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Areas of Law  |  PUBLIC LAW

At Meyers Nave public law has been our great passion since our founding in 1986. We have worked hard to build a reputation as a trusted advisors to cities, towns, counties, redevelopment agencies and special districts.

Our public law attorneys focus on one goal: helping our clients operate smoothly within an increasingly complex and challenging legal environment. We counsel and represent our clients on the gamut of public law issues, including municipal law, land use, election law, revenue and taxation, redevelopment, public contract law and telecommunications.

Many of our attorneys come from city attorney and county counsel offices. Others have honed their expertise through years of private service to public clients. This wellspring of experience within our public law department enables us to respond to clients quickly and cost efficiently. As needed, we call upon attorneys from our labor and employment, eminent domain and inverse condemnation, and litigation departments to provide a full-service legal resource for public agencies.

Head of Group Contact:
Ruthann G. Ziegler
e-mail: rziegler@meyersnave.com
To Request a Brochure or Additional Information:
Call Client Relations at 510.808.2000 or
send an e-mail to: info@meyersnave.com

Attorneys:
Alm, Kent
Bakker, John
Bond, Julia
Casso, James
Crossman, Brian
Damon, Sheri
Danly, Eric
Davtyan, Ellin
Dean, Michael
Duran, Ruben
Faubion, Kathleen
Faught, Jennifer
Gogna, Michael
Grutzmacher, Edward
Harris, John
Hicks, Krysten
Hollender, Laura
Hupp, Erin
Knapp, Jacob
Kulkarni, Amrit
Lindgren, Adam
Lintvedt, Inga
Mattas, Steven
McIntosh, Dawn
Meyers, Steven
Muzio, Stephen
Newmark, Gregory
Pio Roda, Richard
Reyes, Benjamin
Riback, Michael
Rodriquez, Michael
Rosenberg, Jason
Rudnansky, Richard
Sanchez, Jose
Silver, Elizabeth
Sparks, Bianca
Sperry, Samuel
Thomsen, Leslie
Thorington, Nancy
Williams, Jayne
Woodruff, Sky
Ziegler, Ruthann

Links, Resources and Updates Related to this Department:
Briefs and Opinions (16 items)
  • Amicus Brief: City of Ontario vs. Quon
  • Amicus Brief: Santa Clara Valley Water District
  • Huppert v. City of Pittsburg, 574 F.3d 696 (9th Cir. 2009)
  • Peninsula Guardians, Inc. v. Peninsula Health Care Dist., 168 Cal.App.4th 75 (2008)
  • O'Connell v. City of Stockton, 41 Cal.4th 1061 (2007)
  • City of Dinuba v. County of Tulare, 41 Cal. 4th 859 (2007)
  • Kumar v. Superior Court, 149 Cal. App. 4th 543 (2007)
  • North Bay Constr., Inc. v. City of Petaluma, 143 Cal.App.4th 552 (2006)
  • Michaelis, Montanari & Johnson v. City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Airports, 38 Cal. 4th 1065 (2006)
  • Placer Cty. Local Agency Form. Comm. v. Nevada Cty. Local Agency Form. Comm., 135 Cal.App.4th 793 (2006)
  • Goleta Amicus Brief
  • Geneva Towers, Inc. v. City and County of San Francisco, 29 Cal. 4th 769 (2003)
  • Flying Dutchman Park, Inc. v. City and County of San Francisco, 93 Cal. App. 4th 1129 (2001)
  • Air Transport Assoc. v. City and County of San Francisco, 266 F.3d 1064 (9th Cir. 2001)
  • S.D. Myers, Inc. v. City and County of San Francisco, 253 F.3d 461 (9th Cir. 2001)
  • Local 21 v. City and County of San Francisco, 76 Cal. App. 4th 213 (1999)

    Company Announcements (2 items)
  • Meyers Nave Now Offers Mediation Services
  • Meyers Nave Partner David Cunningham Appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court

    Conferences and Meetings (10 items)
  • League of California Cities 2010 Annual Conference
  • Sustainable Development Strategies: Get Informed and Participate In Developing the Regulations or Get Run Over
  • Sex and God in Cities
  • Issues Relating to Ballot Arguments, Candidate Statements and Ballot Designations
  • Structuring a Successful Public/Private Development Project
  • CEQA and Climate Change: Options for Compliance
  • Implementing Green Building Ordinances in Your Community
  • Dealing with Foreclosures, A Municipal Response
  • "From Slum to Shangrila: Converting Dilapidated Transient Motels into Affordable Housing"
  • "How to Address Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases Under CEQA"

    In the News (7 items)
  • Appellate decision could give cities guidance on marijuana dispensaries - Lompoc joins friends of the court brief in case involving Anaheim
  • City's New Top Attorney Intends to Attract Businesses to Pinole
  • Bay law firm expands to Capitol Mall, signs new city
  • Practicing in Public
  • For Neither Fame nor Money: Public Service in the 21st Century
  • Activist bent takes municipal turn
  • Windsor's First Town Attorney Is Moving On

