Daily Journal Recognizes Meyers Nave Principal Amrit Kulkarni as “Top 20 Under 40” Lawyers in California
The Daily Journal named Meyers Nave Principal Amrit Kulkarni on its respected 2010 list of California’s top 20 lawyers under 40. The annual list honors rising stars in California’s legal industry. The Daily Journal recognized Mr. Kulkarni for his major victories in land use matters and noted that Mr. Kulkarni has “risen steadily within the field.”
Mr. Kulkarni joined Meyers Nave in 1999 and is the Chair of the firm’s Land Use Litigation and the Land Use Transactional and Environmental Law Practice Groups and is the youngest Chair in the firm, which consists of 80+ attorneys practicing in 15 areas of public law. Though initially based primarily in the firm’s Oakland office, Mr. Kulkarni transformed and broadened the firm’s land use practice and led the firm’s expansion into Southern California.
“Amrit is a leader in the firm and ensures that our clients benefit from his extensive experience and acumen on every matter. Amrit’s ability to increase our client base in recent years shows how much our clients appreciate the close attention, skill and tenacity with which we handle every matter they entrust to him,” said David Skinner, the firm’s Managing Principal. “We are proud of Amrit for being on this esteemed list of top attorneys in California.”
Mr. Kulkarni’s notable clients include the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the Port of Los Angeles. He has played a lead role in all three agencies’ multiple large-scale projects, obtaining major victories in litigation. For the City of Los Angeles, he defended it against a developer seeking $100 million in damages for the denial of a large development project prior to completion of CEQA review. For the Port, he successfully defended it at trial in a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit filed by the City of Riverside to challenge the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the China Shipping Container Terminal Project, which is expected to create over 4,500 permanent jobs and result in annual tax revenues of $85 million from operations. For LAX, Mr. Kulkarni assisted in the successful defense of its Master Plan (for a $13-billion expansion) against four consolidated CEQA/California Coastal Act lawsuits. Most recently, Mr. Kulkarni obtained a complete dismissal of a False Claims Act lawsuit which alleged that LAX violated the Clean Air Act and Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
Mr. Kulkarni has also achieved significant litigation victories in Northern California. For example, Mr. Kulkarni obtained a win for the City of South San Francisco in a six-year battle over a “takings” claim, brought by a developer; represented the City of Benicia in a dispute over construction of an emergency storm water drainage system; and represented the City of San Leandro in its CEQA challenge to the expansion of the Oakland International Airport.
In addition to his litigation successes, Mr. Kulkarni has skillfully handled noteworthy transactional matters. Currently, he advises the City of Barstow regarding CEQA/NEPA compliance and related issues for the DesertXpress, a proposed high speed rail project. He also represents the University of California in multiple campus-expansion projects, including the University of California at Santa Cruz and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Mr. Kulkarni is also active in his community and represented City of Goleta v. Santa Barbara County Superior Court, et al. On behalf of amicus curiae League of California Cities, Mr. Kulkarni successfully argued against a claim that the City was equitably estopped from denying a final subdivision map for a residential development.
Mr. Kulkarni received his BA in Environment Studies/Policy & Planning in 1994 from University of California at Santa Cruz and his JD from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in 1998.
About Meyers Nave
Founded in 1986, the law firm of Meyers Nave is recognized for its work with all types of public entities in California. The firm provides the full scope of legal services to cities, counties, redevelopment agencies and special districts statewide. Meyers Nave’s areas of practice include labor and employment, torts, redevelopment, city attorney and general counsel representations, eminent domain, litigation, writs and appeals, public contracts and land use, and environmental law.