Litigation

Since its inception, the Endangered Species Act has been a lightening rod for controversy and dispute, pitting property rights advocates against environmental rights proponents. Best Best & Krieger has played a pivotal role in this arena.

As counsel for public agencies charged with creating some of the earliest and most extensive habitat conservation plans for endangered species, BB&K attorneys thwarted repeated inverse condemnation, Federal Endangered Species Act, California Endangered Species Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and National Environmental Policy Act challenges. On behalf of private property owners, BB&K frequently challenged the United States' failure to follow its own rules regarding endangered species and in one case, obtained a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in Bennett v. Spear.

BB&K's breadth and depth of experience in this area make it uniquely qualified to handle endangered species litigation.