    Presentations (18 items)
  • Ethics AB 1234 Compliance Training
  • Financing Solar Energy: Legal Framework and Critical Issues
  • Employee Benefits: Identifying Solutions in Difficult Economic Times
  • Integrating Land Use and Transportation to Achieve Transit-Oriented Development: Reality or Chimera?
  • Climate Change: Local Government Response
  • Identity Theft: What Local Governments Must Do To Comply with the FTC's Red Flag Rules
  • Brown Act, Conflict of Interest and Public Records Act
  • California's Emerging Topics in Land Use: Solutions For Public Entities to Handle the Effects of the Growing Foreclosure Crisis and Implementing Green Building Ordinances in Your Community
  • Election 2008: Successfully Navigating the Front Lines
  • The Perfect Stormwater: Where is the Finish Line for Urban Runoff Control?
  • Partnering with Redevelopment Agencies for Brownfields Reuse
  • Investigating Real Estate: What Public Agencies Need to Know before They Buy, Part I
  • Public Contract Code and Competitive Bidding in California
  • Bad News for the Brown Act. Bad News for District Rate and Taxpayers.
  • Reaching Closure - Project Completion and Closeout
  • Open Meeting Laws in California: Ralph M. Brown Act
  • Construction Contracting For Public Entities: Minimizing Risk and Resolving Disputes
  • Responding to Requests for Public Records

    Press Releases (27 items)
  • City of Bell Hires Meyers Nave Attorney James Casso As Interim City Attorney
  • Supreme Court to Hear Case Following Brief Written by Meyers Nave
  • Seven Meyers Nave Attorneys Recognized as "Super Lawyers"
  • Meyers Nave Principal Benjamin Reyes Named Assistant City Attorney for City of Union City
  • Court Rules in Favor of City of San Leandro in Church Site Rezoning Suit
  • Meyers Nave Named City Attorney for Three California Cities
  • Meyers Nave Named City Attorney for Cotati
  • James Casso Named Principal
  • Meyers Nave Selected to Provide Counsel for the Water Replenishment District of Southern California
  • Meyers Nave Attorney Triumphs over Illegal Medical Marijuana
  • Meyers Nave Launches California Public Law Blog
  • Meyers Nave Announces Addition of John Harris to Los Angeles Office
  • Meyers Nave Announces Newly Expanded Los Angeles Office
  • Meyers Nave negotiates the first agreement under California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act of 2004
  • Meyers Nave Announces Three New Principals
  • Meyers Nave Attorney Named City Attorney for Petaluma
  • Media Advisory on Medical Marijuana
  • Meyers Nave Attorneys Appointed to City Positions
  • Sky Woodruff Named City Attorney for Oakley
  • Meyers Nave Represents The City And County Of San Francisco Employees' Retirement System In Class Action Securities Fraud Lawsuit Against AIG
  • Sky Woodruff Named City Attorney for Suisun City
  • Environmental Attorney Leah Goldberg Joins Meyers Nave
  • Meyers Nave Names Adam Lindgren Managing Principal of Meyers Nave's Sacramento Office
  • Benjamin Reyes Named City Attorney of Pinole
  • Ruthannn Ziegler Named City Attorneys of Grass Valley
  • Child Molester's Release Blocked From The City of Soledad
  • Mike Riback Named City Attorney for Union City

