang received her law degree in 2003 from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Asian Pacific American Law Journal. She speaks fluent mandarin Chinese.

Local Government Groups Urge FCC to Reject Regulating Local Rights-of-Way For Cell Phone Towers, Broadband

25 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: July 25, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

Washington, D.C. _ A coalition of national associations representing most of the nation’s cities and counties urged the Federal Communications Commission to support local control of rights-of-way so private companies cannot bypass local zoning rules and fees when expanding broadband and cellular service.

The National League of Cities and seven other associations made the request in comments, which were written by Best Best & Krieger attorneys in Washington, D.C., and filed last week with the FCC. The federal agency is considering whether to regulate local governments as it reviews cell tower and road trenching requests by the telecommunications industry.

Such a move, the organizations say, would lead to the loss of billions of dollars in much needed cost-recovery fees for cities and counties. The organizations said zoning and right-of-way management are purely local matters and the federal government should stay out.

“This proceeding at the FCC is very threatening to core local government interests,” said Nicholas Miller, a BB&K attorney who co-authored the comments. “The cellular and telephone operators want special treatment in zoning and in trenching the streets. They seek a free pass to use any and all taxpayer property at will and without restriction for their own purposes.”

Further, the BB&K attorneys who filed the comments on behalf of the associations challenged the agency’s legal authority to do that, noting that such regulations would run afoul of the federal Communications Act and raise serious constitutional concerns.

The FCC issued a so-called notice of inquiry in April seeking public comments on expanding the reach and reducing the costs of broadband deployment.

In their comments, the telecommunication companies claimed that local government controls over cell tower placement and construction in rights-of-way were hindering the deployment of new communications networks. In requesting reduced permit and lease fees for municipal and special agency property, they named more than 100 cities and counties in California that they believe are slowing down the progress.

“Many California communities may be unaware that they are being targeted,” Miller said. “If the FCC allows this effort to move forward, commuters, homeowners, other utilities and taxpayers generally would be subsidizing private systems that inconvenience all other rights-of-way users and property owners. Local rules are needed to control what would be careless and aimless expansion, as well as to fairly allocate the public space involved.”

Joseph Van Eaton, the other BB&K co-author of the comments, pointed out that the notice of inquiry proceeding is just the first step.

“This is the start of a significant push by the powerful telecommunications industry to get their way, and local governments must get involved if they want to protect the interests of their communities,” Van Eaton said, noting the Aug. 30 deadline to submit comments to the FCC.

Besides the National League of Cities, the comments filed by BB&K were jointly submitted by the United States Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, the International City Managers Association, the American Public Works Association, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the Government Finance Officers Association and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.

Best Best & Krieger Attorney Joins Board of California Center for Sustainable Energy

20 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: June 20, 2011
Media Contact: Elizabeth Velic · 619-407-7391 · evelic@tw2marketing.com

SAN DIEGO _ The California Center for Sustainable Energy board of directors has elected Best Best & Krieger, LLP partner Sophie Akins to its board of directors.

CCSE is a non-profit organization dedicated to positively impacting climate change, energy efficiency, green building, renewable energy and transportation through a variety of rebate, technical assistance and education programs. CCSE also provides residents, businesses and public agencies with objective information, research, analysis and long-term planning on energy issues and technologies.

Akins’ legal practice includes assisting her clients to procure and permit solar and other renewable energy projects. She has worked on approximately $121 million worth of renewable energy projects in the past 18 months.

This year, the Daily Journal recognized Akins as one of California’s top 25 clean tech lawyers. She has also been named by Law 360 as one of the top ten energy lawyers under 40 in the United States and was part of San Diego Metropolitan’s “40 Under 40” honor roll. In addition to her renewable energy work, Akins provides general governance advice to public entities and serves as the Ramona Municipal Water District General Counsel.

BB&K Among Nation’s Most Diverse Law Firms

15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: June 15, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Best Best & Krieger LLP continues to be one of the nation’s most racially diverse law firms, with nearly 20 percent of its attorneys from minority backgrounds, according to The American Lawyer’s annual “Diversity Scorecard” released this month.

