For Immediate Release: Dec. 5, 2012
Media Contact: Jennifer Bowles • 951.826.8480 • jennifer.bowles@BBKlaw.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. _ The Daily Journal today named three Best Best & Krieger LLP attorneys among its Top 25 municipal lawyers in California for 2012.

“We are thrilled to have our municipal law practice group recognized so prominently by the Daily Journal. The honor reflects the commitment our firm has made to doing outstanding work for our municipal clients,” said Eric Garner, BB&K’s managing partner.

The firm’s lawyers act as city attorney to more than 30 cities across California and provide special counsel to several more.

The attorneys named to the list include John D. Higginbotham, a litigator based in Riverside who has scored a series of legal victories for municipal clients; Iris P. Yang, who serves as city attorney to Paso Robles and is active in court battles involving the wind-down of redevelopment; and Sonia R. Carvalho, the first Hispanic woman to be named as city attorney to Santa Ana, Orange County’s second-largest city.

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

Higginbotham was recognized for his civil trial victories for cities, including a jury trial in a contentious case pitting the City of Colton against its former police chief who alleged he was wrongfully terminated for reporting corruption. Higginbotham was able to prove that a former police chief, Kenneth Rulon, was actually aware of the corruption before any of the city’s top officials became aware but failed to act on it for a year, and that his claims related to such information had nothing to do with his termination.

In addition, Higginbotham won a ruling for Inglewood in Goldsmith v. Inglewood  on the use of red-light cameras at traffic intersections. The case went on to the appellate court, which published the first-ever decision in California upholding red-light camera enforcement and declaring that photographs of drivers running red lights are legitimate evidence in court. That case, People v. Goldsmith, is scheduled to go before the state Supreme Court in 2013.

Yang, based in BB&K's Sacramento office, has served as the city attorney to Paso Robles since 1994. More recently, she has been heavily involved in litigation focused on the fall-out from the end of redevelopment agencies in California.

In League of California cities et al. v. Ana J. Matosantos, et al, she is representing the League of California Cities in challenging the penalty provisions of AB 1484 on constitutional grounds. AB 1484 was intended to clean up last year's redevelopment agency dissolution bill but instead has created additional widespread confusion and spawned dozens of lawsuits.

In another case, Yang obtained a preliminary injunction against the state from imposing any penalties on the Town of Apple Valley for the redevelopment successor agency's refusal to make a payment that the successor agency said it didn't owe the state.

She also represented Galt in a case where the state agreed that Sacramento County could release money to Galt's redevelopment successor agency to make bond payments. Yang also represents the Morgan Hill Economic Development Corporation, a non-profit corporation established by the city of Morgan Hill, in challenging the state controller's determination that the corporation should return certain properties and money to the Morgan Hill successor agency.

Carvalho became city attorney for Santa Ana in April under a unique hybrid city attorney role. Carvalho became a contract employee with the city but performs all the duties of an in-house city attorney, a move that was aimed to save the city from paying her health and retirement benefits. Carvalho, who has served as city attorney to several cities across Southern California during a 20-year legal career, remained a BB&K partner.