Environmental Law & Natural Resources

Best Best & Krieger's expertise in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is recognized throughout California.

Our attorneys assist both private and public agency clients through all aspects of the CEQA and land use entitlement process, including both document preparation and any subsequent litigation. We also assist both public and private clients with pre-project planning and strategy before CEQA is triggered to minimize costs and maximize environmental protection.  We prepare local CEQA guidelines on behalf of over 70 public agency clients, including cities, school districts, water districts and special districts.

Our attorneys are proficient at reviewing and preparing notices of exemption, initial studies, negative declarations, findings and statements of overriding considerations, addenda, and mitigation monitoring and reporting plans. We are also experts at writing and editing Environmental Impact Reports to fully comply with CEQA's requirements. If a legal challenge should arise, our CEQA lawyers are skilled in the procedural and substantive intricacies of litigating a CEQA case, including the short statutes of limitations, administrative record requirements, and unique briefing and oral argument issues.

We are also adept at understanding the interplay between CEQA and other environmental statutes, including the State and Federal Endangered Species Acts, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the State and Federal Clean Water Acts.