    Pro-Bono (1 items)
  • Guardians of Justice

    Publications (54 items)
  • Are Medical Marijuana Dispensaries on the Chopping Block?
  • MN Legal Alert: Appellate Court Finds Unconstitutional Statutes Favoring Speech Related To Labor Disputes And Holds That A Private Property Owner May Ban Picketing On Its Property
  • MN Legal Alert: City of Alhambra v. County of Los Angeles: Unlawful to Impose Property Tax Administration Fees on Triple Flip and VLF Swap Revenues
  • MN Legal Alert: Ordinance Prohibiting Day Laborers from Soliciting Employment from Motorists Does Not Violate Free Speech Rights
  • MN Legal Alert: California Supreme Court Holds Secret Ballots Unnecessary in Elections for Property-Related Fees and in Balloting for Assessments
  • MN Legal Alert: City's Billboard Bans Do Not Violate Free Speech Rights
  • MN Legal Alert: Pitchess Discovery Limited to Criminal Cases Involving Allegations That Officer Used Excessive Force
  • MN Legal Alert: City of Watsonville's General Plan Update Violated State Aeronautics Act and the EIR Violated CEQA
  • Gang Injunction Make Neighborhoods Safer
  • MN Legal Alert: California Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality Of LAX Solicitation Regulations Challenged By Hare Krishnas
  • MN Legal Alert: Contractors Permitted to Use Modified Total Cost Method of Damages in Public Project Claims
  • MN Legal Alert: Court Holds that Inclusion of a "Supercenter" in a Project Does Not Automatically Mean Urban Decay Impacts Must Be Studied
  • MN Legal Alert: Ninth Circuit Orders Rehearing En Banc, Vacating Controversial Regulatory Takings Decision in Guggenheim v. City of Goleta
  • MN Legal Alert: Mitigation Measures May Survive Expired Approval
  • MN Legal Alert: Court of Appeal Holds That County Must Include ERAF Revenue in Calculating Pass-Through Payments By Redevelopment Agency to School District
  • MN Legal Alert: State Initiative to Legalize Marijuana One Step Closer to Ballot
  • MN Legal Alert: No More Limits on "Permissible Quantity" of Medical Marijuana
  • MN Legal Alert: Court of Appeal Requests Further Briefing in a Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Case
  • MN Legal Alert: The Ninth Circuit Upholds the Constitutionality of Speaker-Based and Event-Based Sign Regulations and Comments on the "Absurdity" of Construing 'the Officer Must Read It' Test as a Bellwether of Content
  • MN Legal Alert: Inclusionary Housing Ordinances that Apply to Rental Projects that Do Not Receive Public Agency Financial Assistance or that Do Not Include Density Bonus Units or Incentives May Need to Be Revised
  • MN Legal Alert: Ninth Circuit Decision May Impact Cities' Regulation of Street Performers and Street Speakers
  • Recent Trend in Green Buildings Laws: Potential Preemption of Green Building and Whether Retrofitting Existing Buildings Will Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Save the Economy
  • MN Legal Alert: Unconstitutional Strip Search Does Not Strip School Officials of Qualified Immunity
  • MN Legal Alert: California Supreme Court Upholds Existing Standards for Public Expenditures on Local Ballot Measures
  • Maximizing Your Stimulus Part IV: HUD Issues NOFA for Second Round of Neighborhood Stabilization Program
  • Maximizing Your Stimulus Series, Part III: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants Offer Unique Opportunities for California Cities
  • Court of Appeal Holds Prevailing Wage Law Does Not Apply to Locally Funded Projects of Charter Cities
  • Maximizing Your Stimulus Series, Part II: ARRA Funds: Strings ARE Attached
  • MN Legal Alert: Extension for Compliance with Red Flags Rule to August 1, 2009
  • Maximizing Your Stimulus Series, Part I: Don't Get Caught in the Red Tape
  • The Obama Administration's Position on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
  • MN Legal Alert: New Case Could Have Far Reaching Implications For Collection of In Lieu Fees
  • MN Legal Alert: High Court Makes It Easier to Assert Qualified Immunity for Public Officials
  • MN Legal Alert: SB 1407 - More Parking Fees?
  • Condemnor Entitled to Vote in Business Improvement District Formation Dispute
  • MN Legal Alert: New Legislation Limits Local Governments Regulatory Authority of Massage Establishments
  • MN Legal Alert: SB 375 - Landmark Land Use and Greenhouse Gas State Law Adopted
  • FTC Clarifies Identity Theft Rules Affecting Local Governments With Respect to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003
  • Legal Alert: Wireless Telecommunications Facilities Regulation - Ninth Circuit Narrows the Preemption Standard of Section 253(a) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Reversing Its Prior Decisions in Sprint Telephony and Auburn
  • Legal Alert: State Authorizes Local Governments to Impose $1,000 Fines for Failure to Maintain Property
  • Legal Alert: Important Changes to the Brown Act Effective July 1, 2008
  • Land Use and Environmental Law Executive Summary No. 7
  • Public Law/Airport Group Legal Update
  • Land Use and Environmental Law Legal Update: Wetland Jurisdiction Standards
  • Nabbing Home Court in Venue-Selection Clauses
  • Land Use and Environmental Law Executive Summary, Issue 6, April 2006
  • California Land Use Practice
  • Time to Strip Religious "Sanctuaries" of their Protective Blanket: The Effect of Freedom of Religion on Vicarious Liability and Negligence Claims Filed Against Catholic Church by Victims of Sexual Abuse in the United States and Canada
  • Land Use and Environmental Law Group Executive Summary, Issue No. 5, July 2005
  • Airport Executive Summary Issue 1
  • Land Use and Environmental Law Executive Summary, Issue No. 4, June 2005
  • Land Use and Environmental Law Legal Update: Court Upholds CEQA Review of Future Water Supply
  • Redevelopment Group Executive Summary No. 5
  • SB 1818 - Density Bonus Law: The New Math


    Practice Areas within the Public Law Department :
    Municipal Law
    Election Law
    Revenue & Taxation



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