BB&K placed 19th among the nation’s 194 largest and highest-grossing firms that responded to the magazine’s survey, maintaining its rank in the top 20 for four years.

“We’re proud that we continue to have such a diverse staff. Our diversity helps us represent our clients better and is more reflective of the communities where we work,” said attorney Danielle Sakai, an environmental litigator and BB&K partner who heads the firm's recruiting committee.

BB&K’s clients are cities, counties, public agencies, water and school districts, companies and individuals throughout California. The firm’s staff will be bolstered July 1 by the recent acquisition of Miller & Van Eaton, a telecommunication law firm in Washington, D.C., and six of its attorneys. In addition, 19 attorneys from McDonough Holland & Allen joined BB&K last September, more than doubling the firm’s Sacramento office.

“Being in a diverse professional environment has always been important to me,” said Kara Ueda, a BB&K partner in Sacramento who worked at McDonough. “I was thrilled to learn about Best Best & Krieger’s commitment to diversity, which was an added bonus when so many of us decided to come over from McDonough.”

BB&K’s percentage of minority attorneys, at 18.5 percent, or 36 attorneys, is 4.6 percent higher than the national average of 13.9 percent, according to the survey. Of the 195 attorneys at BB&K who were noted in the survey, 18 are Hispanic-American, 12 are Asian-American, five are African-American and one is of mixed race.

The percentage of BB&K’s minority attorneys who are partners, at 12.2 percent, was the 12th highest overall. In addition, one of those partners, George Reyes, sits on the firm’s executive committee and two others are managing partners of three of BB&K’s eight offices across California: Marco Martinez in Irvine and Gene Tanaka who oversees Walnut Creek and Sacramento.

"Diversity in the workplace encourages the communication of different ideas, points of view and solutions to better serve our clients and their needs," Martinez said.

BB&K recently launched a scholarship/fellowship program for a law student from a diverse background. The program offers the recipient a paid summer associate position for two summers during law school in addition to a $7,500 scholarship once the second summer program is completed. This year’s recipient is Leo Lee from Loyola Law School, who is working in the Riverside office this summer. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Lee is expected to graduate in 2013.

According to American Lawyer, large firms increased their percentage of minority attorneys by 0.2 percent to 13.9 percent in 2010, a small jump from the year before when law firm diversity dropped for the first time in the decade that the magazine has been collecting the numbers.

BB&K Launches Attorney Group Focusing on California Public Utilities Commission Actions

09 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: June 9, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles · 951.826.8480 · jennifer.bowles@bbklaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Best Best & Krieger LLP is launching a new legal team focused on serving ratepayers and stakeholders who pay $50 billion each year for services regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, it was announced today.

BB&K partner Kendall MacVey, based in the firm’s Riverside office, will chair the group of nine attorneys in BB&K offices across the state who cater to clients impacted by decisions from the five-member commission.

The group will be augmented July 1 by a Washington, D.C., law firm recently acquired by BB&K that specializes in telecommunications and whose attorneys have worked on California Public Utilities Commission matters.

MacVey said that establishing a formal group will further cement BB&K’s representation of public agency and other clients on matters arising from the commission, which regulates privately owned electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, water and railroad services.

In recent cases, BB&K attorneys have saved millions of dollars in refunds to ratepayers by intervening in commission proceedings, forcing audits of water utilities and initiating innovative ways to develop alternative programs for capital projects. They have also assisted clients in facilitating transactions under commission jurisdiction.

A specialized area of law, work before the commission requires technical knowledge of utility economics and regulations, and practical knowledge of how the commission operates, MacVey said.

Ratepayers and stakeholders, especially given recent rising energy and water costs, should know their legal options when they receive notice of advice letters, rate applications and other commission proceedings that affect them, MacVey said.

In some cases, MacVey said, ratepayers find themselves in difficult situations when the only utility serving water or energy to a particular area wants to boost rates. The more cities and other stakeholders understand their options in those cases, the more they can do to be heard by the commission weighing whether to approve such rate hikes.

