Top Natural Resources Lawyers Near Me in Oakland Area

Welcome to my Avvo page. I'm a solo attorney in private practice. My primary areas of practices are land use and environmental law (especially the California Environmental Quality Act) and elections law, focusing on ballot measure. My primary focus is litigation, although I also represent clients in administrative processes. I primarily represent environmental and community groups. You may send me an e-mail to check whether your legal needs match what I can provide.. As you can tell from my biographical information, I didn't start off intending to be an attorney.  I went through college, graduate school and a post-doc intending to do genetics, and spent ten years doing so, first in academia and then as an industrial biotech researcher.  After being laid off and facing relocation to the midwest, I decided to switch careers instead.. I had gotten involved in local politics and served a short term on the Emeryville City Council.  That got me interested in government, and specifically environmental and land use regulations.  It was a short step from there into law school, and thence into my current practice.. My practice is oriented primarily towards representing environmental and community groups as plaintiffs in environmental and land use disputes.. I got into law intending to do environmental law only.  However, land use law is so connected with environmental law, especially in urban areas, that one can hardly do one without the other.  My electoral law work arose from helping environmental groups first draft, and then qualify ballot measures.. I have also done a few cases involving illegal or improper expenditure of public funds (Code of Civil Procedure Sect. 526a).  Such cases are not easy. They involve a lot of discovery and a full-blown bench trial, compared to most of my cases, which are petitions for a writ of mandate.  The latter usually don't involve much if any discovery and are briefed and then heard, usually with at most two or three hours of oral argument.

Brownfields;
Environmental Compliance; Environmental Cleanup; Environmental
Insurance; Environmental Land Use; Environmental Real Estate;
Environmental Risk Management; Real Estate Development; Industrial Real
Estate Law; Corporate Real Estate; Property Remediation; Real Estate
Development; Superfund; Hazardous Waste; Pollution (Air, Water and
Waste); Natural Resources; Wetlands; Endangered Species; Permitting;
Toxic Torts; Underground Tanks; Regulatory Defense; Litigation;
Appeals; Administrative Litigation; Administrative Law; Administrative
Agency Practice; Administrative Hearings and Appeals; Federal
Administrative Law; Public Law; Commercial Real Estate; Commercial
Conveyancing; Commercial Real Estate Acquisitions; Commercial Real
Estate Contracts; Commercial Real Estate Development; Commercial Real
Estate Finance; Commercial Real Estate Litigation; Industrial Real
Estate Law; Retail Development; Shopping Center Acquisitions; Shopping
Center Development; Shopping Center Law; Business Regulation; Business
Torts; Limited Liability Company Law; Environmental Law; Air Pollution;
Air Quality; Brownfields Redevelopment; California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA); Chemical Regulation; Clean Air Act; Clean Water
Act; Climate Change; Coastal Environmental Law; Endangered Species;
Environmental Administrative Law; Environmental Arbitration;
Environmental Auditing; Environmental Bankruptcy; Environmental
Business Law; Environmental Class Actions; Environmental Cleanup;
Environmental Compliance; Environmental Contamination; Environmental
Corporate Law; Environmental Cost Recovery; Environmental Criminal
Defense; Environmental Criminal Law; Environmental Diseases;
Environmental Dispute Resolution; Environmental Due Diligence;
Environmental Health and Safety; Environmental Insurance; Environmental
Insurance Claims; Environmental Insurance Coverage; Environmental
Legislative Practice; Environmental Lender Liability; Environmental
Liability; Environmental Litigation; Environmental Mediation;
Environmental Penalties; Environmental Permitting; Environmental Real
Estate; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Reinsurance;
Environmental Risk Management; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); Gas Pollution; Groundwater Contamination;
Habitat Conservation; Hazardous Materials and Substances; Hazardous
Materials Management; Hazardous Materials Transportation; Hazardous
Waste; Hazardous Waste Liability; Hazardous Waste Management; Hazardous
Waste Permits; Hazardous Waste Regulation; Indoor Air Quality;
International Environmental Law; Medical Waste; National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA); Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material; Nuclear
Waste; Oil Pollution; Oil Spills; Pesticide Regulation; Pollution;
Property Remediation; Protected Species; Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA); Sick Building Syndrome; Solid Waste; Solid Waste
Disposal; Solid Waste Management; Solid Waste Regulation; Superfund;
Toxic Chemicals; Toxic Substance Liability; Toxic Substance Regulation;
Toxic Substances; Underground Storage Tanks; Water Pollution; Water
Quality; Wetlands Protection; Wetlands Regulation; Wildlife Law;
Natural Resources; Conservation Law; Geothermal Resources;
International Mining Law; Land Reclamation; Mine Safety; Mineral Law;
Mineral Leasing; Riparian Rights; Surface Mining; Water Law; Water
Rights; Toxic Torts; Asbestos Defense; Asbestos Litigation; Chemical
Exposure; Mold Litigation; Silicosis Litigation; Toxic Exposure; Toxic
Tort Defense; Real Estate; Condominium Association Law; Easements;
Historic Conservation Easements; Homeowners Association Law; Land
Acquisitions; Land Sales; Land Trusts; Planned Unit Development Law;
Property Management; Real Estate Acquisitions; Real Estate Contracts;
Real Property; Real Property Acquisitions; Real Property Development;
Real Property Finance; Residential Real Estate; Residential Real Estate
Acquisitions; Residential Real Estate Development; Residential Real
Estate Finance; Residential Real Estate Foreclosure; Residential Real
Estate Sales; Right of Way Easements;Waterfront Development, Environmental Law.