Noreen Evans - Santa Rosa Appeals Lawyer Reviews & Ratings

We look forward to personally meeting you virtually or in our Sonoma County office. Contact us today. Noreen is certified by the State Bar as an appellate specialist. She has decades of experience in civil appeals and in civil litigation. As a former State Legislator, Evans offers a unique background and perspective for your case on appeal and at trial. She has argued numerous cases in the state and federal trial and appellate courts and the California Supreme Court, involving land use, environmental law, CEQA, trust litigation, and personal injury litigation. She is the author of numerous pieces of significant legislation, including the Electronic Discovery Act, the Expedited Jury Trial Act, and the Homeowners Bill of Rights, the first law of its kind in the nation providing homeowners certain rights in foreclosure proceedings.. Noreen has been practicing law since 1982. While in law school, she clerked for the Third District Court of Appeal. She served in the California State Legislature for a decade and was responsible for numerous pieces of legislation relating to the administration of justice. In 2012, she was honored by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court with the Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award. She chaired the State Senate Committee on the Judiciary and served on the Judicial Council for 4 years. She also co-chaired a statewide committee on access to justice.. EDUCATION. Noreen received her BA degree in Government (with honors) in 1978 from California State University, Sacramento. She graduated from University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 1981. In her third year at McGeorge, she wrote for and edited the first-ever edition of the Silversheets, a review of Nevada law.. After graduation from law school, Noreen studied International Business Law at the University of Salzburg, Austria, She completed an international law internship in Dublin, Ireland with A & L Goodbody, Solicitors.. EARLY LEGAL CAREER. From 1980-81, Noreen clerked for Justice Edwin Regan of the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento.. In 1982, Noreen was hired as an associate at Spridgen, Barrett, Achor, Luckhardt, Anderson, James & Ziegler, at that time the oldest and largest law firm north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Noreen was the firm’s first full-time female litigation attorney.. When the Spridgen firm dissolved later that year, Noreen became a litigation associate with Gray, O’Brien, Watters & Davis. She was made an equity partner in 1987.. PUBLIC SERVICE. In 1993, Noreen was appointed to the Santa Rosa Planning Commission, where she worked extensively with land use planning issues and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). She helped the City adopt its first Child Care Plan and Creek Restoration Plan.. In 1996, Noreen was elected to the Santa Rosa City Council, She served two terms on the City Council. As a City Councilmember, she was responsible for implementing the Creek Restoration Plan, the City’s Bike Plan, working to build the Prince Memorial Greenway on Santa Rosa Creek. Her vision, when first elected, was to build a passenger rail system and restore Santa Rosa’s downtown, including reunifying Courthouse Square. More than 2 decades later, this vision has become a reality with SMART rail service beginning in 2017, and Santa Rosa’s reunified Square.. In 2004, Noreen was elected to represent the 7th Assembly District in the California State Assembly. While in the Assembly, she was appointed by the Speaker to chair the Joint Legislative Committee on Budget in 2008, and charged with balancing the State’s budget during the global economic crisis of 2009/2010.. In 2010, Noreen was elected to the State Senate to represent the 2nd Senate District, including Solano, Napa, Marin, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino and Humboldt Counties. In 2012, she chaired the Joint Legislative Committee on California’s Foreclosure Crisis, which resulted in the passage of The Homeowners Bill of Rights (AB 278/SB 900). The Homeowners Bill of Rights implements the historic 49-State Attorneys General settlement with five of the national’s largest banks and was the first of its kind in the nation. Noreen also chaired the Joint Legislative Women’s Caucus in 2010-2012 and served on the State Commission on the Status of Women.. From 2010-2014, Noreen chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. and served four years on the Judicial Council, the governing body for all State courts.. In 2011, Noreen was honored as the first and only woman to receive the Judicial Council’s Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award