“Public agencies and cities in California continue to be impacted by the down economy and by focusing on prevention we can help by limiting rising rates and, in some cases, spreading the legal costs among several clients who are impacted by the same matter,” MacVey said.

The group’s members include Sophie Akins and Jennifer Haley of BB&K’s San Diego office who convinced the California Public Utilities Commission in 2009 to deny an application by the San Diego Gas & Electric to turn off electricity to more than 100,000 residents in San Diego’s back-country during dry, hot and windy weather conditions that can spark brush fires. Akins and Haley represented six water districts and the San Diego County Superintendent of Schools in that matter.

The new group will be bolstered by the acquisition of Miller & Van Eaton, a law firm in the nation’s capital, and six of its attorneys who primarily serve municipal clients and specialize in a wide range of telecommunications law, including cable television, broadcasting and wireless communications for clients.

BB&K Acquires Prominent D.C. Telecommunications Law Firm

01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: June 1, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Best Best & Krieger LLP is acquiring Miller & Van Eaton, one of the nation’s leading telecommunications law firms based in Washington, D.C., and bringing six of its attorneys aboard effective July 1, it was announced today.

BB&K will maintain a Washington office, the first out-of-state location in a 120-year history that has spawned eight offices across California and some 200 attorneys specializing in municipal, environmental, water and business law.

The new venture provides BB&K attorneys the chance to expand their legal expertise to Miller & Van Eaton clients across the country and offers a larger presence in California to the attorneys from Miller & Van Eaton who are joining BB&K.

Miller & Van Eaton attorneys specialize in a wide range of telecommunications law, including cable television, broadcasting and wireless communications for clients in the public and private sectors. The firm, which has a governmental relations practice, is active in legislative, regulatory and judicial matters and its attorneys have held high-ranking positions in the White House, the U.S. Senate and the Federal Communications Commission.

“We are pleased to be welcoming such a stellar group of attorneys who specialize in an increasingly critical area of law for our clients in California, especially the cities we serve,” said Eric Garner, managing partner of BB&K, which has one of the state’s largest municipal and public agency law practices.

Miller & Van Eaton attorneys are best known for their municipal work, having helped more than 250 municipalities nationwide with telecommunications advice, including securing a U.S. Supreme Court win for the city of Los Angeles. The attorneys provide advice to cities on cable television franchise problems, cellular tower zoning decisions and siting issues, public safety communications systems, telephone rates and contracts, municipal ownership of telecommunications networks, leases and compensation agreements for public rights-of-way and local telecommunications ordinances.

Garner said the opening of a Washington D.C. office provides a platform for BB&K attorneys to better assist many of the firm’s existing California clients, particularly on environmental issues, water rights and renewable energy.

“By virtue of being in the nation’s capital, we will be in a better position to provide representation before federal agencies that craft significant regulations impacting our clients and we’ll be closer to Congressional representatives who make important decisions that affect them,” Garner said.

BB&K works for dozens of public agencies in California, serving as city attorney to nearly 30 cities across the state and as general counsel to several water agencies, joint power authorities, fire protection districts, transportation agencies and other special districts.

The development involving Miller & Van Eaton comes on the heels of last year’s addition to BB&K of 19 attorneys from McDonough Holland & Allen in Sacramento, which more than doubled the number of attorneys at BB&K’s Sacramento office to 31.

Miller & Van Eaton is led by Nicholas P. Miller, who once served as the U. S. Senate communications counsel and as a special consultant to the White House on telephone deregulation issues, and Joseph Van Eaton, who is known for his appellate successes and work with cities in drafting wireless communications ordinances and negotiating franchises for cable and telecommunications service providers.

“We are proud to be joining Best Best & Krieger. The firm is well-respected with a wide footprint among California cities needing help as the telecommunications world develops at a rapid pace,” Miller said.

Miller pointed out that the cell tower issue alone continues to give cities a lot to contend with. According to industry statistics, there are 250,000 cell tower sites across the country and projections show there will be several million more within ten years, Miller said.

Cities and joint power authorities are being targeted by large communications companies to abandon appropriate regulation and pricing for their public rights of way, which are the most valuable land that a local government owns.

“There is a major effort within the communications industry to get unrestricted use of that property for free for cellular towers and other devices -- in other words, have the taxpayer subsidize the stockholder,” Miller said.

In addition, major California cities have started to receive large federal grants to develop modern public safety communications networks that cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. They will need independent legal advice as those projects move forward, Miller said.

Van Eaton said it will also be important to make sure public agencies in California have access to adequate broadband systems at a reasonable price. Agencies that deal with fires, floods and other natural disasters use such systems to move large amounts of mapping data and other vital information to all agencies that are responding to a disaster, he said.

Miller & Van Eaton traces its roots back to 1985 with the formation of Miller & Holbrooke. The firm became Miller & Van Eaton in 1997 and has a small office in San Francisco.

Van Eaton said his firm is in good economic health, having sustained the last few years of the nation’s recession just fine. Rather, he said, the move to BB&K was simply a way to expand business.

“We really see this as a way to open up opportunities,” he said. “The fit of the two firms makes it work, that is the real key.”

The attorneys joining BB&K and their title are:

Nicholas P. Miller, partner: A well-known expert in the law and policy governing cable television and telephone regulation, and in the legislative aspects of telecommunications law. In 1986, Miller helped argue and win a case in the U.S. Supreme Court involving the city of Los Angeles, which was accused of violating the First Amendments rights of Preferred Communications, Inc. for refusing to give it a cable TV franchise after Preferred failed to participate in a competitive bid for a cable franchise in the city. Preferred Communications had alleged the city could not control the terms and conditions of entry by prospective cable operators. In 1996, Miller worked closely with the United States Conference of Mayors in lobbying the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which greatly affects local government management and control of their rights-of-way.

Joseph Van Eaton, partner: Known for his appellate and federal policy advocacy work, Van Eaton specializes in representing municipalities on a broad range of telecommunications issues. He assists communities in protecting themselves before federal regulatory agencies and developing their own communications networks and community channels. Van Eaton has successfully defended local government efforts to establish and operate municipally owned systems.

Gerard Lavery Lederer, of counsel: A well-known advocate at Congress, federal regulatory agencies and in negotiations for the rights of public and private property owners who are impacted by telecommunications legislation and regulations. Lederer learned his skills as the general counsel of the United States Conference of Mayors and then as vice president for government relations for the Building Owners and Managers Association International. He is one of the nation's leading experts on marketplace solutions for the integration of technology into commercial real estate. In addition, Lederer is the author of Critical Connections and Wired for Profit, two leading guides on the integration of telecommunications technology into office buildings.

James R. Hobson, of counsel: A former official at the Federal Communications Commission and one-time Washington D.C. counsel for GTE, the national telephone company that later became Verizon Communications in a merger with Bell Atlantic. Within the field of wireless communications, Hobson has developed a specialty in public safety communications, including 911 emergency calling and the rebanding of the 800 MHz spectrum. Hobson also is consulted regularly by local governments and citizens' groups on the siting of wireless communications facilities under zoning codes and ordinances.

Gail A. Karish, staff attorney: A senior attorney with broad transactional and regulatory experience in the communications and electricity sectors in the United States, Canada and Latin America. She advises local government and municipal utility clients on communications law matters involving local, state and federal regulations, and assists with contract negotiations. Formerly an in-house attorney at a major public electric utility and then at a private telecommunications company, Karish will continue to reside in California and work from BB&K’s offices in the state.

Matthew K. Schettenhelm, associate: An attorney who assists local governments and other clients with various telecommunications matters. In addition to briefing cases in state and federal courts, Schettenhelm has prepared comments to the FederalCommunications Commissionon a range of issues, including the National Broadband Plan, cable franchising, tower siting, Internet access service, community cable channels, cable set-top boxes and public safety communications. He has written cable, right-of-way and wireless facility ordinances, and has drafted agreements for cable franchises, municipal Wi-Fi networks and 700 MHz public safety systems.

Judge Rules in Favor of Azusa in Mining Operation Location Shift

11 May 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: May 11, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles · 951.826.8480 · jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

LOS ANGELES _ A Superior Court judge ruled this week against Duarte in its legal battle to stop a rock mining operation from moving closer to its border with Azusa, saying that Duarte failed to prove that environmental documents prepared by Azusa were flawed.