for her decades of work ensuring access to justice.. Noreen is a founding Director of the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy, located in Sonoma County and formerly served on the Board of Directors of Greenbelt Alliance.. RECENT LEGAL CAREER. Noreen returned to the full-time practice of law after completing her term in the State Senate in late 2014. Since then, she has been Of Counsel to O'Brien Watters & Davis, LLP, where she has handled numerous civil cases in the trial and appellate courts. Her practice focuses primarily on civil appeals and writs. In 2018, she won a significant victory for a local neighborhood organization in a high-profile matter against the County of Sonoma, based on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Her clients not only obtained a writ of mandate compelling the County to invalidate its development agreement, but they also recovered all of their fees and costs. Noreen recently successfully argued a groundbreaking case in the 9th Circuit, limiting the IRS' ability to obtain taxpayer records by subpoena. (JB v. United States, 916 F.3d 1161 (9th Cir., 2019.) In addition to her appellate and writ practice, she is representing thousands of local plaintiffs in litigation arising out of the 2017 wildfires in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino Counties.. PUBLIC OFFICES HELD. 1993-1996 Planning Commissioner, City of Santa Rosa1996-2004 City Councilmember, City of Santa Rosa2004-2010 Assemblymember, CA State Assembly2010-2014 Senator, CA State Senate. COMMITTEES CHAIRED. Assembly Human ServicesAssembly Committee on BudgetJoint Legislative Committee on BudgetSenate Committee on JudiciarySenate Committee on Banking & Financial InstitutionsAssembly Select Committee on WineSenate Select Committee on WineLegislative Women’s Caucus. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AND CAUCUS MEMBERSHIPS. Senate Legislative Ethics CommitteeSenate Human ServicesSenate Committee on BudgetSenate Natural ResourcesSenate Governmental OrganizationAssembly JudiciaryAssembly Human ServicesAssembly Committee on BudgetAssembly Committee on Banking & FinanceAssembly Committee on Toxic MaterialsAssembly Governmental OrganizationJoint Committee on Fisheries and AquacultureAssembly Select Committee on Foster CareLegislative Women’s CaucusSenate Rural CaucusSenate Caucus on Ending Poverty and Inequality in California. LEGAL MEMBERSHIPS. Judicial Council 2011- 2014Law Revision Commission 2005-2008Commission on the Status of Women 2006-2014CA Coastal Conservancy 2008--2014CA Bar Association - Current memberSonoma County Bar Association - Current member. SIGNIFICANT LEGAL AWARDS. McGeorge School of Law Distinguished Alumni 2015. California Judges Association, Legislator of the Year 2010Judicial Council, Stanley Mosk Defender of Justice Award 2012Consumer Attorneys of California, Legislator of the Year 2013. SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATION AUTHORED. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICEElectronic Discovery Act (AB 5 of 2009; now Code of Civil Procedure §§ et seq.) Establishes rules for discovery of electronically-stored information in civil casesExpedited Jury Trial Act (SB 2284 of 2010; now Code of Civil Procedure §§ et seq.) Reduces the number of jurors in small civil casesSmall Claims Court: (AB 712 of 2009 amending Code of Civil Procedure §) Enables Small Claims Courts to grant equitable reliefState Bar Governance Reform: (SB 163 of 2011) Reformed the governance structure of the California State Bar Association, expanding public participation and improving accountability.. FORECLOSURESHomeowners Bill of Rights (SB 900, 2012). WINERIESNon-profit donations: AB 323 (2007) enabling wineries to donate wine to non-profit organizationsWinery picnic areas: AB 2004 (2008) allowing visitors to a winery to drink wine in the winery picnic areaTasting events: AB 2090 (2008) creating a temporary license to allow wine grape commissions, associations and other organizations to organize tasting eventsSecond tasting rooms: AB 1470 (2009) allowing second tasting rooms not located on winery groundsSonoma County wines: AB 1798 (2010) protecting wine produced in Sonoma County by establishing stricter labeling requirements. OTHERVeterans: SB 10 (2011) Permits Allied Councils to represent the interests of veterans in Veterans Homes before the State LegislatureCounty fairs: AB 2258 (2008) protecting county fair funding originating from licensing fees on horseracing eventsConsumer protection: AB 1216 (2009; amending Food & Agriculture Code §29413) requiring labeling for honey produced in CaliforniaCriminal Justice: SB 59 (2013) broadens the statutory definition of rape to include rape by fraud