The judge, in siding with Azusa in a ruling issued Monday, said the city’s environmental impact report detailing the shift in mining operations was legal , reasonable and detailed, and that Azusa did not violate open meeting laws or its own city rules when approving the project.

“An environmental impact report must inform decision makers and the public what the expected impacts will be from a proposed project. The report did just that and we are glad the judge confirmed it,” said Michelle Ouellette, a Best Best & Krieger attorney who advised the city in preparing its environmental impact report required under the California Environmental Quality Act.

At issue in the case is an effort by Vulcan Materials to move its mining operations from one portion of its 270 acre property in Azusa to another portion that borders Duarte. Vulcan Materials and its predecessors have been mining rocks, sand and gravel in Fish Canyon since before World War II.

Duarte challenged the environmental impact report on several grounds, all of which were dismissed by the judge. In one instance, Duarte alleged that air quality impacts associated with the blasting at the mine were not adequately addressed.

Judge Thomas I. McKnew said the environmental impact report used the correct operational thresholds established by regional air quality regulators, whom the judge noted also reviewed the methodology and concluded that it showed less than significant project impacts.

“The response was reasonable and more than adequate,” the judge said.

The judge also said Duarte’s argument that the biological resources along Fish Creek will be disturbed were “misplaced.” He noted the trail to be used for the mining operations will be constructed in already heavily disturbed areas and will avoid any impacts to the creek or riparian vegetation.

Duarte also accused members of the Azusa City Council of violating the Brown Act and the City’s Municipal Code while reconsidering a decision to approve the project last summer. But the judge praised the Azusa City Council for taking an “abundance of caution” in affording maximum public participation by voting to table its decision and to hold new public hearings.

“Azusa’s actions more than satisfy the intent of the Brown act: i.e. open and transparent government,” the judge wrote in his seven-page ruling.

Further, the judge said that Duarte “mischaracterized” action taken by Azusa last June 21 when the item to approve the project was placed on the agenda. The judge said the action did not violate the city’s municipal code.

“We take transparency and openness very seriously in Azusa and the judge acknowledged that,” said Sonia R. Carvalho, a BB&K attorney who serves as the Azusa city attorney.

BB&K’s Kara K. Ueda Named One of Sacramento’s Young Standouts

03 May 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: May 3, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles · 951.826.8480 · jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Kara K. Ueda, a municipal and land use attorney at Best Best & Krieger LLP, was recently named as one of Sacramento’s top “40 under 40” by the Sacramento Business Journal.

“I am honored to be recognized among this impressive group of people who balance their professional lives with volunteering and active community participation to make the Sacramento area a great place to live,” Ueda said.

The Sacramento Business Journal, in its April 29th issue, listed young professionals under the age of 40 who were judged on leadership in their company or field, entrepreneurship or creativity, accomplishments and community involvement. The list of 40 was culled down from 250 nominations.

Ueda, 36, is known for her expertise in land use, elections and the California Environmental Quality Act - issues she routinely litigates in state and federal courts. She joined BB&K’s municipal law and redevelopment practice group last fall as a partner.

As assistant city attorney of Davis, Ueda negotiates and drafts conservation easements. That effort, in partnership with local lands trusts, has preserved hundreds of acres of agricultural lands and open space around the city.

Ueda has also served as a board member of the UC Davis School of Law Alumni Association since 2002 and is currently the president-elect. She is also the vice president of the Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento.

As a volunteer, Ueda has worked at the legal clinic at My Sister’s House, a shelter in Sacramento for women and children impacted by domestic violence in the Central Valley's Asian and Pacific Islander community. She has also helped to organize the non-profit’s annual fund-raising dinner.

BB&K’s Scott C. Smith Named One of California’s Top Land Use Attorneys

27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: April 27, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles · 951.826.8480 · jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

IRVINE, Calif. _ Scott C. Smith, a Best Best & Krieger LLP lawyer who has led the legal effort on key development projects in Orange and San Diego counties, was named today as one of California’s top 25 land use attorneys by the Daily Journal.

“I’m honored to be named to this group of distinguished attorneys,” Smith said. “It's great to work with clients who entrust us with these multi-faceted land use projects. They present a variety of environmental, permitting and zoning issues that they are always challenging yet rewarding because they benefit the public."

The Daily Journal Corp., publisher of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals, issued its list of the top 25 land use attorneys across California in a special supplement to today’s editions.

At BB&K, Smith is based in the Irvine office and has been a member of the firm’s executive committee for the past three years. He joined BB&K in 1985.

Smith was recognized for a variety of recent land use accomplishments:

• As city attorney for Lake Forest, Smith led a BB&K team in the negotiations of five major development agreements covering 700 acres of land near the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The agreements, finalized last year, resulted in nearly $100 million of benefit to Lake Forest in the form of funding for a sports park, civics center, transportation parkway and other needed infrastructure.

• Smith, who serves as general counsel for the Helix Irrigation District in La Mesa, Calif., led the district’s legal team in efforts to plan and implement the El Monte Valley Mining, Reclamation and Groundwater Recharge Project in San Diego County. The project paves the way for the surface mining of 12 million tons of material over a 10-year period on 580 acres of district property and the recharging of the aquifer with enough recycled water to provide up to 15 percent of the district’s water supply. The project required legal work on water rights, state and federal grants, habitat restoration, recreational trails and public access, among other issues.

• Smith has led a team of BB&K attorneys working in the courts and advising the Lake Forest City Council on the city’s ongoing efforts to enforce its zoning code ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. The city’s approach, based on Court of Appeal decisions won by BB&K attorneys in cases involving Claremont and Corona, has become a template for municipal enforcement of land use regulations for medical marijuana distribution facilities throughout California. Last week, a judge granted Lake Forest’s request for a temporary restraining order to close seven additional dispensaries within 600 feet of a school.

BB&K Hires Five Former Summer Associates to Join Firm

21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0800

For Immediate Release: April 21, 2011
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ Best Best & Krieger LLP hired five entry-level associates to join the firm’s municipal and redevelopment law practice in offices throughout California.

The attorneys, who were summer associates at the firm in 2009, joined one of the largest municipal practices in the state: BB&K attorneys serve as city attorney to nearly 30 cities across California.

“We are glad to bring aboard the associates and make them part of a thriving practice,” said Jill Willis, a BB&K partner and chair of the firm’s recruiting committee.

The associates are:

Katherine A. Christenson, who is based in the firm’s Irvine office, and works primarily with public clients on a wide range of matters, including finance and economic development, land use, open government and ethics, and civil and criminal code enforcement. She graduated last year from Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, where she was a member of the nationally recognized moot court team.

Ruben R. Espinoza of the Ontario office whose practice focuses on municipal and public entity representation, civil & criminal code enforcement, and employment law litigation. He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2010. Prior to law school, Espinoza worked for the California State Assembly, analyzing legislation and working closely with Inland public officials and residents to craft effective legislative solutions for the region.

Jonathan M. Franz, who is based in Los Angeles and works with public and private clients on matters related to redevelopment, civil and criminal code enforcement, and public and private contracting. He graduated last year from The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law where he participated in a law clinic and successfully represented an indigent party in an adoption law dispute pending in the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Andrew D. Maiorano, who is based in Ontario and represents municipal and public entities on matters involving civil and criminal code enforcement and litigation, and business litigation. He graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2010. Prior to joining BB&K, Maiorano interned for the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Appellate Services Unit and the International Wealth Planning Group of Withers LLP’s London office.

Kevin Wang of the Sacramento office whose practice concentrates on municipal and public entity representation, environmental law, and public and private contracting. He graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2010. During law school, Wang was a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Award for his work with inmates in Baton Rouge Parish Prison in Baton Rouge, La. He also interned at the Office of Chief Counsel at the U.S. Department of Transportation where he worked extensively on the rulemaking process to raise mileage standards for cars and light trucks.

All of the attorneys were admitted to the State Bar of California last year.